Located just outside the village of Lepperton, 12 miles (20 kilometres) from New Plymouth, the Sentry Hill Winery is a quaint vineyard set amid beautiful natural surroundings. Explore the winemaking process and sample from a broad range of delicious wines that are crisp, clean, dazzlingly textured and true to the flavour of the fruit from which they originate. Far from limiting themselves to grapes, the winemakers endeavour to transform ginger, boysenberry and kiwifruit into delicious wines enjoyed across the world.
In recent years, New Zealand’s vineyards have become world renowned for producing high-quality cool-climate wines. Discover a friendly and personable winery that has been operating for 30 years and embodies all the characteristics that have made the country’s wine a globally recognised brand. Sentry Hill Winery prides itself on painstaking attention to detail and production with traditional methods, while also using modern techniques.
Enjoy a taste of the fruit wines available from the winery’s shopfront, the Cellar Door, which is open daily from September to Easter and Wednesday through Sunday the rest of the year. Sentry Hill is most famous for its Garrison Red Dry boysenberry wine, which has won countless national awards for best red fruit wine over the years.
Use the winery’s website to arrange a tour to learn about the process of winemaking, from the ground to the bottle. The owners offer a 1-hour tour, which includes an orchard walk, a trip through the winery and a bottling demonstration. Private functions are also available. Every year the winery hosts concerts from New Zealand musicians, as part of the nationwide Winery Tour.
Afterwards, drop by the village of Lepperton, which is only 2 miles (3 kilometres) away. The town was established as a military settlement in the 1860s and has dining options, points of historic interest and a beautiful old estate that offers bushwalks, bird watching and luxurious lodgings.
Drive to the Sentry Hill Winery in about 30 minutes from New Plymouth’s city centre, travelling northeast along the coast. Charming boutique accommodation available nearby offer friendly and welcoming rural alternatives to hotels in the city.
