Central Otago Food & Wine Tour

Join Altitude Tours on a full-day food and wine tour and explore, taste, and savor at four separate wine-tasting experiences around Central Otago, with a delicious lunch and platters enjoyed at locally renowned locations. 

This day is designed for those who love and appreciate wine and the wine-making process, allowing them to venture further into the depths of Central Otago wine and its fascinating history.

• Join a full-day, 8-hour guided wine tour from Queenstown.
• Enjoy tastings at 4 cellar doors across Gibbston, Cromwell & Bannockburn.
• Explore more at a behind-the-scenes barrel room experience
• Enjoy a trust-the-chef tapas lunch at the famous Bannockburn Hotel.
• Finish with a shared cheese board at the final location.
• Be hosted by a fun and friendly wine-certified guide
• Join a personal small group tour with other wine lovers

You will start your day being met by your wine-certified guide at or near your Queenstown accommodation. From here we will travel one hour from Queenstown to Central Otago and its sub-wine regions, well known for top-class wineries and award-winning wines, including Central Otago’s world-famous Pinot Noirs.

Throughout the day you will enjoy four separate wine-tasting experiences at both smaller boutique cellar doors as well as more established locations, including a barrel room tour, where you will enjoy learning information, stories, and facts about the region and wine from your charismatic guide and cellar staff. Included also are all of your meals, including a trust-the-chef lunch at a locally renown restaurant, and a cheese board to enjoy at your final location at the end of the day.

How the day looks:

Carrick

Welcome to the wine-growing area of Bannockburn which has the world's only man-made wine terroir (created by the gold miners in the 19th century). Known as the 'heart of the desert' is the driest part of Central Otago, it's made up of largely clay soils creating more structured and savory style wines. Our first location is Carrick where you will learn about their vineyard and wines by joining a fantastic tour of the Carrick vineyard, winery, and barrel cellar, followed by a wine tasting.

Te Kano

Te Kano is Māori for ‘The Seed’, signifying that the seeds we plant today will blossom for future generations. They combine their passion for sustainability and protecting the land, with their love of Central Otago wines to produce delicious blends across a range of wine series. Here we will enjoy a tasting of their unique wines while enjoying their beautiful cellar door and Central Otago backdrop.

Bannockburn Hotel

Now it's lunchtime at The Bannockburn Hotel. This is a locally renowned restaurant in the heart of wine country. Here we will enjoy their trust-the-chef tapas menu inspired by the owner's time living and working across Europe and Latin America. Combining tapas style, small and sharing plate dishes with amazing local produce, with a menu changing seasonally.

Misha's Vineyard

We then head to Misha's Vineyard tasting room in the quaint township of Cromwell. Here we will try not only their Pinot Noirs but a range of aromatic white varieties, such as Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Rose, Pinot Gris, and Gewurztraminer.

Kinross

We start the drive back towards Queenstown, stopping at the famous Central Otago wine-growing region, Gibbston. Our last location is Kinross, a local favourite and the perfect place to wrap up a day of exploring Central Otago. Here you will enjoy a relaxed wine-tasting experience and will be offered a selection of wines on a tasting flightboard to enjoy with a shared cheese platter.

Locations are subject to change, however in the case where we cannot visit one of the mentioned cellar doors, it will replaced with an equally great location with delicious wines to taste.