Villa Maria Estates, Wine estate in Manukau, Auckland, New Zealand
Villa Maria Estates is a wine company operating vineyards across multiple New Zealand regions, namely Marlborough, Hawke's Bay, Gisborne, and Auckland. The facility at 118 Montgomerie Road in Manukau processes and offers tastings of wines produced from these diverse growing areas.
George Fistonich founded Villa Maria in 1961 by leasing a 5-hectare plot on Kirkbride Road in Mangere, Auckland, from his parents. The company later moved to a larger site on Montgomerie Road in the same suburb. In 2000 Fistonich bought the quarried volcanic site Waitomokia / Mount Gabriel, where vineyard and packaging facilities opened in 2005. Indevin acquired the company in 2021.
Villa Maria's name comes from the Spanish for "Mary's villa". Its wines are grouped into named tiers: Ngakirikiri, Reserve, Single Vineyard, Platinum Selection, Cellar Selection and Private Bin. The company also owns Vidal, Esk Valley, Thornbury, Riverstone, Left Field, Kidnapper Cliffs and Te Awa, each with its own tiers; Esk Valley's The Terraces is sold en primeur and made only in selected vintages.
The facility is located at 118 Montgomerie Road in Manukau and welcomes visitors for guided tours and wine tastings. You can explore the premises and sample wines directly from their collection across the different regions.
In 2000 George Fistonich bought Waitomokia / Mount Gabriel, a quarried volcanic site in Māngere near the original Kirkbride Road vineyard. The vineyard and packaging facilities opened there in 2005, and the site now hosts the Auckland production base.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 94,091 contributors worldwide.