The short answer
Buy as many bottles as you like, then leave them at the cellar door. We collect them from the winery and have them ready for you at our Roys Hill base when you bring the bikes back. It's free with every On Yer Bike hire.
No bottles rattling around a basket. No backpack full of glass. No trying to work out how six bottles of Syrah fit on a bike.
How the wine collection service works
It takes four steps, and you only have to remember one time: 3pm.
- Ride, taste, buy. Work your way around the cellar doors in the Gimblett Gravels and Bridge Pa Triangle Wine Districts and buy whatever you like.
- Leave it at the cellar door. Let them know you're riding with On Yer Bike, and your bottles stay put.
- Buy before 3pm. Anything bought before 3pm goes on our collection run.
- Pick it up at base between 4pm and 5pm. Your wine is waiting when you return the bikes. All hires finish at 5pm, so it's one stop: bikes back, bottles in the car, done.
There's no charge for any of this. You pay for the bike hire, and the wine collection comes with it.
Why not just pop it in the basket?
You could. Nearly every bike comes with a basket. But a few bottles change the day more than you'd think.
- Weight up front. A full bottle weighs well over a kilo. Three or four in a front basket make the bike steer heavier and feel less settled.
- Glass on a cycle trail. One wobble at a gate or a driveway and your best purchase of the day is a puddle.
- Heat. A bottle sitting in a basket through a warm Hawke's Bay afternoon isn't doing the wine any favours.
- Freedom to keep buying. When the basket isn't the limit, you can buy the bottle you actually want at the third winery, not just the one that still fits.
The basket is for jackets, sunscreen and the cheese you couldn't resist. Leave the wine to us.
Getting it home after the day
Once your wine is waiting at our base, the last leg depends on how you're travelling.
Driving. Most of our riders drive to us, so the bottles go straight into the boot. Sort out your designated driver before the first tasting, not after the fourth. Our guide to how much you're really drinking on a wine tasting day is worth a read.
By taxi. Taxis from Hastings, Havelock North and Napier all come out to Roys Hill. Your wine rides back with you. For groups of five or more, ask for a minivan taxi.
Flying home. Wine travels best wrapped well in checked luggage. Check your airline's rules before you pack, and if you're heading overseas, check your home country's duty-free allowance before you buy a case.
Shipping. Bought more than you can take? Ask the cellar door whether they can send it on for you.