Mixing business with pleasure

Media release 17 August 2007

Mixing business with pleasure

Art, fine food, fine wine and commerce do mix at Cable Bay Vineyards on Waiheke Island.

Just 35 minutes by ferry, or seven minutes by helicopter, from downtown, Auckland’s latest meeting venue includes a private meeting/dining room developed specifically for business, as well as winery, restaurant, wine bar and tasting room.

Whether you’re holding a retreat, strategy meeting, team building or entertaining customers, Cable Bay is built for inspiration.

“Our small and purpose-built winery is in an idyllic setting that was made to be shared,” says managing director and winemaker Neill Culley. “Our aim is to deliver an uplifting and enduring experience in a facility designed and built around the theme of discovery.”

The Motukaha Room has been developed as a state-of-the-art boardroom and dining room, with inspirational bush and sea views. With every facility needed for a meeting or seminar, it can seat up to 30 people.

“One of the advantages of the Motukaha Room is that it can be completely self-contained for businesses needing privacy, while still providing picturesque views to stimulate inspiration,” says Culley.

“Its high-speed wireless connection is firewalled from the Cable Bay system, ensuring all information remains confidential, it has its own outdoor deck accessible at all times, and it also has a private entrance.”

Menus for lunch, dinner and morning and afternoon tea can be customised to meet individual needs and the room can also be configured as a private dining room.

The Cable Bay Vineyards restaurant can host larger functions, or smaller individual parties. It seats up to 75 people inside and, weather permitting, 35 in the alfresco courtyard.

Food is prepared by a team led by Will Thorpe, who perfected his craft while working for celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay. The food is accompanied by an extensive wine list that features not only Cable Bay’s own wines, but also the best that New Zealand - and the rest of the world - has to offer.

One of the advantages of the complex is its flexibility to meet a range of business needs. It also includes a tasting room and a wine bar, which can both operate as standalone areas, or be incorporated into the wider complex for large functions.

Next month the options expand even further when the winery itself opens, offering the possibility of private tours.

Recognising that food, wine and inspiration are best experienced in a pleasing environment, Cable Bay makes the most of not only the views, but of Waiheke Island’s reputation for creativity.

The venue is rich with an extensive art collection, featuring expressive sculptures and paintings by New Zealand artists chosen by Cable Bay shareholder John Gow. It includes works by Judy Millar, Max Gimblett, Allen Maddox and more.

“Wine, food, art and business are all subjects that Cable Bay Vineyards takes very seriously,” says Culley. “As a result we offer a venue with a real point of difference for businesses that believe quality delivers results and want to mix business with pleasure.”

ENDS

© Scoop Media