Brick Bay, at 17 Arabella Lane in Snells Beach near Matakana, is a boutique vineyard, sculpture destination and restaurant rolled into one coastal property. Its sustainably accredited 4.5-hectare vineyard, planted in 1995, produces just 1,000–1,500 cases a year — Pinot Gris, Chardonnay and Bordeaux red varieties including the rare Petit Verdot — made with West Brook Winery through minimal intervention so each wine speaks of the land and season it came from.
Dining happens in The Glass House, a restaurant cantilevered over the property's own lake, serving fresh, seasonal, farm-to-table New Zealand cuisine. Its Venison Carpaccio was named among Auckland's Top 100 Iconic Eats for 2026 — and because the menu is seasonal, it won't be around forever.
Outdoors, the renowned Sculpture Trail winds through native bush and vineyard past the largest selection of outdoor sculptures for sale in New Zealand. Add self-guided wine tastings, a shop of estate wines and small sculptures, group functions, corporate days, exclusive evening hire and Winter Series dinner events, and it's easy to spend a whole day. Open 7 days: Mon–Fri 10am–4pm, Sat 10am–9pm, Sun 10am–5pm.
Some places you visit for an hour; Brick Bay is one you plan a day around. At 17 Arabella Lane in Snells Beach, a short drive from Matakana village, a working vineyard folds together three things New Zealand does beautifully — small-batch wine, contemporary outdoor art and produce-driven food — on a single coastal property above Kawau Bay. It is open seven days: 10am to 4pm Monday to Friday, 10am to 9pm on Saturdays and 10am to 5pm on Sundays, which leaves room for everything from a long weekday lunch to a twilight Saturday visit.
The name is literal: the clay loam beneath the vines was once dug to make bricks. Those same slopes now ripen grapes instead. Facing north-east over the water and fanned by warm, humid sea breezes from Kawau Bay, the 4.5-hectare vineyard was planted in 1995 and produced its first vintage in 1998. It is sustainably accredited and dry-farmed, letting established vines push deep roots through the soil in search of minerals and trace elements — the source, the team says, of the fruit's complex, vibrant flavours. Every vine is hand-tended through the year, from shoot selection to leaf plucking and bunch thinning, and a small team handpicks each bunch at harvest.
The varieties are chosen to suit the site: Pinot Gris and Chardonnay in the whites, and the Bordeaux reds of Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Malbec and the rare Petit Verdot. Production stays deliberately small — 1,000 to 1,500 cases a year — with winemaking in partnership with West Brook Winery and winemaker James Rowan. Minimal intervention and gentle handling are the approach, producing restrained, elegant wines intended to taste of the landscape and the season they came from.
The Glass House Kitchen is Brick Bay's dining room, cantilevered over a shimmering lake on the property. The kitchen cooks contemporary New Zealand cuisine — fresh, vibrant, seasonal plates that lean farm-to-table — and the room is as suited to a casual lunch as it is to a special-occasion table. Come hungry and curious: the menu changes with the seasons rather than the other way around.
The dish to know is the Venison Carpaccio, recognised among Auckland's Top 100 Iconic Eats for 2026. Its future is deliberately finite — a seasonal menu means nobody knows quite when it will disappear — so the kitchen's advice is simple: if it's on the board when you visit, order it.
Beyond the vines, the renowned Sculpture Trail threads native bush and vineyard paths past the largest selection of outdoor sculptures for sale in New Zealand. It is a gallery without walls: the exhibition changes, so second and third visits genuinely see new things, and the walk itself — through native bush and working vine rows — is half the point. Each visit promises new discoveries, which is exactly what keeps locals coming back.
The property's design ambitions reach beyond the trail, too. The annual Brick Bay Folly programme has taken Gold at the Best Design Awards in both 2024 and 2025, and the 2026 Folly has been named a finalist — a possible three-in-a-row.
Wine tastings run every day on a self-guided basis, with detailed tasting notes so you can wander at your own pace; when one of the wine experts is free, they will happily guide a personalised tasting. Tastings start at $10 per person, and one fee is waived for every bottle purchased — an easy nudge towards taking a bottle home. The shop covers the rest: limited-release wines shipped New Zealand-wide (international orders go through a partner), small sculptures for collectors, and gift vouchers.
Groups are well looked after, from group functions and corporate days to exclusive evening hire and school visits. Saturdays run late, with the doors open until 9pm, and Winter Series dinner events appear on the calendar through the colder months. Book online before you come, wear comfortable shoes for the trail, and give yourself more time than you think you need — between the lake, the last sculpture and one more glass, the afternoon goes quickly.