Established in Bordeaux in 1999, Great Wine Capitals status is bestowed on destinations that deliver a preeminent wine tourism experience. Hawke's Bay's admission to the Great Wine Capitals programme comes after a stringent selection process that looks at a region’s winegrowing industry, its history, its wine tourism, educational opportunities, business, and travel, as well as the cities and region itself. Learn more about why Hawke's Bay is a Great Wine Capital (external link)
Read MoreTaste a Great Wine Capital for yourself
While the fine folk of Hawke’s Bay prefer to let their hospitality and wine do the talking, this is an achievement of global significance that catapults the region onto the world’s stage. Yet Hawke's Bay’s point of difference is its laid-back yet attentive (and classically Antipodean) hospitality. It is the understated magic that welcomes visitors to both a sprawling wine estate or boutique vineyard, and makes both places feel like home. It’s the region’s extensive array of provenance-led culinary experiences and unrivalled bounty that ensures visitors experience the full gamut of paddock to plate, grape to glass and tree to table, all done with aplomb and served with a warming East Coast smile.
The company we keep
Hawke's Bay's Great Wine Capital colleagues are a who's who of the world's finest wine tourism destinations
Read moreHawke's Bay's Winners for 2025
Best Of Wine Tourism Awards
The winners of Hawke's Bay's inaugural Great Wine Capitals Best Of Wine Tourism awards have been unveiled, recognising four businesses for their outstanding contributions to the wine tourism industry across seven categories.
Global Best Of Wine Tourism award winner
Craggy Range Winery has been named the Global Winner for the Hawke’s Bay region in the prestigious 2025 Best Of Wine Tourism Awards. This accolade recognises exceptional experiences at an international level, for their contributions to wine tourism. It highlights Craggy Range's world-class excellence and puts New Zealand's oldest wine-growing region, Hawke’s Bay, on the map alongside global wine heavyweights such as Bordeaux (France), Bilbao-Rioja (Spain), and San Francisco-Napa Valley (USA).
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Cité Du Vin
Hawke’s Bay wine is now so esteemed that 12 brilliant drops have become the very first from New Zealand to be sampled at Cité Du Vin, the world-famous cultural venue dedicated to wine in Bordeaux, France that welcomes more than 400,000 visitors each year.
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