A new attraction that opened recently in Auckland is being described as the city’s only wine-dedicated tourist drawcard. 

The Big Picture – already operating successfully in Cromwell and in Hawke’s Bay is now on the site of the Auckland Fish Market. The Big Picture is the brainchild of multi-skilled wine personality, Phil Parker. (Pictured).

He describes the venue as a ‘multi-media and multi-sensory adventure’ designed for wine experts and enthusiastic novices alike. It takes visitors through four separate elements.

An aroma room (Pictured, below) features a hands-on sensory discovery of the aromas found in wines and leads people to recognise and describe wine character, varieties and style.

A  wine tasting auditorium allows visitors to sample a flight of six selected wines while a 24-minute spectacular audiovisual display takes them soaring across the spectacular landscape and vineyards that are home to those six wines.

Each wine is presented in turn by its respective winemaker.

A wine bar and café at the venue gives the opportunity for visitors to enjoy a full range of local wines along with seafood tapas sourced fresh each morning from the fish market.

And finally a ‘cellar door’ provides a choice of products from local wineries.

Phil Parker says he hopes visitors will be inspired to visit local wineries in person, but until they do The Big Picture can make up wine selections for customers to take with them or arrange for their selection to be shipped home. 

(Pictured: Prime Minister John Key at the official opening in Auckland).

(Further information: www.bigpicturewine.com).