Marlborough Wine Tours in Winter: What Runs and What Closes

Fares, pickups and access verified by the Marlborough Wine Tours team — last checked 2026-09-26.

Rows of vines under a wide sky, a dark mountain range along the horizon

The short answer. Yes, go. The van tours keep running through June, July and August, and your guide knows which tasting rooms are open. Some cellar doors close their tasting rooms for the winter, some pickups move, and the wine-and-cruise day runs on fewer days. Pack layers, and book a van rather than a bike.

Winter in Marlborough runs from June to August. The vines are bare and the harvest is long over, but the wine is in the cellar doors and the days are often bright. This guide covers what changes for a wine tour in those three months, and nothing else. For the rest of the year, see the best time to visit and the month-by-month weather. When you are ready, the Marlborough Wine booking opens from the homepage.

Is Marlborough worth visiting in winter?

For the wine, yes. The cellar doors that stay open pour the same wines they pour in summer, and a tasting indoors is no worse for the cold outside. Blenheim still averages 152 to 189 hours of sunshine a month from June to August (NIWA, 1991-2020), so many winter days are clear.

What you give up is the long evenings, the bike days and some choice of cellar doors. If you want a day in the vines and you are happy to be driven, winter works well.

Month	High / low	Rain	What runs	Pickups	What to wear
June	13.9 / 3.6 °C	68.6 mm, 7.6 days	Van tours; some tasting rooms closed	Afternoon tour 30 minutes earlier	A warm layer and a waterproof
July	13.3 / 2.9 °C	64.2 mm, 7.2 days	Van tours; cruise day on set weekdays	Afternoon tour 30 minutes earlier	A warm coat for the mornings
August	14.4 / 4.0 °C	57.9 mm, 7.6 days	Van tours; check each cellar door	Afternoon tour 30 minutes earlier	Layers, and shoes for wet grass

Figures are NIWA's 1991-2020 normals for Blenheim: the average daily high and low, the monthly rain, and the days with 1 mm or more.

Which cellar doors close?

Some, but no single list says which. Wine Marlborough says a number of tasting rooms close over winter, though most remain open for wine sales. It advises checking with each winery directly before you visit, because opening hours found online may be out of date, and it keeps the current hours on its own site.

On a tour, this is your guide's problem, not yours. The operators work with the cellar doors every week and plan the day round the ones that are pouring. That is the main reason to book a van in winter rather than drive.

Do the tours still run?

The van tours do. Their listings carry winter times, not winter closures. The Marlborough Wine Tours afternoon, for one, moves its pickups half an hour earlier from May to October rather than stopping.

Some run on fewer days. When you book, a date that is not offered does not run, and if a pickup slot is missing, it is already full. Book a few days ahead, and earlier for a weekend.

What changes on the pickup times?

On the Marlborough Wine Tours afternoon, the Picton pickup moves from 12.30pm to 12pm, and the Blenheim pickup from 1pm to 12.30pm, from May to October. That is the daylight at work: an earlier start brings you home before dark.

Beyond the Vines runs the other way round: its Picton pickup is from 9.30am, and 9.15am in summer. Check the time on your booking, and be ready fifteen minutes early.

Does the wine-and-cruise day run?

On set days only. In winter 2026 the Marlborough Tour Company's wine-and-cruise day ran on Wednesdays and Saturdays only, with tastings in the morning and a cruise on Queen Charlotte Sound in the afternoon. Check its calendar for the coming winter before you plan round it.

The cruise also depends on the weather. If the operator cancels, you are offered another date or a full refund.

Is it cycling weather?

Sometimes, but plan for a van. July averages a high of 13.3 °C and a low of 2.9 °C in Blenheim, and June is the wettest month of the year, with 68.6 mm of rain. A bike day in the cold, with tastings, is a long day.

If you do ride, the guided bike day moves its morning into a van at no extra cost when rain sets in. On the self-guided days you ride in whatever comes, so go on a dry, bright day and bring gloves. Marlborough bike wine tours lists the options.

Tip. On a clear winter day, collect the bike in the late morning, once the day has warmed, and have it back by mid-afternoon.

What should you wear?

Layers. Mornings are cold, with average lows of 2.9 to 4.0 °C in July and August, and the afternoons warm up in the sun. A warm jumper, a waterproof and closed shoes cover most days.

