We had some extra time in the afternoon and decided to do a wine tasting. You must have a…read morereservation so reserve your spot before you head out. The road there is a bit scary but don't let it deter you. It's not meant for two cars and it's gravel so drive slowly and stay safe. We were early and joined two other couples in their tasting. It was a hoot. The lady who was our host was entertaining and very knowledgeable about the wine. We compared travel experiences with the other couples. Even found an Aussie Timberwolves fan. We bonded in our love of basketball. The grounds are beautiful, located between towering mountains and a deep river gorge. So glad we chose this place to try a variety or wines.

We headed to Chard Farm Winery, a picturesque spot located on a rugged, winding road with views of…read morethe Kawarau Gorge. You will miss this winery if you're not looking for it. Known for its elegant Pinot Noir and vibrant whites, Chard Farm delivered exceptional wines with every pour.

Akarua Wines & Kitchen was our second winery that we checked out in Lake Hayes. Akarua means two…read morevines, which is how they originally started out. It's a couple minutes drive from Amisfield. We dropped in on a Friday afternoon (around 4:45pm). It's a cute spot with a garden and plenty of tables/bean bag chairs to lounge about. The wine tasting is done in a cool converted industrial box. They do tastings ($5.00 NZD/person) where you get to try 5 wines; all five are pre-picked for you. Our server was friendly and gave us good descriptions about each wine. But man, the pours were tiny. - Akarua sauvignon blanc 2017 - decent but we've had better elsewhere. - Akarua riesling 2017 - RUA pinot noir 2016 - this one was young, light and had a very dry finish to it. We didn't enjoy it. - Akarua pinot noir 2016 - this one was aged for longer. Much smoother. - Akarua alchemy ice 2017 - intensely sweet. Our host said to try, then eat a bite of chocolate and try again. That actually worked wonders. Akarua paled in comparison to our earlier visit at Amisfield. Wines were decent but that's about it.

What a great place for a tasty lunch! The food was amazing, fresh and artfully prepared. We all…read moreenjoyed our wine and menu choices. The wait staff was very helpful in suggesting the appropriate amounts for a table of 5. It was all so delicious we ate almost every bit.

We stumbled upon this winery on our travels through the South Island and were glad we did. It is…read moreset in lovely garden in gorgeous scenery and the host was very entertaining and helpful. We had a tasting session of 6 of his wines for 15 NZ dollars and my friends had the cheese board as well. The wine can be shipped, and it was, straight down my throat! lol....throughly recommend. Monty the cat was a pleasant guest at our table!

Wonderful sport to sip and shop your favorite local and Australian wines. Purchase by the oz, 2 oz…read moreor 6 oz options of Reds , whites, blends and bubbles!

I came here for the whiskey and man, was it worth it. The card driven tastings were very appealing…read moreand so easy to manage. The whiskey selection here, although small, was of great quality. The wine selection is massive though, and they have good food selection to pair with your libation. Highly recommend stopping here for a few hours to drink.

A beautiful winery set amidst soaring mountains producing elegant pinots, Pinot Gris and more…read more We visited Peregrine as a part of a tour with Matthew from NZ win tours. We had asked him to take us to small, boutique wineries where the passions of the winemaker combine with terroir to produce something special. This was our first stop. They specialize in Bio-dynamic farming techniques which you can taste in their wines. The award-winning Soaring building looks like the hideout for Dr No or some othe Bond character with a distinctive angled roof. Inside the tasting room is sleek and modern with a long tasting bar. We had the opportunity to taste quite a variety of wines including a delicious rose-that was delicious with fresh strawberry and was a light pink hue-would be perfect for summer. In addition we tried the Pinot Gris-signature wine-very refreshing; Chardonnay-buttery not my favorite and several Pinot noirs including 2011 and 2015 (fresh and ready to age)-promising. Finally we tasted the Saddleback pinot 2016 -much more red fruit, a bit jammy-great for a summer bbq. All in all a great winery with nice wines in a distinctive setting. Recommended

Probably our favorite stop today. The grounds are well manicured and the building design has…read morereceived architectural awards. It is very modern and sleek although not cozy like some of the other tasting rooms so it makes you feel like you can't really linger. Anyway, our tasting was free since we bought a bottle. The Rose was crisp and refreshing after riding bikes a few hours. This pinot was also quite tasty. 2 Reislings...one was the typical super sweet while the other was more balanced. In any case, we purchased a bottle of the Rose. Service was great. A must stop on the wine trail.

Fantastic dining experience at Amisfield dinner tasting menu. It's a visual, educational, and…read moredelicious journey. Throughout the entire 3+ hour experience the staff was knowledgable, friendly, and painted a beautiful picture about each dish and its connection to New Zealand. Highly recommend. We also added on the wine pairing to taste through their current wine offerings. All wines were great but their selection of Pinot Noir was the best.

