Weekend Winemaker Lunch Series

Weekends are tailor-made for long lunches. Combine the timelessly relaxed lodge setting of Cape Kidnappers and the local New Zealand cuisine of Chef James Honore, with wines perfectly matched to each course by one of the country’s top wine producers, and you have the recipe for an ideal spring day.

This special season of Winemakers Lunches will be both inspirational and convivial!

Chef James Honore will design a unique small six-course shared plate menu each week, with each dish accompanied by a different wine style, introduced by the host winemaker.

House guests of the lodge who are reserved to stay overnight on the Sunday night will have this special lunch included within their tariff. Subject to availability and by prior reservation, food and wine enthusiasts who are not staying at the lodge may book and also enjoy these special wine lunches.

These casual and fun afternoons are sure to be a hit over the Hawke’s Bay spring season!

Phone the lodge on 06 875 1900 to reserve your lunch.

Sunday, 7 November - SOLD OUT - TE MATA WINEMAKERS LUNCH
Head Chef, James Honore teams up with Head Winemaker Phil Brodie, of Hawke’s Bay’s iconic Te Mata Estate, for an exclusive and intimate long lunch. patio. Showcasing local ingredients, including from Cape Kidnappers’ own vegetable garden, this lunch pairs fresh seasonal produce with Te Mata Estate’s world renowned wines. *$50 per person surcharge applies to this event date

Saturday, 20 November BILANCIA WINEMAKERS LUNCH
In production since 1998, Bilancia is a small Hawke's Bay producer of exceptional Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Viognier/Marsanne/Roussanne and Syrah. The word Bilancia (be-larn-cha) means, in Italian, balance, equilibrium and harmony, and Chef James Honore will design the menu with these characteristics front-of-mind. Hosted by winemakers Lorraine Leheny and Warren Gibson, the six courses will be expertly paired to Bilancia wines, including the newly released La Collina, 2019.

Sunday, 28 November ELEPHANT HILL WINEMAKERS LUNCH
With their winery located on the coastal flats of Te Awanga, nearby the entry gate to Cape Kidnappers, and additional vines growing inland at Gimblett, Elephant Hill believe that great wines are hand-made, and where meticulous attention to detail starts in the vineyard. Hand-picking allows selection of the best fruit ensuring wines that are balanced and elegant, and a true expression of the vineyards that they come from. Andreas Weiss together with Elephant Hill’s new winemaker Hugh Crichton will host this special lunch. Combining their wines with the cuisine of James Honore promises a hyper-local culinary experience.

Sunday, 5 December DRY RIVER WINEMAKERS LUNCH
Dry River is a much loved member of the Robertson Lodge family, and each vintage produced is a celebration of nature’s generosity. Chief wine maker Wilco Lam make wines of uncompromising quality, converting the land’s bounty into experiences you can taste. All wines are bottled at an early stage of evolution and reach their potential under a natural cork closure. The wines tend to be slow to evolve in the bottle but as a result of this, are long-lived.