The Prinsy’s Tours Team
We pride ourselves on having an exceptional, passionate team who work together and share new learnings so that everyone delivers a first-rate experience. Our team truly are our greatest asset. Each team member adds their own flavour, but the essence and quality remains the same.
Regardless of who guides your winery tour this time around, you’ll be sure to learn our mantra: “The only good wine is the one you like!”.
The Prinsy's Tours team hard at work
Deidre (the well-aged, mellow Chardonnay)
Deidre has done a bit of everything — journalism, hospitality, farming, and now sharing Hawke’s Bay’s best cellar doors with visitors from near and far. With years of experience working with people in all sorts of roles, she brings a relaxed confidence to every tour and a genuine love for the stories, flavours and personalities that make the region special.
What she enjoys most? Watching a group of strangers slowly warm to each other as the day rolls on — the way a good wine opens up — until everyone’s chatting like old friends. Her guiding style is laid back and intuitive; she doesn’t bombard you with information, but gently tunes in, becoming the easy bridge between the experience you’re hoping to have and the moments the cellar doors organically create. No preconceptions, no pressure — just a day that naturally unfolds.
Polite, warm, and wonderfully steady, Deidre is a big fan of a buttery Chardonnay, and there’s a bit of that in her too. A mellow richness, a smooth finish, and the kind of guiding presence that lets the fruit — the people, the place, the cellar doors — do the talking.
If Deidre were a wine, she’d be a well-aged Chardonnay: quietly confident, subtle, and the sort of drop you’re always happy to spend an afternoon with.
Amanda (the lively Rosé)
Amanda’s a woman of many hats — and she wears each one with a grin.
Her background is a mix of fascinating contrasts: studies in New Zealand history at Uni, over 15 years helping people unwind through massage therapy, and a lifetime spent exploring every corner of Aotearoa. She even speaks a little German — handy when chatting with visitors or ordering a Roséwein or two.
Being so well-travelled across Aotearoa she brings a wealth of kiwi knowledge to her tours, and if there’s a hidden spot she hasn’t explored yet, she’ll be all ears for your stories.
Her taste in wine leans serious — big, bold reds and decadent dessert drops — but her personality? Think of a little-bit-silly rosé with a good hint of fun.
Amanda brings a playful spirit to every tour, blending local knowledge with plenty of laughs and a good dose of self-mockery — the kind that even earned her a legendary roasting in her Husband's wedding speech.
If Amanda were a wine, she’d be a rosé: bright, charming, and always the life of the tasting.
Grant (the fresh Rosé)
Diverse, fresh and elegant, Grant is the epitome of a typical Hawke's Bay Rosé.
A member of the Prinsy’s family for several years now, Grant is distinguishable by his Fedora hat purchased during a wine tasting holiday in Spain a number of years ago. That hat has almost as many stories as Grant, which he will gladly share during your wine tour.
Having worked for one of New Zealand’s largest wine producers, Grant has an easy knowledge of Hawke's Bay and New Zealand wines. A knowledge happily gained through not just sampling, but also bending the ear of some of our best local winemakers.
Carlos (the Hawke's Bay blend)
After 42 years in New Zealand and a lifetime in horticulture, Carlos knows the land like few others do.
For decades he’s grown some of Hawke’s Bay’s finest organic apples, pears and plums — the kind that find their way to both local fruit bowls and export markets around the world. Now in “semi-retirement,” he’s swapped the orchard rows for the open road, bringing that same grounded calm into every tour.
A geologist by training (many moons ago), he has a natural feel for the soils and landscapes that shape the wines in your glass. He’s a real generalist when it comes to wine choice — Hawke’s Bay is the wine capital for a reason, after all — but if pressed, he’ll happily point you toward a full-bodied Bordeaux-style blend. The kind where the fruit does the talking: smooth, generous, beautifully simple in the best possible way.
Maybe that’s fitting. Carlos is a blend himself — an American with a Kiwi wife, blended families, dual-citizen kids, and a love of meeting people from all over. When he’s not guiding, he and his wife (also in the tour biz) are planning their next travel adventure and gearing up for more seasons on the road together.
If Carlos were a wine, he’d be a Hawke’s Bay blend — relaxed, welcoming, and so effortlessly enjoyable that you barely notice the skill behind it.
Hamish Prins
(the boss Chardonnay)
Hamish has had his gumboots firmly on farm soil since he was a teenager, and hasn’t looked back. Years of living the rural life has left him with an in-depth knowledge of agriculture, horticulture and viticulture, as well as extensive knowledge of the geography and rich history of Hawke’s Bay.
