Martinborough, NZ

The Cuisine-hatted restaurant at Palliser Estate winery, led by chef Norka Mella Munoz with a Latin-inflected seasonal menu and the winery's portfolio as the pairing. The village's destination lunch.

Year-round cellar-door restaurant on Puruatanga Road known nationally for the Tirohana High Tea — three tiers of savouries, scones and sweets served with a glass of in-house Pinot Noir. The cult lunch tradition.

Restaurant, cellar door and gin distillery overlooking the vineyards on the eastern edge of town, with a chef-driven seasonal menu and a respected gin line. The polished modern option in town.

Refined-but-relaxed restaurant at Luna Estate winery, with a seasonal menu and the kind of garden setting that defines wine-country lunch. Quieter than Palliser; the relaxed alternative.

Village bakery and cafe on Kitchener Street with the region's best croissants and a tight cabinet of country pastries. The morning coffee stop for the entire village.

All-day cafe on the square with a cabinet, hot brunch menu and a small wine list that rolls into evening. The reliable village cafe for any meal.

A casual bistro on the village square with the most reliable evening dinner in town. Mediterranean-leaning menu, generous portions, and the kind of room locals end the week at.

A small family winery 10 minutes from town with a cellar-door restaurant in a converted farm building. Lunch sittings only, set menu, and the most quietly memorable wine-country meal in the area.

A bar-and-bistro on Kitchener Street with pub classics, sharing plates and one of the largest craft-beer selections in the Wairarapa alongside premium cocktails. The casual non-wine answer for a group in the village.

Small wine bar and cafe on Princess Street with a tight cabinet, casual lunch menu and a wine list of small Wairarapa producers. The under-the-radar village cafe.

A small olive grove on Hinakura Road with a tasting room for the in-house olive oil and a small lunch menu. Quietly excellent; the under-the-radar Wairarapa stop.

The flat 30km loop around the village that visits most of the cellar doors, used by every visitor with a bike. The wine country is unusually flat and the cellar doors are unusually concentrated.

A two-hour return walk into a badlands valley of vertical earth pillars, used as the Path of the Dead in The Two Towers. About 50 minutes south of the village. Dramatic, well-signed, free.

The 252-step climb up to the 1897 lighthouse at the wild south tip of the North Island, with a fur seal colony at the base. Quick, dramatic, free.

A guided 3-hour walk through a private limestone chasm on a working sheep farm 30 minutes from the village. The walk includes wading through a stream and the chasm narrows to a slot in places. Only seasonal, booking required.

Network of bush walks in the Aorangi range south of the village, ranging from 30 minutes to multi-day tramps. The Mangatoetoe Track is the casual 90-minute option for a quick bush walk.

A flat 4km loop through the village, the rugby grounds and the surrounding vineyards. Pram-friendly; the easy after-lunch stretch.

A wild Pacific-beach walk from Lake Ferry south as far as you want. Open coastal sand, driftwood, and the back of the Aorangi range above. Solitary, dramatic, exposed.

The November wine, food and music festival across the village's cellar doors — the single biggest day of the year and one of the country's best wine festivals. Tickets are released months ahead and sell out instantly.

Several operators run day tours from Wellington and Martinborough village, with cellar door pickups and a lunch stop. The right way to do the wine country if you do not want a designated driver.

Saturday morning market on the town square in summer, with local produce, baking and craft. The locals' Saturday plan.

Guided tour of the open-air working henge built by Wairarapa astronomers, aligned with the local night sky. Evening tours in summer for the star sessions.

Tour of the gin distillery at The Runholder with a tasting paddle and an explanation of the small-batch process. Casual and informative; the addition that makes the lunch stop richer.

A small heritage village museum in Greytown 25 minutes north, with relocated colonial buildings and a working blacksmith. Pleasantly old-fashioned; combine with a Greytown lunch.

Artisan chocolatier in a converted Greytown house, with the country's most adventurous flavour list (chilli-and-lime-and-coriander; smoke and salt). Free tastings, generous samples, owner-driven. Worth the 25-minute drive.

Sunrise hot-air balloon flights over the Wairarapa wine country, with a champagne breakfast on landing. Weather-dependent; the country's most reliable balloon location.

Tap-room and small-batch brewery on Strasbourge Street with a tasting paddle and pizza menu. The non-wine option in town. Casual, family-friendly until evening.

The Union-Jack-shaped town square at the centre of the village, laid out in 1879 to mark Queen Victoria's reign. The orientation point for the entire wine country, with the cellar doors arrayed in a loose ring around it. Walk or cycle from here.

One of Martinborough's founding pinot noir producers, on Kitchener Street. The Cuisine-hatted Palliser Kitchen restaurant is the destination lunch in town; the cellar door pours one of the region's most-collected pinots.

The cult pinot noir producer that helped put Martinborough on the global wine map, in a small unassuming cellar door on Puruatanga Road. The McRae Wood Pinot is the test pour. Walk in and ask for the off-list.

A founding 1980s Martinborough pinot producer with a leafy cellar door right at the edge of the village. Pours the Martinborough Vineyard Pinot Noir and the Te Tera second-label. Walk-in friendly.

Cellar door and the Eclipse Restaurant on a leafy property at the edge of the village, with refined-but-relaxed wine country lunches. Strong pinot and aromatic-whites lineup.

An hour's drive south to the wild rocky coast at the southernmost tip of the North Island, with a 252-step climb to the 1897 lighthouse and a fur seal colony on the rocks at the base. Free, dramatic, and the natural counter to the wine country.

A two-hour return walk into a badlands valley of vertical earth-pillar columns, used as the Path of the Dead in The Two Towers. The most dramatic short walk in the lower North Island. About 50 minutes drive south of the village.

A tiny settlement on Lake Onoke 40 minutes south, with a wild Pacific coast and the legendary Lake Ferry Hotel pub. The end-of-the-road feeling and the best fish-and-chips drive in the Wairarapa.

An open-air working henge built by the Phoenix Astronomical Society in the hills north of Martinborough, designed to align with the night sky from Wairarapa latitude. Free guided tours; quietly excellent.