Experience Local Fare…
Beer, wine, cider, oysters, cheese, olives and sweet temptations!
Must try some
Local Fare…
• Try some locally-made craft beer, wine or cider
• Pick up some Mahurangi oysters to take home
• Sample more local fare at the Matakana Markets
Craft Beer
8wired Brewery
26 Glenmore Drive, Warkworth
This is a microbrewing company based in Warkworth. Their mission is to produce mindblowing beers that will wow craftbeer lovers, excite fellow beer geeks and educate the mis-guided who still believe that “beer is just beer”. www.8wired.co.nz
Sawmill Brewery
1004 Leigh Road, Matakana
This independent New Zealand owned brewery is run by a small and talented team. The brewery was established in 2004 on the site of what was once a local timber mill (next to the Sawmill Cafe). The brewery moved from the original site and now works from premises just out of Matakana. www.sawmillbrewery.co.nz
Wine
Matakana is a small wine region but some premium wines have been produced in the area for some time and several new vineyards are being developed. Most of the vineyards are on slopes, which helps to drain the clay soils. Traditionally a red wine growing regions there are now some outstanding white wines – especially chardonnay and pinot gris. However the classic red varieties of merlot, cabernet sauvignon, syrah, pinotage, pinot noir and sangiovese have shown consistent excellence. Some of the wineries are open to the public and welcome your visit. You can see a map of the wineries for a wine tour www.matakanawine.co.nz
Cider
Jones Road Cider
107 Jones Road, Omaha Flats
Jones Road Cider is handcrafted from classic cider apples grown on heirloom trees, the same varieties that English and French cider makers have prized for centuries. It’s these apples, grown and harvested on their orchard in the fertile and sun-drenched Matakana region, that make this cider so different.
Visit their orchard shop where their cider is sold at the cellar door, conveniently located near the Omaha – Point Wells – Matakana cycle and walking route. www.jonesroadcider.co.nz
The Cider Shed
182 State Highway 1, Warkworth
The team at Forbidden Brewing Co. and the Cider Shed are destined to serve your taste buds by bringing you traditionally made cider with modern twists. Designed to enrich the senses and delight the palate, they hope you enjoy the results of their cider brewing experiments as much as they enjoyed making them. They produce traditional tasting ciders made from 100% New Zealand apples sourced from their own orchard which they press at a sedentary rate to get every last drop of juice from this ancient, most sacred of fruits. The outcome is a cider that is not only tasty and clean but has no added sugars. All cider brewing and bottling is in their boutique cidery in Warkworth. www.forbidden.co.nz
Seafood
Matakana Farmers Market
On Saturdays you can visit Matakana and try whitebait fritters (seasonal), mussel fritters, salmon and other fresh seafood dishes.
Matakana Oysters
The Green Shed, 1217 Leigh Rd, Matakana
Matakana oysters are caught from a wild catch that naturally occurs from late December to March. They barge to the oyster farms everyday from Scott’s Landing in Mahurangi Harbour where they have growing areas in two parts of the harbour, Upper Harbour is Dyer’s Creek, Lower Harbour Te Kapa Inlet. They harvest new oysters on oyster sticks or ones we have put back to grow-on.
As responsible oysterers, they adhere to the proper standards of oystering in New Zealand and belong both to the New Zealand Oyster and Aquaculture Industry and as part of the local oyster association do regular water and flesh testing. They are also part of Ministry of Primary Industries Sanitation Program. Read their interesting stories on their website. www.matakanaoysters.co.nz
Mahurangi Oysters
Mahurangi Oysters is family owned and operated. They take the greatest care and pride in producing the very best, freshest, tastiest live oysters for customers. Their oysters are grown in a beautiful, unspoilt corner of the Mahurangi Harbour. Pristine conditions allow the oysters to flourish and grow to the premium product that you get to savour and enjoy.