Horrific experience with the host/hostess. We bought an expensive bottle of their Pinot and opted…read moreout of taking a bag cause we are eco like that. Host acted as though I stole the bottle. We let it go and asked for a table outside in order to buy another bottle and sit outside to enjoy. They said nothing was open and they had to turn tables over for dinner (it was 4:30 pm). We left only to see two other couples come on after and get seated. It was either they are homophobes or we didn't fit the aesthetic they were hoping for. Either way we won't be back and don't recommend it. We left and went to @ChardFarms down the way. The staff was AMAZING and the Pinot was so much better. #poorcustomerservice

We enjoyed the sweeping views during our tasting at Mt. Difficulty in 2019…read more The winery itself is perched on a ridge that offers beautiful sight lines to Lake Dunstan and the surrounding mountains, and we enjoyed relaxing and taking it all in on their patio. Honestly, the views alone were worth the $2 NZD tasting fee (based on their website, it looks like that fee may have been raised since our visit). They also poured plenty of wine to cover that fee. The wine itself was forgettable. There was a drinkable Chardonnay, and it helped us enjoy the views, but that's about it. The staff was pleasant, and although the cellar door got quite crowded by the time we departed, the facility was big enough to handle the scrum rather well. I'm rating this at a generous four for two reasons: (1) we enjoyed our visit, and honestly we enjoy tasting and talking about wine whether the juice is distinguished or not. (2) We didn't eat in their restaurant. The menu looked enticing, and I'll grant that this could have significantly elevated our good experience. If you're passing through on Highway 6, Mt. Difficulty is worth a stop on a sunny day.

Our second winery (of three) was at Mt. Difficulty after our server at another winery recommended…read morewe check this place out in Bannockburn. It's a very popular spot! We dropped in on a Tuesday (around noon) and it was busy. The restaurant (only open at lunch) was completely full so make sure you make reservations if you want to eat here. Your tastings get comped if you dine in otherwise it's only $2.00 NZD/person. You get 5 wine tastings (four regular wines plus one of your choice from the entire list). Our server, Nicki, was chatty and outgoing. We found out Bannockburn is known for their pinot noirs. - Roaring Meg central otago pinot noir 2014 - not as good as the second pinot noir. - Mt Difficulty Bannockburn pinot noir 2016 - this is their bread and butter winner. Very smooth and apparently goes great with Thai green curry. - Mt Difficulty Bannockburn sauvignon blanc 2016 - not as good as the ones we had in the Marlborough region. - Mt Difficulty Bannockburn target riesling 2016 - unmemorable. It was a medium sweet style. - Mt Difficulty long gully chenin blanc 2017 - this was delicious. It smells like guava and had a smooth, tropical citrus flavour to it. We considered getting a bottle ($30.00 NZD) but had too many already. - Roaring Meg Central Otago pinot noir rosé 2017 - this one was decent but it pales in comparison to the chenin blanc. Try/buy the chenin blanc! Another cool winery with a solid wine tasting.

The free tasting was amazing! Awesome views, great customer service, we learned a lot about the…read morelocal wines and the processes they have in place. The winery itself is beautifully placed with great scenic pictures for the taking. We left with a few bottles, it is really that good. Definitely come here and schedule a tasting!

Book in advance! They won't let you in unless you have a reservation made already…read more Pros: - Free Tasting - Insane view of Lake Wanaka - Service - very friendly and super informative Cons: - We liked most of their wine but not their Pinot which is what they are famous for. However, most else in our group loved the Pinot so I am not going to give them 4 stars just for that. We would definitely love to spend more time here and walk the grounds. It would be a gorgeous wedding venue on a sunny/not windy day. Loved it here!

Really loved how charming and relaxed this vineyard is. The Vineyard dogs are a fun addition too!…read more Service was excellent, knowledgeable, and friendly. We tried 5 different wines and found them to be quite nice and affordable. Lovely place to visit.

We visited four vineyards and this was our favorite. We sat in the picnic area. The view and…read moreweather were perfect and enjoyed the tasting with a charcuterie board. All the wines were good and the som was very attentive and nice!

Gibbston Valley was our first winery (out of three) that we visited in the Gibbston area. They're a…read morevery popular spot; they also have a restaurant, cheesery and bikes for hire. We dropped in on a Saturday morning (around 10:30am) and the place was quite busy. They do daily tours for a fee. The inside has a wooden cabin glam to it that makes for a great place to drink. There's several options for their wine tastings (wine and chocolate tasting and oysters and bubbles were the most unique); they range in price from $5.00 to $30.00 NZD/person. Make sure you check out the cheesery on your way out (Gibbston Valley Cheese). - GV collection tasting ($5.00 NZD) - you get to taste three (out of five) of their newly released GV collection wines. We tried the pinot gris 2016 (very average), riesling 2016 (dry, sour tones of lemon and lime) and Gibbston Valley pinot noir 2014 (not as full bodied or luscious as others we've had. Didn't like the dry finish). The wines are expensive and service not very personable. Decent but we didn't like it as much as the other two wineries. 3.5 stars.

So I have two beefs here, but both are somewhat excusable given that our tasting experience was a…read moregood one, delivered by someone knowledgeable and passionate. Wifi is dreadful. Staff and management know its dreadful. Yet nothing has been done (yet). I tried (unsuccessfully at first) to get someone to take my money to ship to a friend in Australia. Despite my protestations that I wanted to do the order then and there and that I would be focused on getting home after leaving there, I was told to leave my credit card information and then send in the order to the manager by email. What a totally strange way of doing things, but thankfully the order did make it to my friend. I got an email about 48 hours after sending in an order. Don't make it hard for your customers to give you money.