Acoustic Brewery, brewing beer to their own tune
Some of this region’s coolest business are tiny, run by owners who have a huge amount of passion for their business, Acoustic Brewery is one.
Roaming the Lower North Island from Martinborough to Wellington via Hawke’s Bay
Recently I spent a couple of weeks exploring a loop in the lower North Island, starting in Greytown and Martinborough, then on to Hawke’s Bay, Taupo and finally back to…
Zumo Café – Fortune favours the brave
ZUMO Coffee Roasters was established in 2006 by Dan Slattery and he quickly followed the roasting business with a small coffee shop on the corner of Rutherford & Vanguard Streets…
Bob’s Rock Wines
Bob’s Rock Vineyard is a tiny producer tucked away on a hillside location at Ngatimoti. Producing less than 200 cases of wine a year, all made from a single Italian…
Victus Coffee and Eatery
Victus Coffee and Eatery is a very cool wee spot in Bridge St next to Kirby Lane, it was called The Kitchen until Nick and Beth Schryvers bought the business…
Hop Federation Tap Room & Riwaka Hotel
This year is the tenth birthday for Hop Federation and a lot has changed in recent times. Founded in Riwaka by Chief Brewer Simon and his wife Nicki Nicholas in…
Dancing Sands Distillery
There are two very good distilleries in Golden Bay, one is Dancing Sands and they have just released a tasty Lychee Gin. The Lazy Days Lychee Gin is “an ode…
Anchorage Wines- Stripping back helps Motueka Winemakers and Growers strike gold
Following on from my previous column about how Motueka Winemakers and Growers (formerly Anchorage Wines) set about restructuring their business and vineyards they are now seeing some outstanding results from…
Great Scutt: New label wine for the ages
Scutt Wines is a tiny producer you may not have heard of before because owners Johnson Scutt and Georgie Hoby Scutt only recently made their wines available for you and…
Sheild Wines
Trudy Sheild is the very talented winemaker behind some of the best wines produced in this region, and I have rated her skills very highly for many years. During her…