The world's southernmost wine region
Central Otago is the southernmost wine-producing region in the world. Built on a foundation of passion and ingenuity, the region is home to world-class pinot noirs and a wealth of other varietals. Renowned for its dramatic landscape, we encourage our guests to experience this incredible wine region and discover more about the journey from vine to bottle with a wine tour.
The region’s continental climate — hot, dry summers, cold winters and a huge diurnal range — gives its pinot noir intensity and structure that has drawn comparisons with Burgundy for two decades. Beyond pinot, look for riesling, pinot gris, chardonnay and some of the rarest white varietals in New Zealand.
The sub-regions
Gibbston Valley
The closest to Queenstown and the coolest, hemmed in by the Kawarau Gorge. Elegant, aromatic pinot and a string of cellar doors within a 25-minute drive of the hotel. Kinross is the official cellar door for several high-end boutique wineries and the natural finish to any tour.
Bannockburn and Cromwell
Forty-five minutes further, warmer and drier, producing the region’s most powerful pinots. Bannockburn’s Felton Road, Mt Difficulty and Akarua are the names on the world’s wine lists; the Cromwell basin adds Bendigo and Lowburn.
Wanaka and Alexandra
Further afield, for a full-day loop: Rippon above Lake Wānaka is one of the most photographed vineyards in the world; Alexandra, the southernmost sub-region, is a drier, quieter story.
How we do it
Adventure and indulgence always go hand in hand in Queenstown. Our concierge arranges a four-hour private journey through Gibbston Valley with a personal driver-guide and private tastings, or a full day reaching Bannockburn. Prepare your palate for some of the most complex and intense flavours in the country. The tour ends with a private tasting where passionate winemaking meets fresh mountain air — you will almost consider yourself a connoisseur by the end.
Back at The Spire, the wine keeps going: a gourmet tasting menu at No.5 Church Lane, matched with the bottles you discovered that afternoon. Our Peaks, Pinot & Relaxation-style packages have historically bundled a wine-matched three-course dinner; ask us what is current.
A day in Gibbston and Bannockburn
Leave the hotel at ten. The Kawarau Gorge road climbs out of Frankton past the bungy bridge into Gibbston within twenty-five minutes; the first cellar door is open by eleven. Two tastings in Gibbston, then on through the gorge to Bannockburn for lunch among the vines with The Remarkables’ southern end on the skyline. Two more cellar doors in the afternoon — one estate, one small producer — and back in Queenstown by five with a case in the boot. The private driver-guide handles the roads, the bookings and the pours; you handle the notes.
Reading the label
Central Otago pinot noir tends to show dark cherry, plum and a savoury, herbal edge, with more tannin and structure than Marlborough’s. Gibbston fruit is lighter and more perfumed; Bannockburn and Bendigo darker and fuller. The best vintages age ten years and more. Riesling is the region’s underrated white, from bone dry to off-dry; the pinot gris is textural rather than sweet; and a handful of producers make serious chardonnay. Ask at each cellar door what they are proudest of — the answer is rarely the pinot.
Wine at the hotel
No.5 Church Lane’s list leans heavily on Central Otago, with by-the-glass pours from Gibbston and Bannockburn and a reserve list for the serious. The bar team builds the winter cocktail list around local flavour too — elderberry and elderflower foraged in the Wakatipu basin, house kombucha in the mixers. Ask for a pinot flight before dinner.
