Food and Cuisine in Auckland
Auckland will tempt your tastebuds with locally grown produce, sea food from its abundant harbours and award-winning wines to match. Many of the region's restaurants have perfected "Pacific Rim" cuisine, fusing Pacific and Asian flavours with fresh local ingredients from Auckland's rich volcanic soils.
Purchase the best of the day's catch from the waterfront Auckland Fish Market and learn how to cook it as the adjacent cookery school. Talk to the organic growers at the Matakana Farmers' Market as you sip on a freshly brewed coffee. Or sample Asian and Pacific Island cooked specialties at the Otara Markets while shopping for freshly picked fruit, vegetables and flowers.
Wine in Auckland
Auckland is home to some of the country's oldest established vineyards and is well known for its chardonnay, merlot and cabernet sauvignon wines.
Dalmatian immigrants first established vines in the west and northwest of the region in the late 1800s. The family names are still attached to many of these vineyards and descendants of the early winemakers can be found serving at the cellar door.
The region's vineyards are clustered in five distinct areas - Waiheke Island, west Auckland, northwest Auckland, north Auckland (around Matakana) and the Clevedon Valley. Some of the larger wineries also process grapes grown in other parts of New Zealand, so a stopover for a tasting is well rewarded.
