Wine | Drink | activity
There are plenty of great wineries in the Central Otago region which has produced some of the best Pinot Noir in the world. Many visitors come here to taste and enjoy wines at the “cellar doors” of our local wineries.
Ringed by mountains and interlaced with lakes and deep river gorges, vineyards in Central Otago are truly spectacular. Here the cool climate, combined with glacially derived soils, means wineries here produce a highly elegant pinot noir and some quietly impressive white wine varietals.
Wine production is spread across six sub-regions, including the Cromwell Basin, Bendigo, Bannockburn, Gibbston, Alexandra and Wanaka.
Spend an afternoon or day tasting wine at Gibbston. It is located east of central Queenstown along Kawarau Gorge, is the highest sub-region with north-facing hillside wineries.
TIP: you can rent a bike and cycle between the wineries or like us, cycle from the house to Gibbston along the river trails for a well earned lunch with wine!
Some of the popular wineries closer to Queenstown include:
- Akarua Kitchen & Cellar Door – UPDATE: the local cellar door is now closed. Tastings can still be done at their Bannockburn Winery.
- Amisfield Winery & Bistro
- Brennan Wines
- Chard Farm Winery
- Coal Pit Wine
- Gibbston Valley Winery
- Mt Rosa Winery
- Peregrine Wines
- Valli Vinyards
- Waitiri Creek Wines.