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Taste • Hear • See • Feel • Central Otago
Appellation Wine Tours was founded by Philip Green and Wendy Johnston in 1999; two New Zealanders with a passion for Central Otago and its wines, and a desire to share that enthusiasm with others.
Appellation’s mission remains to take people far from Queenstown’s adrenalin attractions to the quieter parts of the region. There we can immerse our guests in the culture of fine wine, gorgeous food and stunning alpine scenery, a side of Queenstown that people often miss on a short visit.
In 2005 the company undertook an extensive brand review and changed the trading name to Appellation Wine Tours, reflecting the development and recognition of the Central Otago wine region and the growing popularity of their Queenstown-based wine tasting tours.
Our greatest acknowledgement of success is being the only wine tasting tour company in New Zealand to have been awarded trophies at the Great Wine Capitals Best of Wine Tourism awards. Appellation Wine Tours was the New Zealand Wine Tourism Services winner in 2011 and 2013 and the International winner in 2012. From 2013, New Zealand was no longer included as a region for these awards.
Since then, we have also been recognised as Leading Operator in Wine Tour Services 2019 by Global Business Insights, Service Excellence 2018 by Luxury Travel Guide, a Gold Level Qualmark status and have consecutive Certificate of Excellence’s on Trip Advisor creating “Hall of Fame” status.
Verified
Elyse T14 April 2024Wine and Smoked Fare This was one of the most interesting of the several wine tours we took in New Zealand. The wine was excellent and the vintners interesting, but the star of the tour was lunch at the Stoakery Restaurant: meats and vegetables cooked in repurposed wine barrels served with a selection of Wild Earth wines. A unique and very tasty experience.VerifiedPatti J8 April 2024Helpful guide and good variation in wineries Our guide, Al, was very knowledgeable of the area and gave us wonderful insight about the vineyards we were visiting. Each of the wineries treated us with their best pours and helpful tasting notes. Lunch was a real treat, we asked for the vegetarian option and it was one for the best plates we had in NZ. Al also made sure everything operated well, even helping out at the meal and cheese tasting. I highly recommend this company for a tour.VerifiedWarwick M4 April 2024Great experience. This trip was a great experience. We had Paul as our tour guide and he was very knowledgeable, welcoming and ensured we had a great time. The wineries were lovely and the food was great. Would highly recommend.VerifiedTodd F4 April 2024Amazing Whiskey and Wine tasting luxury tour - one not to miss My wife bought for me a Whiskey and Wine Tasting luxury tour. We were picked up from our hotel by John, who was wonderfully engaging and knowledgeable about the area we were travelling through. We went to the Cardrona Distillery for a personal tour of the distillation process and tasting afterwards, which was wonderfully delivered by the team at Cardrona. We then went to Kinross Vineyard's Celler Door which was representing 5 different vineyards followed by a food platter - all was amazing and well delivered by the local teams. Would highly recommend this tour.VerifiedCindy C30 March 2024One of the best wine tours I've been on around the world Outstanding food and wine tour with an amazingly interesting group of people and a extremely knowledgeable guide. The sommelier were fantastic too. This region is known to produce some of the best Pinot Noir in the world. I learned sooooo much ... and tasted MANY wines...in fact it was one of the most generous wine tours in terms of how many wines we tasted. We visited Gibbston Valley Winery, Akarua winery, Misha's Vineyard (this where we had the main food tasting which was seriously spectacular... my favorite food thus far on our trip), and Mt. Rosa Wines. A couple of my favorites from rhe day were the 2023 Pinot Rouge by Akarua, 2022 China Terrace by Gibbston.VerifiedAlice K21 March 2024Tasteful and fun day Tasteful and fun day visiting 4 smaller wineries, including having a very tasteful lunch at one of them. Traveling together with a small group of 10 people from several different countries was great.VerifiedOnAir4678355554218 March 2024You Must Do a this It was an awesome trip - so well worth the money - excellent knowledgeable driver and very warm welcomes from the vineyards - the food was outstandingVerifiedCatherine S17 March 2024Great day out! A really great day out with a lovely, friendly and knowledgeable guide. Although we visited several wineries, the day never felt rushed. Lunch at The Stoaker was delicious. Being in a small group of around 10-12 was great as everyone got to know each other a little. Highly recommended.VerifiedMartina T12 March 2024Great value, unique and special wines Great selection of wines. The last winery (Brennan) had some really unique and special wines and the best vibes. Bonus was the friendly winery dogs on site to welcome us. Our driver Al was friendly and knowledgeable about the wines. Lunch at Carrick winery was delicious, filling and good quality. Round trip transportation was included in the cost in addition to a tasting at each of the 4 wineries so great value for the price
Office Phone
+6434426920
After-hours Mobile
Call or SMS +64276015553
Email
bookings@appellationwinetours.nz
Postal Address
PO Box 130, Queenstown, New Zealand
