Private Central Otago full day wine tour
Gibbston to Bannockburn, and the table at the end of it.
Private Central Otago full day wine tour
Gibbston to Bannockburn, and the table at the end of it.
From NZD $910 per person
Every tour is private, for your party alone, and runs on demand.
The day in brief
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Duration
Full day, approx. 7 hours
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Departs
9:30 am, door to door
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Returns
Approx. 4:30 pm
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Activity
Easy
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Lunch
Included, a long lunch at the Bannockburn cellar door
Two genuinely different faces of one region
Most Central Otago wine days stay in the Gibbston Valley because it is close. This one keeps going, over the hill and into Bannockburn, and the difference in the glass is the whole point of the day.
The morning in Gibbston
The morning begins at Chard Farm, cut into the cliff above the Kawarau River, and moves on to Kinross, the shared cellar door where several of the region's small producers pour side by side. Between them they give you the cool, high, elegant end of Central Otago, wines shaped by a short growing season and a good deal of altitude.
Over the hill into Bannockburn
Then the road drops into the Cromwell Basin and climbs again into Bannockburn, a hotter, drier, north-facing landscape of schist terraces and old gold sluicings, where the wines change character completely. Lunch is at Te Kano, whose cellar door is cantilevered out over the Eliza Vineyard with the Kawarau River and the Cromwell Basin laid out below, and the tasting runs through the meal rather than before it.
The way home
The way home threads back through Arrowtown in the late afternoon, with time to stop if the day allows. It is a long, generous, well-fed day, and it shows guests two genuinely different faces of the same region rather than three versions of one.
Good to know
All tastings are for guests aged eighteen and over; younger guests are welcome on the tour.
Included in your tour
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Your own vehicle and guide
A private luxury vehicle and dedicated driver-guide for the day.
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Door to door
Hotel pick-up and return in Queenstown.
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Three hosted tastings
Across Gibbston and Bannockburn, two sub-regions that taste nothing alike.
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A long lunch
At the Bannockburn cellar door, with the tasting running through the meal.
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The details
Bottled water throughout.
Not included: wine purchases, any additional premium tastings, and drinks beyond the hosted tastings and lunch.
Frequently asked questions
How long is the full day wine tour?
How long is the full day wine tour?
About seven hours door to door, leaving at 9:30 am and back in Queenstown around 4:30 pm.
Why go beyond the Gibbston Valley?
Why go beyond the Gibbston Valley?
Because Bannockburn is a hotter, drier, north-facing landscape of schist terraces and old gold workings, and the wines change character completely. Two sub-regions in one day show you the region properly.
Where is lunch?
Where is lunch?
At Te Kano in Bannockburn, whose cellar door is cantilevered out over the vineyard with the Kawarau River and the Cromwell Basin below.
Can guests under eighteen come along?
Can guests under eighteen come along?
Younger guests are welcome on the tour. The tastings themselves are for guests aged eighteen and over.
Travel it privately
Tell us your dates and who is travelling, and we will shape the day around you.
Travel it privately
Tell us your dates and who is travelling, and we will shape the day around you.
