Eat & Drink Queenstown
Queenstown wine tours
Photo: The Winery, Arrowtown
Taste Central Otago pinot noir where it grows, with a visit to wineries and cellar doors set among the vines.
Discover why Central Otago is home to some of the world’s best pinot noir, on a wine tasting tour of Queenstown cellar doors. Wine tours leave from central Queenstown and visit a selection of wineries in Arrowtown, Queenstown and Gibbston. Book a guided tour, or hop on a bike and ride through Gibbston’s vines (with the option of a shuttle home at the end of the day). And don’t forget to take a bottle or two home to toast your trip!
Pick the way that suits your day below: tours and bike hire link to the operator's own listing on queenstownnz.co.nz to book, and cellar doors link to their pages here, with hours and booking. To plan the stops, lunch included, see Planning your Queenstown wine day, or browse every Queenstown winery.
Ways to do a Queenstown wine day
Photo: Kinross Tasting Experience
Getting to Queenstown's wine country
- Gibbston
- Gibbston is a twenty-five to thirty minute drive from central Queenstown. Most of the listed cellar doors are there, along the Kawarau River, and the rest are around Lake Hayes, Arrowtown and the Queenstown Marina, in Frankton.
- Further out
- Bannockburn is about fifty minutes away, and many full-day tours include it.
- Without a car
- A guided tour, a hop-on hop-off bus or the Gibbston shuttle does the driving. The Route 2 public bus runs past cellar doors between Frankton and Arrowtown.
- By bike
- The flat Gibbston River Trail runs just under nine kilometres past most of the Gibbston cellar doors, with bike hire and shuttles at either end.
Central Otago Pinot Noir
Central Otago’s vineyards sit at forty-five degrees south, between two hundred and four hundred and fifty metres above sea level. Hot days, cool nights and little rain suit pinot noir, which now makes up more than three quarters of the plantings.
The first commercial Central Otago pinot noir came out of Gibbston in 1987. The region has grown to many wineries and dozens of tasting rooms open to the public, across several sub-regions. Gibbston is the one closest to Queenstown.
Questions about Queenstown wine tours
Can I do a Queenstown wine tour without a car?
Yes. Guided tours collect you from town, hop-on hop-off buses and the Gibbston shuttle run from central Queenstown, and the Route 2 public bus stops beside cellar doors between Frankton and Arrowtown. By bike, a shuttle can take you to the trail and bring you back.
How long does a Queenstown wine tour take?
The guided tours that publish a length run from three hours to eight hours. A half-day bike ride on the Gibbston River Trail fits in a morning or an afternoon.
Do I need to book cellar doors?
Most take drop-ins during opening hours, and a few are by appointment only. Book ahead for a group, for a hosted tasting or outside summer, and check opening days before you set out.
What wine is Central Otago known for?
Pinot noir, which makes up more than three quarters of the vines planted in Central Otago. Riesling, pinot gris and chardonnay also grow well in its hot days and cool nights.
How far is Gibbston from Queenstown?
Gibbston, the nearest wine area, is a twenty-five to thirty minute drive from central Queenstown. Bannockburn, the next wine area east, is about fifty minutes away.