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Best Wineries & Cellar Doors near Queenstown
Gibbston Valley and Lake Hayes cellar doors pouring Central Otago Pinot Noir.
~/guide/wineries Live · 2026 Last reviewed: August 20269 listed
Gibbston Valley and Lake Hayes cellar doors pouring Central Otago Pinot Noir.
Gibbston Valley Winery is the easiest first stop — 20–25 minutes from town, open daily, no booking needed for a standard tasting, and home to New Zealand's largest wine cave. Kinross is the highest-value stop because one cellar door pours six different boutique Central Otago labels, and Amisfield at Lake Hayes is the one to build a long lunch around. Note that Chard Farm and Peregrine both want a booking, and Peregrine is closed on Sundays.
- wineries Queenstown
- cellar doors Queenstown
- Gibbston Valley wine
- Central Otago Pinot Noir tasting
Top Pick
#1
Editor's Pick
Gibbston Valley Winery
The region's pioneering winery and the most complete day out on the trail — New Zealand's largest wine cave, a tasting room, bistro, on-site cheesery and a luxury lodge, all at 1820 State Highway 6.
Gibbston
First-timersCave toursA full afternoon
- Booking
- No booking needed for a standard cellar-door tasting; private tastings and the cave tour are worth arranging ahead.
- Season
- Open year-round, seven days. Closed Christmas Day.
#2
Kinross Cellar Door
The single most efficient stop on the trail: one cellar door pouring six boutique Central Otago labels you would otherwise drive all day to find, with a bistro alongside it.
Gibbston
$$Comparing producersLunchShort on time
- Booking
- Walk-ins welcome. Last tasting 4.30pm and last bistro orders 4.30pm, so do not leave it late.
- Season
- Cellar door 10am–5pm daily year-round; bistro from 11am. Closed Christmas Day.
#3
Amisfield
Lake Hayes specialist in Pinot Noir and aromatic whites. The cellar door reopened after a refit and now runs à la carte, while the separate evening restaurant is the region's best-known tasting-menu table.
Lake Hayes
$$$$A long lunchSpecial occasionsClosest to town
- Booking
- Cellar door takes walk-in groups of seven or fewer; larger groups must email ahead. The evening restaurant is online booking only and books out well in advance.
- Season
- Open Wednesday to Sunday, 11.30am–5pm. Closed Monday and Tuesday.
#4
Chard Farm
Family-run pioneer at the entrance to the valley, reached by a narrow gravel road along a terrace high above the Kawarau River. The drive in is half the reason to go.
Gibbston
$$The settingEstate-grown PinotPhotographers
- Booking
- Bookings are essential — call +64 3 441 8452 rather than turning up. Tastings are charged per person.
- Season
- Open seven days, 11am–5pm, year-round. Closed Christmas Day, Boxing Day and Good Friday; opens 1pm on ANZAC Day.
#5
Peregrine Wines
The architectural landmark of Gibbston — a vast falcon-wing roof over the winery — pouring Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris and Riesling in the middle of the valley.
Gibbston
ArchitectureAromatic whitesA short weekday stop
- Booking
- Reserve in advance through their online system.
- Season
- Monday to Saturday, 11am–4pm. Closed Sundays — the single most common trip-planning mistake on this trail.
#6
Brennan Wines
Small Gibbston producer on the Back Road, built for lingering: a self-guided or hosted tasting, a platter, and a game of petanque in the garden.
Gibbston Back Road
Slow afternoonsGroupsSunny days
- Booking
- Walk-in self-guided tastings are possible, but they strongly encourage booking — +64 3 442 4315.
- Season
- Open daily 11am–5pm, year-round.
#7
Mt Rosa Wines
Family-owned single-vineyard tasting room on the Gibbston Back Road, with an open fire in winter and a courtyard in summer — one of the few that is genuinely pleasant in any weather.
Gibbston Back Road
$$Winter visitsSmall groupsBuying a bottle
- Booking
- Booking recommended, and essential for six or more. The guided tasting fee is waived if you buy two bottles or more.
- Season
- Open year-round — fireside in winter, courtyard in summer.
#8
Mora Wines & Artisan Kitchen
The Arrowtown–Lake Hayes Road site that most guidebooks still call Akarua. It reopened under new management as Mora — a boutique cellar door and all-day kitchen in a restored heritage cottage.
Arrowtown · Lake Hayes
Breakfast or lunchPairing with ArrowtownWalk-ins
- Booking
- Walk-ins fine; book by email or phone for a group or a table at the restaurant.
- Season
- Cellar door seven days 10am–5pm; restaurant from 9am. Closed Christmas Day, Boxing Day, Good Friday and Easter Sunday.
#9
Waitiri Creek @ The Gibbston Fine Beverage Co.
One of Gibbston's founding labels, back after roughly seven years away — now pouring from the historic Waitiri Creek woolshed on the Back Road rather than the old church site many maps still point to.
Gibbston Back Road
Wine-trail completistsA quieter stopHeritage buildings
- Booking
- Walk-in. Phone ahead on +64 274 463 946 if you are making a special trip, as this is the newest reopening on the trail.
- Season
- Winter hours are Wednesday to Sunday, 11am–5pm — closed Monday and Tuesday.
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// Your day, planned
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Pick a vibe and we'll build a morning-to-nightcap itinerary from our own ranked local picks. Shuffle it, then copy the whole day in one tap.
Bungy, jet boats and a freefall before lunch — the adventure-capital classic.
Afternoon
12 – 4pm
Evening
5 – 9pm
Nightcap
After dark
// Through a local's eyes
Queenstown, the way locals live it.
Beyond the Top 10s — the lakeside rituals, mountain runs and back-valley detours that make Tāhuna feel like home. Here's where we'd actually send a mate.
🪂Adventure capital
Kawarau & the Skyline
This is where the world's commercial bungy began — locals still get a thrill watching first-timers freefall off the Kawarau Bridge over that impossible turquoise water. On a clear afternoon the move is the Skyline Gondola up Bob's Peak, then lap after lap of the luge until your cheeks ache. In winter the same crew is first on the chairlifts at Coronet Peak or The Remarkables, chasing fresh corduroy before the day-trippers arrive.
⛵Lake & mountains
Lake Wakatipu to Glenorchy
Everything here orbits the lake. Locals love the slow theatre of the TSS Earnslaw — the century-old steamer chuffing across Wakatipu at golden hour — then the drive out to Glenorchy, easily one of the most beautiful roads in the country. Push on to Paradise and the Dart Valley and you're standing in Middle-earth, with the Humboldt range mirrored in the water and not a soul around.
🍷Gold & pinot
Arrowtown & Gibbston Valley
Twenty minutes from the buzz, time slows down. Locals wander Arrowtown's tree-lined Buckingham Street — gold-rush cottages, the old Chinese settlement on the river, and the Lakes District Museum — best in autumn when the avenues turn fire-orange. Then it's into the Gibbston wine valley, where the schisty slopes pour some of the world's finest pinot noir; cellar doors like Gibbston Valley and Amisfield reward a long, lazy lunch.
🍔Après & after dark
The Mall & Fergburger
Come down off the mountain hungry and there's only one question: are you queuing at Fergburger? Locals know the line moves fast and the burger earns its hype — best chased with a Patagonia hot chocolate two doors down. From there the lakefront Mall hums into the night, from craft-beer dens and live bands to fine dining like Rātā, where the menu finally puts those Central Otago wines to their proper use.
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