Setting
The Te Awanga terroir is often dubbed “Te Awanga pebbles”, and plenty of those crunch underfoot as you approach this cellar door. It’s a little piece of Tijuana in Te Awanga – a terracotta-and-blue adobe-style building surrounded by large cacti and quirky gardens, to which you’re welcome to bring a picnic to enjoy while you sip wine to the sound of the surf.

Things to know
Jill and Chris Harrison met and fell in love while studying winemaking at Roseworthy College in Australia and eventually returned to New Zealand to pursue careers in winemaking and brewing respectively. Chris built Roosters Brewhouse in Hastings and, in 1997, the couple went into business with Chris’s parents to create Beach House Wines. “Rippling seas, summer sun and ancient gravels” is their catchphrase, and it rings true. The exposed stones radiate heat up into the vines to help ripen the grapes, the sea breezes circulate the air through the fruit and the sun nurtures them through ripening.

Our picks
The montepulciano and cabernet franc will put hairs on your chest (in a good way) and the riesling is fresh and limey. Try the dessert sauvignon blanc for something a little bit different.

Plus
Pack your fishing rod and go surfcasting for kahawai off the beach in the late afternoon. If you have no luck, the fish-and-chip shop is right next door to Beach House.