Tour de Great Taste Trail: Cycling Tour from Nelson

The area around Nelson on the northern tip of the NZ South Island is a hidden gem. I can confidently say the best way to discover this varied landscape (rolling hills, vineyards, mountains and coast) is on two wheels.
I have just returned from the Tour de Vines six day Great Taste Trail guided tour and it's one of the best holidays I've had.
Scenery: the "great taste" means experiencing a wide variety of scenery. I was jumping off my bike regularly to take another photo of picture postcard views.
Bikes: I loved my bike (hire included). She was a sturdy hybrid with a comfortable saddle, 24 gears (including a "granny gear" for the occasional slog up a long hill) but surprisingly nippy.
Accommodation: Varied between a traditional NZ pub, self-contained villa with stunning views over the ocean, and a bed & breakfast. But all were very comfortable and clean.
Food: Damn! Even with all that cycling I came home 2 kgs heavier. The food was excellent. The area is famous for seafood and we ate well (possibly too well in my case) every day. Most meals were included (a couple were at our own cost) and two meals were beautiful "picnic" lunches. A highlight for me was dinner al fresco at a property out in the country, eating home-cooked gourmet food under a huge spreading tree watching the sun go down.
Wines: What a great area for wine lovers. We cycled through/past acres of vines. The area is famous for its wines, particularly its sauvignon blanc, riesling, pinot noir and pinot gris. We had the opportunity to taste these and other varieties at a number of boutique wineries.
Extras: As well as the wine tasting visits, we went to WOW (World of Wearable Art) in Nelson which also included about a billion dollars worth of classic cars. And a day easy-walking and swimming in the stunning Abel Tasman National Park.
Fitness: We had a large group and the fittest could possibly give Cadel Evans a run (spin) for his money. But I never felt any pressure to keep up and could happily pedal at my own pace. And of course there was the trusty sag wagon if you really couldn't pedal any more. If you are not a regular cyclist, I would recommend upping the kilometres to 50-100 a week to get the best out of this tour.
Niggle: Just one "area for consideration". The daily notes were not always accurate about the terrain or challenges. The roads were more often "undulating" rather than "downhill" all the way. But I know that the tour is still a work in progress and am sure this will be remedied.
I started the tour not knowing any of the other riders but ended with lots of new friends. Thank you Damien and Sean for a fabulous time.

Just completed the great taste trail from Nelson New Zealand.
5 nights of cycling and 1 day hiking Abel Tasman national park.
Shaun and Damian were excellent tour guides and support. Accomodation and food was fantastic. Every you asked for
They helped with everything, even with getting a wash and blow dry at a local hairdresser in Mapua.
I would recommend Tour De Vines for any age.

Just completed this tour with a fantastic guide, Sean, from Nelson to Richmond, Wakefield, Kaiteriteri and Mapua riding through beautiful countryside and visiting many wineries for tastings and lunches. The trip was well planned by our guide who told us all about the places we visited and was able to answer all our questions. The bikes were fantastic, in excellent condition and very comfortable and easy to ride. I chose an ebike and was glad I had one as some hills were very challenging, especially for mature riders. I look forward to riding in New Zealand again with Tour de Vines.

Just completed a fabulous 5 day cycle though the Marlborough region of NZ.
Sean our tour leader was so passionate about cycling and showing us through this area of NZ, nothing was a problem. Accommodation, food, wine tastings were all fantastic, along with the additional activity of hiking, which gave us a little time off the bikes.
Equipment was in great condition, I was a first time rider on my ebike, which I would recommend mature age people having! As the second leg of the tour has some gravel roads and hills, which I would think were more difficult than grade 1-2, especially for mature people. Was disappointed I didn't receive my Tour de Vines kit earlier as I would have liked to have worn this on tour, also I would have thought it would have been good advertising. We went through ever-changing scenery which made the trip really interesting. I would highly recommend this tour

I have just come home from one of the best holidays and adventures and wish it could of gone longer. So can't wait to do another trip. Overall I found the experience with Damian and Sean was easy and nothing was ever an issue. All the food that was included in the package was excellent, accommodation overall was great also. The weather could not have been any better for us, so we were blessed with that also. I have an average level of fitness and found the ride suitable for myself but it challenged as well at times. Happy to give these guys the thumbs up as the whole group was a pleasure to be with and can't wait to go again.