Some tours walk you into the vineyard, so bring shoes you do not mind getting wet on the grass.

What does winter still give you?

Clear days, for a start: July in Blenheim averages 160 hours of sunshine (NIWA). The cellar doors that stay open pour the full range, and the region's wines suit the weather: Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and the aromatic whites taste as well by a window in July as on a terrace in January.

You can still add a day in Blenheim or Picton. The Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre is indoors, and the Edwin Fox Maritime Museum in Picton keeps winter hours.

Which tours suit a winter day best?

A full day in a van, for most visitors. You stay warm between cellar doors, the guide plans round the tasting rooms that are open, and a lunch stop at a winery puts you indoors in the middle of the day. Jade's Day of Wine collects you from your Blenheim accommodation in time for a 10am first tasting, carries bottled water and snacks in the van, and ends at the Makana chocolate factory.

If you want a hot meal without choosing one, pick a day with lunch in the fare. The Marlborough Tour Company full day serves a two-course lunch at a winery restaurant and meets at the Blenheim i-SITE at 9.15am, back by 4.30 to 5pm. It is for adults only.

If your days are short, a morning half-day works well. The Taste the Valley morning tour visits four wineries with a walk in the vines, and you are back for a slow afternoon in town. Leave the afternoon half-days for the ferry days, when they are the only fit.

And if your dates fall on a Wednesday or a Saturday, the wine-and-cruise day is the one winter day that takes you onto the water. Wrap up for the boat.

Winter from Picton

From Picton the winter changes are the same. The afternoon tour leaves central Picton at 12pm from May to October, which makes a morning ferry arrival tighter. The Bluebridge arriving at 11.45am should still make it; the Interislander arriving at 12.15pm will not.

The shore excursions run to the ship's schedule, whatever the month, so check that your ship calls. For every tour from the ferry town, see Marlborough wine tours from Picton.

Frequently asked questions

Are Marlborough cellar doors open in winter?

Most are open for wine sales, but Wine Marlborough says a number of tasting rooms close over winter. It advises checking with each winery directly, because opening hours online may be out of date.

How cold is Marlborough in July?

July is the coldest month: in Blenheim the average high is 13.3 °C and the average low 2.9 °C (NIWA, 1991-2020). Days are often bright, so layers work better than one heavy coat.

Do you need to book a winter wine tour ahead?

Book a few days ahead, and earlier for a weekend. Some tours run fewer days in winter, and if a pickup slot is not on offer, it is already full.

What if it rains on a bike tour?

On the guided bike day the operator switches the morning to a van tour at no extra cost. On the self-guided days you ride in the weather, so check the forecast and pack a layer.

When is the best time for a Marlborough wine tour?

Summer and autumn: long, dry days for the bikes, and the harvest in the vineyards in autumn. In winter Wine Marlborough says some tasting rooms close, and some tours move their pickups earlier.

What should I bring?

Passport ID if you are 18 to 25, sunscreen, a hat and a warm layer. On a bike day add comfortable clothes for riding, and on a van tour keep to one small bag, because some tours take no suitcases.

Can I cancel my booking?

Every tour here refunds in full if you cancel at least 24 hours before the start. If the operator cancels for weather or too few travellers, you are offered another date or a full refund.

Can I join a tour straight off the Wellington ferry?

Sometimes. Marlborough Wine Tours' afternoon tour says the Interislander arriving at 12.15pm is too late, while the Bluebridge arriving at 11.45am should make it. The crossing takes about three and a half hours.

Where do these facts come from?

Regional facts, climate figures and cellar-door advice come from the official pages below. Everything about a tour comes from its own booking page. Check both before you travel, because both change.

Tours that suit a winter day

Day of Wine

Six hours from your Blenheim accommodation, in time for a 10am first pour: four cellar doors, a vineyard walk, a winery lunch at your own cost, and the Makana chocolate factory to finish.

From $159 per person

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Marlborough Icons Tour - Wine tasting + Cruise

Tastings and a light lunch in the morning, then three hours on the Sounds with salmon and greenshell mussels on board. Be ready by 9.15am in Blenheim, or in Picton for a surcharge.

From $185 per person

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Taste the Valley Wine Tour in Marlborough with Wine Tasting

A morning from your Blenheim door, the railway station or the i-SITE: four wineries, standard tasting fees in the fare and a walk in the vines. One small bag only; lunch is at your own cost.

From $107 per person

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