Unforgettable Central Otago Wine Tour: Queenstown Escape

This was amazing. The best wine tour and lunch ever experienced. Our driver, Martin, made it an unforgettable experience. Wonderful selection of Gibbiston and Bannockburn vineyards and a great Lunch at Carrick in Bannockburn in between. Private wine tastings at both boutique and top name wineries and a guided private tour in a luxury vehicle of all the features in the area travelled. Amazing selection of top wines. Far above any of the Queenstown wine tours we have done. Exceptional.

We’ve been on quite a few wine tours over the years, but the private tour we did with Appellation Wines around Central Otago was truly next level. Our guide, Paul, was absolutely fantastic; warm, friendly, and incredibly knowledgeable. His deep understanding of the local wines, the region’s history, and the unique stories behind each vineyard really brought the day to life. Paul was also wonderfully flexible, tailoring the experience to suit our tastes and making sure we got the most out of every stop. It felt less like a tour and more like a day out with a well-connected local who knew all the hidden gems. We can’t recommend this enough, it was the gold standard of wine tours.

John was great personable, knowledgeable, and flexible. The tastings at the vineyards we visited we were excellent. Lunch was an experience!

Great tour guide, good food and wine. Knowledgeable of culture and history. Food was outstanding and paired to wines impeccable!

We did a VIP tour of selected wineries we wanted to visit. They made it happened for a better price than others we contacted! Thanks making Lance's Dream Wine Tour a success!

We had two days of private wine touring in the Central Otago wine region. What an amazing experience! Our tour guides, Martin and Paul, were fantastic. So knowledgeable of the area and of the wines. Being Pinot Noir enthusiasts we were thrilled to taste so many wonderful Pinots and other great wines too. I will be recommending them to our friends who will be visiting the area later in the year. If your in the Queenstown area run and make your reservations for a private tour with Appellation Wine Tours.

Great driver, very knowledgeable, good choice of vineyards and luckily a nice group. Phoebe the wine dog was a big hit at Brennan's.

We had an amazing time! Our driver Gary was the best. Not only was he so very knowledgeable about the area and the vineyards, he was so personable and fun to hang with! You could also see that the wineries respected him. Each winery we went to (4) were better than the next. Our lunch was delicious and far above what we had at previous wine stops. We were able to taste some small batch and unusual wines as well. You definitely want to book this! Marsha from USA

Lise was very helpful and responsive in crafting our custom itinerary. And John was very knowledgeable and accommodating! Highly recommend this tour!

I loved this tour, we had a brilliant guide (Martin), with so much knowledge of the area and wines. I would definitely recommend this small group tour - 100% - much better than a big impersonal bus!