Browse their website for more information about the oyster farm, how these amazing shellfish are grown, how to open them and some ideas for delicious things you can do with them. www.mahurangioysters.co.nz
Sweet Temptations
Chocolate Brown
6 Mill Lane, Warkworth
The chocolate factory originally started in the South Island, was rebranded as Chocolate Brown then later moved to Warkworth. It now operates a busy cafeteria, retail chocolaterie and factory. Chocolate Brown produces handmade award-winning chocolates from the finest gourmet callebaut coverture and the freshest of New Zealand’s real butter and cream along with many other required ingredients and decorations sourced from passionate growers, manufacturers & suppliers.
Charlies Gelato Garden
17 Sharp Rd, Matakana
Charlies Gelato is all about flavour, freshness, family fun and community. Modeled on a ‘gelateria artiginale’, the gelato and sorbetto is made fresh each day in small batches from the best available ingredients including seasonal fruit either grown on the property or sourced locally. Products include: artisan gelato and sorbetto, strawberries/table grapes picked fresh each day in season, homemade merginues/jams/biscuits, espresso coffee. They also stock local cheeses, bake sour dough bread, and during the summer months fire up their pizza oven for lunch time wood fired pizzas. www.charliesgelato.co.nz
The Honey Centre
7 Perry Rd, Warkworth
The Honey Centre has New Zealand’s largest display of live bees, a great range of honeys for tasting, educational tours and a fantastic cafe. They have grown over the years to include the Honey Cafe and the Honey Mead and Fruit Wine Shop. They have kept their focus on what really matters – making locally produced quality honey, handled from start to finish. www.thehoneycentre.com
Olives
Mahurangi Olives
108 Lawrie Rd, Warkworth
Mahurangi Olives invites you to join a discovery journey exploring the olive grove, learning about harvesting methods and all that happens to olives from tree to bottle. Walk among mature olive trees and see how their boutique operation delivers truly artisan and award winning extra virgin olive oil. Walking through the grove you’ll learn how to distinguish different olives by colour and aroma. Become an expert! They will show you exactly how they harvest, what tools they use, and give you a demonstration. Taste how different varieties of olives produce different types of oil, from peppery spice to classic, grassy flavours. www.mahurangiolives.co.nz
Matakana Co-operative
Matakana Extra Virgin Olive Oil is locally grown, harvested and pressed to bring to your table a 100% natural olive oil. Cold pressed and produced to the highest standard with a distinctive flavour and character that comes from their single press Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Their olives are grown across the Matakana area and this gives Matakana Extra Virgin Olive Oil its distinctive flavour unique to olives from Matakana. The groves of our cooperative are lovingly tended, with the fruit picked at the optimum stage and sent to press the same day to ensure maximum quality before being blended into our award winning extra virgin olive oils. You can taste this olive oil at the Saturday morning Matakana Farmers Markets. www.matakanaolivecoop.co.nz
Cheese
Whangaripo Buffalo Cheese
1158 Whangaripo Valley Rd, Wellsford
A fascinating world of water buffalo, quietly hidden away in the lush Whangaripo Valley. With their quirky natures these large Bubalus bubalis lovelies are the source of the buffalo cheese business. The buffalo are kept happy and supply beautiful white milk for cheese making. Things are kept simple with no sprays or chemicals used on the farm. Their produce can be sampled and purchased at various markets including Matakana. www.whangaripobuffalo.co.nz
Puhoi Valley Cheese
275 Ahuroa Rd, Puhoi
At Puhoi Valley the food reflects their belief that food made with care, to taste good, feeds the body and lifts our spirits. Wherever possible product is sourced locally, from the valley, from the region and from New Zealand. While the outcomes of their labours are deliciously indulgent, with interesting and unique tastes and textures, they use simple ingredients as their starting point, always. Like milk, cream and fruit. The factory, nestled in the upper reaches of the picturesque Puhoi Valley, was originally a goat farm. In 1983 a small manufacturing plant was built to convert goats’ milk into ice cream powder and camembert. It wasn’t long before the factory diversified into making cheese from cows’ milk and broadened the product range to include feta. The Puhoi Valley Cheese Company has expanded to now bring premium cheeses to all New Zealanders including camembert, brie, feta, blue and other European products such as ricotta, crème fraiche and mascarpone. You can sample and purchase their products at the Saturday Matakana Farmers Market. www.puhoivalley.co.nz
