All about Toast!

What’s Toast Martinborough?

Toast Martinborough takes place every third Sunday of November each year in the boutique wine village of Martinborough, South Wairarapa, New Zealand.  An hour and a half drive from Wellington, Toast is a unique one day multi-site event, with 10 vineyard sites participating and offering wonderful wine, food and music choices throughout the day.  When you get here, all you need to do is select your food, wine and music choices, hop on a shuttle (or walk) and enjoy the day.

Toast celebrates its 28th year on Sunday 17 November 2019.  Book your accommodation early and make a weekend of it, as town fills up quickly.

Earlybird tickets are on sale NOW for groups (minimum of 6 people) and from 17 September for general admission tickets.  All tickets on sale through the Toast Martinborough website.

Earlybird tickets for Toast 2019 will be $80 each, plus iticket fees (capped at $12 per transaction) and credit card fees.

General admission tickets will be $90 each and available from 17 September (iticket and c/c fees apply).

When you purchase tickets you’ll be given the option to pay via bank transfer /internet banking OR online eftpos (ASB and COOP bank), OR with credit card (Visa and MasterCard only), and there’s even a layby option.

If you need to purchase a Tranzit return bus ticket from Wellington, Wairarapa or Palmerston North, you’ll be able to do this at the same time as buying your Toast ticket(s).  No matter how many Toast tickets you buy, you’ll be able to organise as many return bus seats as you need from various departure places and times.  Just add what you need to your cart when buying tickets.

See Transport for pick up place, prices and times.

What’s included?

Your festival ticket includes:

    • Wristband entry to Toast Martinborough Wine, Food and Music Festival
    • A tasting glass and lanyard
    • A festival programme
    • Your first Taste of Toast (vintage wines excluded)
    • Access to hop on the free shuttle buses that circulate continuously around the festival circuit
    • Live music from over 20 of NZ’s best live entertainment acts at all festival sites, including in the Town Square.

Festival hours

Toast opens from 9.30am – 7.00pm in The Martinborough Square in the heart of the village.
Participating vineyard sites –  wine sales from 10.30am – 5.00pm

On the Day

When you arrive at Toast, head to The Square in the centre of Martinborough to exchange your ticket for a glass, wristband and programme.  The entry gates open at 9.30am.

If you are travelling on a charter bus, or by car, head to the Rugby Club Grounds on Regent Street for free parking.  We also have an entry tent at the Rugby Ground between 9.30am – 12.30pm, where you can exchange your ticket for all you need at Toast and you don’t need to head to the Square.  There’s a coffee cart, a bank and toilets at the Rugby Ground too.

Festival Money

Once you have exchanged your ticket in The Square, you’ll need to buy Festival Francs so you can purchase wine and food at all the sites.  Only Festival Francs can be used to purchase wine and food. 1 nz dollar = 1 festival franc.

Here’s how it works:

We use a cashless, hands free AWOP wristband payment system at Toast– much like a Snapper Card, but way cooler. Once you’ve exchanged your ticket for a wristband, glass and programme in The Square, head to a bank tent (in The Square, or at any of the festival sites) and load up your wristband with festival francs, paying by cash, credit card or eftpos (Amex and cheques not accepted).

Once you have Festival Francs on your wristband, you can purchase food and drink.  At each point of sale a Toast server will key in the number of the item you are purchasing into their scanner, then swipe your wristband chip deducting that amount from your balance.  At any time you can ask for a balance on your Festival Franc account.  All festival sites have a bank available to top up your wristband with more francs if needed.

Refunds

Here’s the best bit. You can get a cash refund ONLY from the bank in The Square on the day of Toast until 7pm, or online up to 4 weeks after the event – awop.co.nz using the registration number on the back of the wristband chip, you can get your money transferred back on to your card.  So don’t throw away the wristband at the end of the Toast day if you do have francs left!  You’ll need that registration number on the back of the chip to be able to refund your money to your account.

