Marlborough Bike Wine Tours

"We picked up bikes in Renwick just after nine and the valley was still cool and quiet, which made the first twenty minutes very easy going. The marlborough bike wine tours setup is close to foolproof because the roads are flat and the cellar doors sit within a few kilometres of each other. By mid afternoon the light on the Richmond Range had gone gold and we were in no rush at all."

"Riding between vine rows in the Wairau Valley beats any coach I have ever been on, mostly because you can smell the cut grass and the wet stone soil the whole way. We managed five cellar doors without feeling stretched. The bikes were solid town bikes with baskets rather than anything sporty, which suited the pace."

"A friend booked our marlborough bike wine tours tickets a week ahead and we were glad she did, since the Saturday slots had already gone. Wind picked up in the afternoon coming down the valley and the ride back was harder work than the ride out. Still finished happy with a bag of cheese in the front basket."

"The Marlborough vineyard cycling route is genuinely flat, though the gravel stretches near the river slowed us more than we planned for. We ran short on time and had to skip the last stop. Worth mapping the distances properly before you set off rather than trusting the paper map."

"We started at eight thirty and had the lanes almost entirely to ourselves, with mist still sitting low over the vines. Tasting rooms opened around ten so the early hour was just riding, which I did not mind. The Wairau River bridge crossing was the highlight for me."

"What surprised me about the marlborough bike wine tours experience was how much of it is just open sky and rows of Sauvignon Blanc going off to the hills. The Renwick cellar doors are close together so nobody in our group struggled with the distance. Bring a hat, there is very little shade on those roads."

"We did this self guided rather than joining a group and had no trouble finding our way between the cellar doors. Marlborough wine region cycling suits people who want to set their own pace and linger at whichever tasting room they like best. Helmets and locks were included, which saved us hiring separately."

"The northwesterly was strong the day we went and the last leg back into Renwick took real effort. That said, the marlborough bike wine tours tour we joined had a support van that could have picked us up, so nobody was stranded. Vine rows in late spring were bright green and the whole valley smelled of blossom."

"Cycling past the braided Wairau River in the early evening, with willows on the bank and the stones still warm, is the part I keep thinking about. The tasting stops were generous and the staff at each place clearly knew the growers. We covered maybe twenty five kilometres and it never felt like exercise."

"Booked marlborough bike wine tours tours in the off season and had the roads to ourselves, frost on the vine rows and a very clear cold sky. Fewer cellar doors were open but the ones that were had time to talk properly. Layers matter, the valley holds the cold in the mornings."