Wine touring near Queenstown
 

Does anyone here have experience with or heard good word-of-mouth about a wine country guide or company that conducts interesting tours of the Otago wine region?

Bumping this up.

Heading down this way next April. We are wine fans but not **huge** wine geeks. Trying to decide if it's worth it to spend a night up in Marlborough region for wine tasting up there vs. just spending our 4-5 days on the South Island in Queenstown and doing day trips to various places from there

Fiance and I are heading to NZ South Island this December for our honeymoon and are big wine fans too, we grappled with this question as well, I think Picton, Nelson and Marlborough region in general makes more sense if you are planning to take the ferry from Wellington and drive from Nelson/Picton to Queenstown. I eventually decided to do wine tours near Queenstown, quick search through bookme did show some decent options, there's also that great restaurant/winery Amisield, I think, which is highly recommended by members of this forum.

Amisfield has good food and ambiance but not great for wine, far better elsewhere in NZ. Probably the best choice in ZQN though.

That's good to know, thanks. Got any winery recommendations near ZQN or anywhere central Otaga ot within driving distance of ZQN for that matter.,

We had a lovely day of four or five winery visits on Felton Road near Bannockburn, close enough for one day out and back from Queenstown.

To answer an earlier question, Marlborough is worth a visit since the industrial wineries there are the ones who first alerted us to the Kiwi stuff and who still produce some very drinkable wines. However, the real fun is over around Nelson, where there are some small (even Mom and Pop) wineries that rival the great houses of Alsace in producing some of the best Gewurtztraminers any of us had experienced.

I cannot suggest names of individual wineries since they are mostly not carefully noted by any of our gang, who simply will consider the region when ordering up some wine.

Did a small group tour when I was in Queenstown visiting Mt. Difficulty, Carrick, Peregrine, and Felton Road. Lovely stuff. Reserve Riesling from Carrick was outstanding. I can't remember the name of the company I toured with, but booked it through my hostel.

Central Otago known for Pinot and Riesling, and I don't think anyone was making Sauvignon Blanc.

Chris

Thanks for the tips -- will look at all the options. Still trying to decide whether we drive around or stick to a single base of Christchurch / Queenstown and do day trips -- that decision will drive some decisions here

There are plenty of good day trips available from ZQN but remember that you need to drive back at the end of each day at the wineries. Our goodie is that most of us are spitters so there is always someone not under the influence of the better stuff we have come across.

Also, most of the time inter-city driving in NZ is a bear. Distances are considerable and the roads are not great. If you are considering more than one region of the South Island wineries, be prepared to fly from AKL to ZQN and then back via AKL to NSN. Air NZ has plenty of flights and the fares are usually reasonable for those sort of flights. We even took a flight from CCH to ZQN rather than fool with the five hour drive. Then again, Marlborough to Nelson is only about an hour and a half drive so up there you can kill two birds with one stone.

We did a private tour with Roaring Tours, https://www.roaringtours.co.nz - Nathalie is a trained sommelier who has worked in some of NZ's top restaurants and has great contacts with Otago winemakers. Not the cheapest but better than some of the tours we had in other regions where we went to less inspiring wineries. She will chat to you about what wines you like, and will only finalise your itinerary based on your reactions to the first winery, as that will help her identify which wineries might be to your taste...

I highly recommend a self-guided cycling tour of the Gibbston Valley, near Queenstown. Highlights were Peregrine, Gibbston Tavern, Gibbston Cheesery and Brennan Wines. I used Fork and Pedal.

https://forkandpedal.rezdy.com/18896...lf-guided-tour

They give you a map, bike and helmet and drive you out to Gibbston Valley. Drop-off is the AJ Hackett Bungy. Cycle on your own schedule up the valley, stopping where you please. It's a beautiful ride along a dedicated cycling trail.

Once you've had enough, you call them and they pick you up wherever you are and shuttle you back to Queenstown.

https://i.imgur.com/ZewVfg8l.jpg

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Wouldn't it be easier to just rent bike for a day and do this yourself especially since wine tasting is not included in the price of tour you've linked.

You'd still need to organize a shuttle out and back. In the end it's not a huge difference in price and you have to handle the logistics yourself.

If you already had your own bike or are staying somewhere that lends them out to guests, different story.

it is too far away riding a bike from Queenstown center to these wineries. Check trip advisor reviews for a good operator.