Getting there (and back) safely!

As a responsible host, we recommend you use public transport to get to the festival, or have a designated driver if you’re travelling by car.  Tranzit is Toast’s preferred travel provider, and they can arrange regional transport to and from Toast.  Accommodation is often full well before tickets go on sale and travel bookings fill up fast. Check out the travel and accommodation sections for more details.

The roads around the Square will be closed from 7am – 7pm, except to official Toast vehicles, shuttle buses and residents.

Getting around the vineyards at Toast.

All participating vineyards are within an easy stroll of each other, or just a short ride in one of the many free shuttle buses on the route, eliminating your need to have a vehicle at the festival.  Shuttle buses continuously drive one-way around the Toast circuit, stopping at every site and always travel through the Square.  Your wristband gives you free access to all shuttle buses. The first shuttle leaves The Square at approx 10.20am.

Official Free Parking – public and charter bus.

Please be aware there is no parking available at festival sites or near The Square.  From 9am parking will be available in the Rugby Club grounds, Regent Street Martinborough. If you do bring a vehicle, we encourage you to park at the Rugby Club grounds on Regent Street.  Here there’s an entry tent, a bank and toilets, so you can swap your ticket for a wristband, glass, lanyard and programme and head straight out to the vineyards without having to go through The Square.  It’s a 5 minute walk to the vineyard circuit, or an 8 minute walk to The Square.  If you don’t wish to walk, catch the bus on the corner of Regent and New York St.

Toast Merchandise

Merchandise will be available for sale in The Square at the Information Tent.

Road Closures

The roads around the Square will be closed from 7am – 7pm, except to official Toast vehicles, shuttle buses and residents.

Puruatanga and Hurangarua Roads (the wine mile) and New York Street West will be closed from 10am – 5pm, except for official Toast vehicles, shuttle buses and residents.

Catering

Check out the Programme page on this site to see what was on offer in 2018!   Each festival site offers a variety of dishes from 10.30am to 5.30pm, at varying price points, with gluten-free, dairy-free and vegetarian options.

From 4-7pm food is sold in The Square, using francs or cash.

Free water is available at all festival site bars, along with bottled water for purchase.

Children

Children are welcome at Toast. There is no charge for children under 10 to attend Toast, but they must, of course, be accompanied by an adult/caregiver with a general admission ticket.

Children aged 11 – 17 years of age must be accompanied by a parent/guardian with a ticket. Children aged 11-17 require their own general admission ticket and this will be exchanged for a youth pass on the day.  ID is required for 18+.

Acceptable ID

If you are asked to present ID at Toast Martinborough, legally acceptable forms of ID are:

  • Current Hospitality NZ 18+ Card
  • Current New Zealand Driver Licence
  • Current passport.

Wheelchair Access

Toast is wheelchair friendly.  All our vineyard sites and the roads and paths in between the sites are flat.  Driveways and paths leading to each vineyard are, for the most part, hard surfaces.  If you prefer to travel on the shuttle bus, some of the festival circuit shuttle buses can lower their entry point for wheelchair access. There are wheelchair accessible toilets at Margrain Vineyard, Te Kairanga and in The Square.

Under the Sale & Supply of Alcohol Act 2012:

Intoxicated persons will be refused entry at all festival sites.
Intoxicated persons will not be served alcohol.
Spot checks of bags may be undertaken at the entry and exit points to all festival sites.
Unauthorised food and drink will be confiscated.
Alcohol cannot be taken in to or out of any festival site.
Alcohol is not permitted on buses.

Photographs

By sharing photographs and videos via Social Media, you grant to Toast Martinborough Ltd a non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to use, modify, delete from, add to, publicly display and/or reproduce, your photos and videos (content), including without limitation in any online media formats and through any social media channels, social media marketing, e-newsletters, pages or accounts.

Toast 2020

Toast 2020 will be held on Sunday 15 November.