Last updated on January 23rd, 2017 at 05:17 am
Finally, we arrived in Hawke’s Bay! Wine Time.
We thought a stop at Black Barn Vineyards was necessary before checking into the holiday park.
Black Barn Vineyards
- Cellar Door: Monday to Sunday 10.00am-4.00pm
- Kitchen Store: Wednesday to Sunday 10.00am-4.00pm
- Bistro: Wednesday to Sunday 12.00pm-4.00pm | Friday Evenings 6.30-9.00pm
- Growers Market: Every Saturday of Summer 9.00am-12.00pm (December 6 – February 28)
The Vineyard



The Cellar Door is also part of the main building. The room is welcoming with clean lines and a wall of awards, including a showing by UB40 at one of Black Barn’s many concert events.
The Wines
This Boutique winery is know for their Bordeaux style wines, but their chardonnay and sauv. blancs have won a few awards.
We both loved the 2013 merlot cab franc blend, and we took a bottle of that home with us. The blend is well balanced. I think the cab franc gives the wine some depth while the merlot smoothes the edge of the cab franc.
Mr J. enjoyed the BF Chardonnay, while I preferred the Unoaked style.
Typically, I don’t like “buttery” Chardonnays. I feel like the wine is hiding something like a big fat grape conspiracy. Or maybe, I just think that white wines should be clean, crisp and refreshing. The oak influence makes it to “warm” for a white wine to me.
Those are all very technical tasting notes for you to use as a reference for your next tasting event.
Recommendation
Definitely add this stop to your Hawke’s Bay itinerary.
If you are looking for accommodation, you should check out the Black Barn Retreats. We didn’t stay (because of the campervan), but they look kind of amazing.
If you are interested in trying any of their wines, then you should definitely stop by the Cellar Door or Bistro. Or, you can check out their online store here.
Love wine visit our other posts on wine stops in New Zealand:
- Waiheke Island
- Cable Bay Vineyards
- Batch Winery
- Martinborough
- Otago
- Pagan Vines Vineyards Accommodation
We haven’t been to NZ wine country yet but when we do, we’ll definitely add Black Barn to our list — thanks for the recommendation, great read!
Thanks Allison!