This morning I will pick you up at your accommodation for the Queenstown & Central Otago Wine Tour and take a scenic drive through the Kawarau gorge with stunning alpine scenery before arriving in the rugged landscape of Bannockburn in Central Otago.

We begin our wine tasting at the Cellar Door at Mt Difficulty, located on famed Felton Road. We have the option to have lunch at Mt Difficulty Winery Restaurant or carry on through to Gibbston for a late lunch.

Lunch Recommendations (at own expense)

Mt Difficulty Winery Restaurant – offers the ultimate winery lunch with amazing views and the menu showcases the freshest of produce, with a choice of substantial fare or platters to share.

Gibbston Valley Winery Restaurant – offers a seasonal menu featuring carefully selected ingredients that reflect local flavours with both an à la carte menu and 2 course wine matched options. 

Amisfield Bistro – multi-award winning restaurant offers a 3 course ‘Trust the Chef’ lunch with optional wine matching. 

Gibbston wine region

After lunch, we’ll drive through the Gibbston wine region and visit some of the top wineries to sample more stunning wines and we’ll also stop in at a new boutique tasting room. Wet Jacket Cellar Door is located in a beautifully converted 150-year-old former wool shed. Part of the working wool shed has been kept intact so you can see how the wool once came off the sheep and was pressed into bales for market and touch the fleeces. Enjoy the full range of Wet Jacket wines which are only available here and in a few of the top restaurants in the country.

We will then drive through Arrowtown, a beautiful historic gold miners town that’s well worth a wander down the main street and a stroll through the Chinese Settlement from the 19th century gold mining era before returning to your hotel in Queenstown.