" If I had a little spare time on a visit to Auckland, I would hire a car and head north for a couple of hours on Highway One. ...Ransom Wines and Brick Bay have cutting-edge architect-designed tasting and eating areas, plus beautiful lines of well-manicured vines with traditional rose bushes standing as sentinels at the ends.  Not to mention a good drop.  For my money, the most consistently drinkable is the Pinot Gris, but Shiraz, also known as Syrah, is becoming established and making strides as the best red variety ahead of the older Pinot Noir".

Tim Heald

Country Life International Magazine

Summer 2010

"...the Sunday we went we were lucky to get a table.  And that's how we continued to feel; lucky!  It was a beautiful, refreshing and happy Sunday we spent enjoying the wine, food and atmosphere of this out-of-town but not-too-far Matakana winery."

Express Magazine

July 2010

" Thank you for a lovely lunch yesterday.  Our guests thoroughly enjoyed it, as I am sure you could see.  We timed our arrival well so we received wonderful personal attention from you."

Carol Lloyd

June 2010

"Thanks for shipping out (the wine) so quickly!  Ransom makes some of our favourite wines in the Matakana area.  Last time we were at the winery we had a great time just sitting on the patio, sipping wine with a nice cheese and meat platter.  We're looking forward to stopping by again sometime soon."

Paul Mashouf

November 2009

"Thank you for the info and tastes at Ransom, in our view, the best winery in Northland.....and you got Amber hooked on your Barrique Chardonnay which is a Chardonnay miracle."

Kevin Lynch

Native Food & Wine

November 2009

" Ransom Wines is highly acclaimed for the elegance and finesse of its Bordeaux blends and for the great food and wine experience in its wine bar:"

Australian Gourmet Traveller

June 2009

" To miss Ransom Wines is to miss out on a real gem.  They make a great range of wines.  The cellar door is part of an architect-designed café complex complete with rural views that reach way beyond the vineyards in the foreground.  Allow time to sit and enjoy a platter from the Ransom kitchen made with local ingredients carefully selected to match the wines you are tasting.  Food is a critical part of the Ransom experience.

Cuisine Wine Country Magazine

2009

" Matakana, these days, is a destination for gourmands ... Few of the wineries are better than one of the district's outlier vineyards, Ransom Winery, where food is served and wine is sold in a building, designed by ASC Architects, that looks over rows of grapevines to farmland stretching to the west."

Urbis Magazine

Issue 49

" I would just like to say congratulations and thank you for the wonderful afternoon that my husband and I had at your vineyard several weeks back.  We had never ventured to Ransom before, and are now wondering how that happened and all the fabulous lunches we have missed out on!  Your building is amazing, the setting idyllic, the food scrumptious and the wine delicious.  Congratulations, you show real passion for what you do.  You are now top on our list of dining recommendations for those in the area and we look forward to returning back ourselves"

Juliet Kirk

January 2009

" Another winery to watch is Matakana based Ransom Wines.... This family-owned and run winery is very futuristic in its design and produces wines from classic French grape varieties.  The food and wine match at this winery is worth the drive alone.  The wines are very good..."

Jim McMahon, Australian Wine Writer

National Liquor News

April 2007

" Ransom's small winery and wine bar is a modern, stylish affair with pleasant rural views across their own vineyards to the distant hills.  I like all the current release wines, particularly a rich mouth-filling chardonnay and succulent Clos de Valerie pinot gris."

Bob Campbell, Wine Writer

Gourmet Traveller Wine Magazine, Feb March 2006

" One of the most delightful places to visit is Ransom Wines, nestled among the vines in Valerie Close, 3 kilometers south of Warkworth off State Highway 1....the Wine Taster's Platter is a delicious selection of spreads, cured meats and roasted or marinated vegetables."

Sue Courtney, Wine Writer

Rodney Times, March 2006

“ Ransom’s lunch platters, heavily freighted with locally produced cheeses and seasonal vegetables are exceptional.”
Metro June 2004

“ We were delighted with the beautifully presented roast vegetables, cheeses, marinated olives, capers, salami, spiced sausage which emerged from the kitchen – all to be spread, stacked and smeared on to crusty French bread. Delicious.”
NZ Herald Canvas January 2004

“The welcoming new winery building with views over vine-lined, northern slopes makes Ransom Wines a must-stop for seekers of interesting lunches in peaceful surroundings. The platters are perfection.”
North & South Magazine November 2003