Put simply, he can shear a sheep almost as quickly as he can knock the top off a bottle of bubbles with a saber sword in the art of sabrage.
The years spent driving across the region and making solid connections means Hamish has access to a treasure trove of undiscovered hidden gems and places where he can get you behind the scenes.
As a wine Hamish is the unequivocal Chardonnay – relaxed and straight talking, with the occasional ability to hit you over the head with a plank of French oak, he punches well above his weight.
Diane Prins
(mother Viognier)
Di is the camp mother and coordinator behind the Prinsy’s experience, scheduling tour bookings, keeping everyone in line and making sure they’re all dressed for the occasion.
Lucky guests who get to visit the Prinsy’s homestead and gardens on their excursion are treated to the fruits of her labour – turning fresh produce from the orchard or fields into tasty morsels, using the recipes she’s gathered and adapted over the years in the farm kitchen.
Like a Viognier – arguably the mother of all wines – Di is well rounded, balanced and one only needs to stroll the Prinsy’s garden to appreciate her bouquet.
Our History
On a sunny day in October 2003, after an eventful rural hunting and fishing tour, our German guests had the insightful thirst for a drop of wine at the end of the day. “What a good idea!”.
So gradually a winery stop was introduced into the Prinsy’s Rural Experience, then one winery became two, then three made a decent half day wine tour…
Next thing, some other clever guests said “Oh, why don’t we make a day of it and include lunch!”. The full day wine tour was born.
It’s fair to say the transport has come a long way as well. Originally the air conditioning in the first Prinsy’s van was ‘window operated’, there were bench seats with no headrests… a classic rural experience.
Our next van was luxury – it even had carpet, over the shoulder seat belts and real air conditioning!
These days the Prinsy’s fleet has risen to meet the desires of our discerning guests on exclusive wine tours and transfers, as expectations for quality have risen and travellers become more sophisticated, with a mix of quality vans and luxury European SUVs.
From jumping up and down when our first wine tour booking phoned in, to today being across numerous booking platforms, we’re thoroughly enjoying the ride. Following steady growth, the essence of Prinsy’s Tours remains ever humble, and committed to quality, bespoke small group tours and transfers that exceed our guests’ expectations.
In 2017 & 2018 we were delighted to win the Hawke’s Bay Tourism Visitor Experience Award (in the small business category), be runners up for the Supreme Award and in 2018 we were also runner up for the Essence of Hawke’s Bay Award.
We absolutely love what we do, and are incredibly proud of the reputation Prinsy's team has gained and maintained to the present day.
We very much look forward to hosting you!
From humble family beginnings...
Why We Love Hawke’s Bay
There’s no other region in the country that has the tempered climate and sunshine hours Hawke’s Bay experiences, the variance in soil structures in one area, and the life-giving aquifer that feeds our region from under the earth.
As a tour operator we believe the local industry succeeds with the ‘One team, one dream, Hawke’s Bay’ attitude. We love supporting other tourism operators and community groups – we’re full of recommendations on other places you can enjoy when you’re here so be sure to ask!
Every day we believe we’re awfully lucky to live in Hawke’s Bay – where else can you drive in or fly through and you can see everything growing in abundance? Apples, stone-fruit, kiwifruit, veggies – the richness of produce can be seen everywhere year round.
Committed to Sustainability
Through the Tourism Industry Aotearoa we have joined the initiative to drive every tourism business in New Zealand to be sustainable by 2025, and Prinsy’s Tours is committed to living by this every day.
The 14 Tourism Sustainability Commitments are split into four key areas:
1. Economic – achieving economically sustainable tourism
2. Visitor – achieving visitor sustainability
3. Host Community – achieving sustainable host communities
4. Environment – achieving environmentally sustainable tourism
We have a genuine belief that our industry can help to shape a sustainable future for New Zealand, allowing our industry, people and environment to thrive. Naturally this will pay off because it means we can continue to do what we love – showing our beautiful country off to the rest of the world.
Some of the environmental efforts we make every day include:
- Joining in on tree planting days to repopulate our region with native flora and fauna
- Keeping our vehicles well serviced to ensure their efficient running
- When hosting cruise ship groups at our homestead we have a zero plastic philosophy and compost all food scraps
- No single use crockery or utensils are ever used on a Prinsy’s tour
- Following and sharing the Tiaki Promise to care for New Zealand’s people and place
We invite you to join us on a wine tour, rural tour or something more exclusive and hear our first-hand stories about our environment and vibrant region. As well as exceeding guests’ expectations, we pride ourselves on leaving only footprints.
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