Queenstown Wine Trail - Private Wine Tours Through Central Otago

Most Queenstown wine tours visit the same three cellar doors and call it a day. These aren’t those tours. The Queenstown Wine Trail is a collection of two private wine experiences – from a full day tasting in Gibbston, Bannockburn & Bendigo to a two-day weekend across nine cellar doors – each led by a trained chef-guide who knows the winemakers, the vintages, and the back roads most visitors never see.

You’ll taste single-vineyard Pinot Noir, reserve releases, and varieties most people never encounter, poured by the owner, the winemaker, or a private sommelier. Every venue ships internationally, so you can stock your cellar at home with the very best Central Otago has to offer.

Two Ways to Experience the Queenstown Wine Trail

Choose your itinerary. Whether you have a a full day, or an entire weekend, there’s a Queenstown Wine Trail experience built for you. All two tours are private, led by your chef-guide, and depart from your Queenstown accommodation.

Gibbston, Bannockburn & Bendigo

Full-Day · 8 HoursFour cellar doors. Lunch on the Mt Difficulty terrace.

The complete regional arc – from a Lake Hayes opener to a golden-hour finish in Bannockburn. This is the full-day Queenstown wine tour for people who want to understand Central Otago, not just taste it.

Your day begins in the Gibbston Valley, where you’ll taste at boutique cellar doors that most visitors never reach. From there, you cross into Bannockburn – golden tussock, exposed rock, and vineyards clinging to sun-baked terraces above the Cromwell Basin. This sub-region produces some of the most concentrated, cellar-worthy Pinot Noir in New Zealand, and the winemakers here are fiercely independent. Your chef-guide has hand-picked producers whose reserve and library releases rarely leave the region.

Further into the basin, the Cromwell and Bendigo sub-regions offer a different character entirely – warmer days, cooler nights, and wines with a depth and generosity that catch even experienced palates off guard. Between tastings, you’ll drive through some of the most dramatic vineyard country in New Zealand.

Lunch on the Terrace at Mt Difficulty

Perched high above Bannockburn on Felton Road, Mt Difficulty’s restaurant terrace is one of the great lunch settings in New Zealand. The kitchen showcases regional produce – think slow-roasted lamb shoulder, grass-fed scotch fillet, alpine venison loin, and shared platters built around local charcuterie, hot-smoked salmon, and Whitestone cheese. Your chef-guide will pair each course with the winery’s iconic Central Otago wines while you take in sweeping views of the Cromwell Basin and Lake Dunstan. This is not a rushed sandwich between tastings. It’s a long, proper lunch – the kind you’ll still be talking about at dinner.

What’s Included - Full Day Tour

  • Return transport from your Queenstown accommodation in an upmarket SUV
  • Chef-guide driver with insider access to three Central Otago sub-regions
  • Private tastings at four boutique cellar doors led by owners, winemakers, or sommeliers
  • Gourmet lunch on the Mt Difficulty terrace with matched wines
  • Cheese tastings with accompanying wines
  • All tasting fees included
  • International shipping assistance for wines purchased on the day
Central Otago vineyard cellar door tasting on a private Queenstown wine tour, a photo showing all Queenstown and surrounding areas.
Queenstown food and wine tour dish
Queenstown winery part of Kosher Tours and Travel
Mt Difficulty wine tasting by Kosher Tours and Travel

The Central Otago Weekend

Two-Day Weekend · Our Ultimate TourNine cellar doors over two days. Paired lunch at Mt Edward. Group dinner at Ayrburn.

For out-of-town groups, milestone celebrations, and friends’ getaways. The Central Otago Weekend is the tour that turns a visit into a story.

Over two days you’ll taste across nine hand-picked cellar doors spanning Gibbston, Bannockburn, Cromwell, and Bendigo – the full breadth of Central Otago’s wine map, from pioneering estates to producers so small you won’t find their bottles outside the region. Tastings are private, led by the winemaker or the owner, and your chef-guide shapes each day around the group’s palate.

Paired Tasting Lunch at Mount Edward

Mount Edward is Central Otago’s quiet rebel – a pioneer winery making organic, minimal-intervention wines from five estate vineyards across the region. Founded in 1997, it was one of the first to plant Gamay, Grüner Veltliner, and Chenin Blanc in Central Otago, alongside the Pinot Noir the region is famous for. On the weekend itinerary, Mount Edward hosts a paired tasting lunch – regionally inspired tapas specifically matched to each wine – that many guests call the highlight of the entire trip.

