Welcome to Wine Island

Wine lovers get into the groove at the Peninsula Estate, Oneroa.

There can no longer be any doubt about Waiheke's right to label itself "the island of wine". Mother Nature was surely giving her seal of approval to the title when she marked the annual Waiheke Island Wine Festival last weekend by turning the island's waters into claret.

And, as the festival also demonstrated, the number of vineyards just keeps on growing - more than 40 already - and even those no one has heard of produce fine wine.

For instance, a couple of weeks ago I bumped into Brian Walker, formerly the island's Four Square operator, but these days proprietor of Onetangi Beachfront Apartments, and he produced an unlabelled bottle from a small block of syrah grapes he planted a few years ago. It was superb.

No offence Brian, but when even the local grocer is producing classy wine then something unusual is going on. And it has happened so quickly.

It's only 27 years since Kim and Jeanette Goldwater started it all by sailing over from Auckland at the weekends to cultivate grapes on a block of land at Putiki Bay.

In those days, the island was a quaint little backwater of jerry-built shacks, largely populated by hirsute eccentrics, the land was mostly covered in scrub or sheep, and there were no amenities.

Now it is Auckland's hottest suburb, with million-dollar homes sprouting everywhere, the eccentrics are displaced by what Gulf News, the island's feisty newspaper, calls "Pajero Man", grapes are spreading across the landscape and even latte aficionados should be happy with the cafe scene.

That image helped the weekend wine festival to lure about 4500 bon vivants to enjoy the combination of island wines with excellent food, music from the likes of Goldenhorse, Don McGlashan, Mermaids, One Finger Snap and Greg Johnson and, of course, the romance of an island setting.

To Waiheke oldtimers it's a bit of a culture-shock. Surveying the hundreds of happy festival-goers at Goldwater Estate last weekend - drinking, eating, listening and enjoying the view - Kim Goldwater said it wasn't what he expected when he first dug into the salty soil.

"Good lord, no. Our intention when we started was to make a little bit of decent wine for ourselves and our friends and it just got out of hand.

"Ourselves and Stonyridge became successful, the world beat a path to our door and then everybody else came along and thought well, if they can do it, so can we."

Not that Kim minds. Goldwater wines now sell in 26 countries, and the booming wine industry he spawned has made Waiheke a more comfortable place to live. "I think it's fantastic."

There must be question marks over whether all the vineyards will be able to match the standards set by Goldwater and Stonyridge, or whether growers can achieve an economic return on the high prices being paid for land, but Waiheke is already one of the most spectacular wine areas in, well, the world.

Indeed, if you missed this year's festival and don't want to wait for the next, it's well worth doing your own wine tour.

About a dozen wineries are open for visitors and the island has at least six wine tour operators, not to mention taxis and rental car firms.

Waiheke has some fabulous accommodation and a growing number of good restaurants. And, as a bonus, whatever route you take can't help but involve glorious seascapes and fantastic beaches.

If you're especially lucky, you may even spot some of that claret-coloured algal bloom in the sea ... but I wouldn't suggest drinking it. Stick to the wine.

* Jim Eagles was a guest of Waiheke Island Wine Festival.