The Story Behind Gindulgence – New Zealand’s Gin Festival

Curious Beginnings

It was 2017 and the gin craze that has since swept New Zealand was just getting started.
Christchurch-based Curiosity Gin was new to the market, eager to share their gins and grow their business.

From those early beginnings, where Curiosity was just the eighth gin to enter the craft gin space, New Zealand now boasts more than 150 gin distillers!

Enthusiastic and searching for all possible ways to get this tasty drop into people’s mouths, the well-known proverb ‘necessity is the mother of invention’ proved its worth.

What better way to solve the need for a dedicated gin-drinking audience than to gather fellow Gin-Lovers from far and wide in one beautiful setting and celebrate all things gin? A Gin Festival seemed like a fun and logical solution.

A chance encounter with the team at Ilam Homestead, the home of The University of Canterbury Club Inc, presented the perfect opportunity.

With its beautiful historical building and stunning garden setting, we’d found the ideal partner and venue for a Gin-on-the-Lawn event.

Our Mission

The Gindulgence mission has always been to support the talented array of gin distillers in New Zealand. Our intention, from those early beginnings until now, is to create an environment where the industry can rise together, offering camaraderie, fun and a shared adventure along the way.

For festival goers we aim to provide an indulgently relaxing afternoon exploring an exceptional range of gins from some of the best distillers out there.

Getting started – 2018

Planning for the first festival in Christchurch began toward the end of 2017, and on Saturday March 24^th 2018, nine of New Zealand’s craft distillers, along with two local Christchurch bars, gathered on the lawn of the Ilam Homestead.

The sun was shining and a sell-out crowd of 750 excited gin-lovers spent the afternoon exploring all that was on offer.

Have you attended every Gindulgence event?

That first day was a fantastic experience and somehow Wellingtonians heard about it. The pressure was on to take it to Wellington in 2019.

Since then, Gindulgence has continued to evolve and is now held every year in Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland, most commonly as a two-day event.

It’s always heartwarming when a happy gin fan lets us know they’ve been to every Gindulgence held in their city.

Two Distilleries have attended every single Gindulgence from that first event in 2018 – Curiosity Gin (naturally!) and Blush Gin.

We love and appreciate the support of all the Distillers – some of whom have been to every Gindulgence since their brand launched.

What’s in a Gindulgence Day

Our event format hasn’t changed much over the years. A day at Gindulgence is all about sampling, exploring and buying (let’s be honest here!) products created by the talented distillers who make up the craft gin industry in New Zealand.

With your ticket you can taste and talk as much as you like! The makers themselves are there to share every detail of their story, the botanicals, the process and the flavour notes – for as long as you’ll listen!
Some festival goers prefer to have a quick sample and move on, others like to linger and learn.

It’s your day, your way.

When you’ve had enough of sampling, or you’ve found a gin you fancy, you can buy a G&T or signature drink then sit back and relax for a bit. 

There is always live background music to lift the atmosphere and keep your toes tapping.

Great food is critical to each event, and we have some fabulous foodies around the country who are a big part of the success of each day.

The ‘Crystal Ball’ outlook

The number of people in New Zealand and around the world who are making gin is stretching the industry to its seams.

Looking at it with simple maths, it seems there are too many gins and not enough people to drink them!

Gindulgence will continue to support all distillers, old and new, with their dreams and ambitions. We’ll continue to gather gin-lovers in one perfect setting and create for all an afternoon of pure Gindulgence.

Bottle Collect record

For the record – twenty two, is the largest number of bottles purchased by one person to take home from a Gindulgence event. Wellington holds that record 😊

Summer 2024/2025

This summer season started in Tauranga back in November with another fantastic day out under the Sunny Bay of Plenty skies.

Wellington, Christchurch and Auckland are still to come. Planning is well underway and we’re excited to continue our Summer of Gin.

We hope to see you somewhere around the country this summer!

Yours in Gin
The Gindulgence Team.