Group Dinner at The Woolshed at Ayrburn

Dinner takes place at The Woolshed at Ayrburn – a beautifully restored woolshed-turned-bistro set on 30 acres of historic land between Lake Hayes and Arrowtown. The kitchen works with local farms and seasonal produce, and the wine list leans heavily into Central Otago’s best. Dine by the open fire, settle into the terrace overlooking Mill Creek, or let your chef-guide arrange a private long table for the group. It’s the kind of evening that turns fellow travellers into lifelong friends.

Harvest Season – March & April

Book the weekend during March or April and you’ll arrive in time for the Central Otago harvest – the most electric time of year in wine country. Vineyards are alive with activity: hand-picking crews moving through the rows, the smell of crushed fruit filling the air, and winemakers making the calls that define each vintage. Your guide will take you into the action where possible, giving you a first-hand look at what happens between vine and barrel.

What’s Included - Two Day Tour

  • Return transport from your Queenstown accommodation in an upmarket SUV
  • Chef-guide driver across both days with insider access to four Central Otago sub-regions
  • Private tastings at nine boutique cellar doors led by owners, winemakers, or sommeliers
  • Paired tasting lunch at Mount Edward with regionally inspired tapas
  • Group dinner at The Woolshed at Ayrburn, Arrowtown
  • Cheese tastings with accompanying wines
  • Mulled wine fireside, wrapped in a blanket, watching the sun go down (seasonal)
  • All tasting fees included across both days
  • International shipping assistance for wines purchased on the day
roast dish served in Kosher Tours in Queenstown food and wine tour
Queenstown food and wine tour dish
wine cellar in Queenstown food and wine tour by Kosher Tours
Kosher Tours and Travel luxury SUV
Kosher Tours and Travel luxury SUV interior

What Makes Our Queentown Wine Tours Different

A Wine Buyer's Tour, Not a Tasting Bus

These tours were built for people who collect, cellar, and care about provenance. Every winery on every itinerary ships internationally, so the wines you fall in love with can follow you home. Your guide knows the allocation lists, the library vintages, and which producers are worth buying by the case.

A French-Trained Chef Who Knows Food and Wine

Your guide is a trained chef who doesn't just drive you between cellar doors. He curates every tasting, pairs every lunch, and knows the winemakers by name. When he recommends a dish at Mt Difficulty or suggests a vertical tasting at Mount Edward, it's because he's done it a hundred times and knows what works.

Private Tastings, Not Cellar-Door Queues

Most tastings on these tours are led by the owner, the winemaker, or a trained sommelier – not a weekend staffer reading from a card. You'll compare vintages, ask questions, and hear the stories behind the wines from the people who made them. That access comes from years of relationships, not a booking platform.

Small Groups, Big Landscapes

You'll travel in an upmarket SUV with your chef-guide, not a 20-seat bus. Groups are kept small so every guest gets personal attention, every tasting stays intimate, and every stop feels like it was arranged just for you. Because it was.

Three people are sitting at a table, doing their work and chatting a little.
Rated #1
Tour Experience
Three people are sitting at a table, doing their work and chatting a little.
Chef-Guide Led
Three people are sitting at a table, doing their work and chatting a little.
0+
5 Star Reviews
With a 98% Recommendation Rate

What Our Customers Say

These are just some of the 390+ 5 star reviews

We really enjoyed this expansive and entertaining tour full of information with and wisdom provided by Aaron. Never a dull moment throughout.

We left Wellington with a real sense of its history, development through the years and the rich cultural heritage. We would thoroughly recommend this tour. Michael

Profile of an author who gave review.
Michael P

What a wonderful way to spend a day in Wellington. Our tour guide John was outstanding! He was friendly, knowledgeable and just an overall pleasant person to spend the day with.

We truly enjoyed our tour and learned so much. We felt it was a fantastic way to get an overall view of Wellington since we were only here for 2 days.

Marlene

We had a great day out with Emile, he showed us all the great sights and the views were incredible!

Emile was such a careful driver, he was funny, enthusiastic and very approachable, I would definitely recommend

Profile of an author who gave review.
Claire G

Have Questions?

Our tours are designed to make your Central Otago wine experience effortless, memorable, and completely stress-free. The FAQ below should cover everything you need to know, but if there’s anything else, we’d love to hear from you.