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Matakana comes of age
It wasn’t so long ago that Matakana was just a sleepy, blink-and-miss-it waypoint on the road north from Auckland, a minor landmark for holidaymakers headed for Pakiri Beach or the marine reserve at Leigh. The nearby Morris & James pottery, near an old clay pit on the banks of the Matakana River, began pulling visitors during the 1980s. But it’s only over the last ten years that this small town has begun to flex its muscle as the centre of what is now dubbed Matakana wine country, a destination in itself for weekenders coming up from Auckland. Which brings me to Matakana on a Saturday in early summer, on the hunt for the unique and quirky amongst a welter of attractions. The Saturday morning farmers’ market is as good a starting point as any for the weekend visitor. Set up in a semi-permanent, rustic wood-and-canvas site, it’s not quite the sun-umbrella and plastic table affair that might have sprung to mind earlier – this is a sophisticated operation, and despite my catching it on an unusually overcast morning it was still crowded with punters taking a look at local breads, vegetables, cooking oils and the obligatory bottles of local wine. There’s good buying around for gourmets keen to sample regional flavours from boutique producers, at the requisite prices. Strolling across from the market, artlovers should make time to take in the sights at Piece Gallery, housed in a light, airy heritage building beside the river and the bridge north. We were able to pick out some stunning pieces of glass and earthenware works, but our eyes were caught most of all by David Thomas’ unusual woven artworks – ketes made from translucent archival film glowing mesmerisingly on lightboxes. The gallery is an intriguing part of the developing village centre, which has been developed specifically with heritage feel and style in mind; everything is deliberately on a scale in keeping with the surroundings, and an iron water race runs down the long stairs that lead down from the crossroads, suggestive of the flour mill and sawmill that once stood on the site. You can still look across from the new boutique cinema and down along the river to the old steamship landing – a bend in the waterway where steamships once stopped to collect the local produce that’s now drawing more and more traffic up the Leigh highway. You could definitely do worse on a Saturday afternoon than set yourself up by the riverside, with a bottle of wine and fresh local cheese and bread. Ah yes, the wine. Visitors to Matakana are spoilt for choice when it comes to the vintner’s handiwork – you find yourself tripping over somebody’s vineyard at every turn. They range from the small to the sprawling, including a few very exclusive operations such as Takatu Wines, which offers winery tours strictly by appointment and provides high-end luxury accommodation to match boutique vintages from special low-yield vines. I couldn’t resist sampling a couple of lesser-known, interesting spots on the way north towards Leigh. Taking a small detour off onto the Tawharanui road brings you past Omaha Bay Vineyard, which offers a panoramic view to the north from its petite winery building, along with cellar door sales and wine-tasting on offer each weekend. It isn’t until a little later though that I chance across something truly, refreshingly different on the road towards Snells Beach and Sandspit. Having spotted the sign for Brick Bay Wines, turn off the main road and you’re treated to a view over a picturesque small valley – at the bottom of which nestles a lake and a gleaming glass wine-tasting building, seemingly floating over the lake’s edge. The building is cantilevered over a stream which has been dammed to form that tranquil lake on one side and a gorgeous, stone-filled watercourse cascading down on the other. With its steel, glass and bold coloured highlights, the design is well in tune with contemporary architecture; a testament to what can be gained for a firm with the chutzpah to go beyond the usual Mediterranean winery aesthetic. The pleasures of the location – and, naturally, the wines - are enhanced further still by a sculpture trail that meanders down beside the stream below the winery building. There’s something for everyone here, making Brick Bay an utterly worthwhile diversion along the Matakana wine trail. I wind up for the day at one more stop you really shouldn’t miss - the Leigh Sawmill Café. Another inventive reuse of a heritage location, it’s become popular in recent years as a venue for live gigs. Even on a casual visit, you can sense the atmosphere contributes significantly to the occasion. The bar is festooned with dynamos, equipment and belt-driven machinery from its industrial days, with chandeliers shining down onto wooden furnishings. It would be cheesy affectation in Auckland or Wellington, but here the rustic feel is authentic, and exciting. Elegant seating areas flow outside from the main building, essential on summer days, and no doubt a treasure on those late summer evening when the band’s just warming up. The other unique attraction here is the beer, brewed onsite in a micro-brewery producing four different brews – Blade Pilsener, the lighter Leigh Pale Ale, Thornycroft dark ale and the citrus-infused Crystal wheat beer – which can be had in packs to take home, as well as on tap. It would be easy to countenance a trip up to this outfit for the right concert alone, but if you’re sampling Matakana’s other treasures, the Sawmill Café is the perfect way to cap off a day up north. It might be closer to Auckland than ever, but Matakana still has its own fresh, unique treasures. To the seeker goes the spoils… 
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