Mr & Mrs Smith

For a vineyard, cellar door, tasting room and restaurant in one, make for Tirohana Estate (www.tirohanaestate.com), a boutique winery in Martinborough. Tirohana Cellars serves up casual and fine dining, with a cosy indoor space and outdoor terraces overlooking the vines. It's open on  Saturdays only in winter, when the NZ$55 three-course set menu includes comfort food such as salmon fish cakes, oven-poached fish and apple strudel. At Martinborough's Alana Estate (www.alana.co.nz), choose to eat in its dining room, courtyard or barrel room, where you can team four wine varietals (pinot noir, chardonnay, riesling and sauvignon blanc) with tasty matching dishes. Two other rated local wineries in town are Palliser Estate (+64 6 306 9019; www.palliser.co.nz) and Ata Rangi (+64 6 306 9570; www.atarangi.co.nz).

On the shores of Lake Onoke, the Lake Ferry Hotel (www.lakeferryhotel.co.nz) offers casual lunches and dinners, as well as all-day snacks, at its restaurant with a view. Strong on seafood, such as whitebait fritters, and local Martinborough beer and wine.

With a mind-boggling 16,000 to 20,000 lambs born in spring, and sheep-shearing in autumn, it's worth taking a 4WD tour of the hotel's own farm. Historical local breeds include Romney and Texel sheep, mixed with Angus and Simmental beef cattle, plus you'll see sheep dogs in action. The hotel's 5,500-acre grounds include a gorgeous mix of forests, lakes, rivers, rolling pasture and striking coastline, ideal for hiking or mountain biking (the hotel provides push bikes for guests). The lodge can also arrange a bunch of more full-on activities: horse riding through the farm to the coast, ATV quad biking, clay target shooting, jet boating on the Ruamahunga River near Lake Onoke, archery, and surfcasting (a kind of fishing apparently; no surf board needed). If you're feeling a tad lazy, you can just slope off for a game of petanque or crochet  in the hotel's gardens, with a nice glass of white in hand. Or make a beeline for the swimming pool or spa. Fancy exploring further afield? To eyeball black-sand beaches and pounding surf near Wharekauhau, drive the old 1844 stock route along the nearby coastline, originally used to transport sheep and cattle. It's a rugged, other-worldly landscape of cliffs, rocks and mountains, taking in curving Palliser Bay. Further south, take a trip to local landmark the Cape Palliser lighthouse and its neighbouring seal colony, where brown seals bask. If you're in need of refreshment after all that worthy sightseeing, there are 29 boutique wineries around the rural village of Martinborough, a hot spot for wine in the region.

March Don't miss the famous Golden Shears competition (www.goldenshears.co.nz), for three days of sheep-shearing skills. March Celebrate the start of the grape harvest at the Wairarapa Harvest Festival (www.wairarapawines.co.nz), with premium local wines and produce, as well as music and fun. November The Toast Martinborough Wine, Food & Music Festival (www.toastmartinborough.co.nz) is an annual excuse for a tipple, should you need one. Book ahead as it's popular with connoisseurs and tourists alike.