It's worth raising a glass to the view alone at Rippon since the Tuscan-styled cellar door has surely the finest winery view in NZ. In a bid to contain numbers, the popular free tastings must now be booked in advance online. Tasting sessions are limited to 12 people and commence promptly on the hour, sampling four to six wines over 30 to 45 minutes.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Wanaka attractions

1. Wānaka Station Park

0.63 MILES

Wānaka Station Park is a piece of Wānaka that existed before Wānaka did. This remnant of the sheep station that once covered the entire south side of the…

2. Puzzling World

2.81 MILES

A 3D Great Maze and lots of fascinating brain-bending visual illusions serve to keep people of all ages bemused, bothered and bewildered at this…

3. National Transport & Toy Museum

6.92 MILES

Mixing Smurfs with Studebakers and skidoos (and an authentic MiG jet fighter flown by the Polish Air Force), this completely eclectic and absorbing…

4. Wanaka Beerworks

6.92 MILES

Push past the Barbies to get to the beer – the tasting room for the Wanaka Beerworks is rather incongruously at the rear of the toy museum gift shop. Get…

5. Cardrona Distillery

12.49 MILES

Enter past the fence of bras (Bra-drona!) and you'll find the beautiful cellar door of this fledgling single-malt distillery inside a building made of…

6. Bendigo Historic Reserve

19.87 MILES

Gold was discovered in Bendigo in 1862; relics from the rush can be seen at this historic reserve, accessible off SH8, near the north of Lake Dunstan…

7. Lakes District Museum & Gallery

21.46 MILES

Exhibits cover the gold-rush era and the early days of Chinese settlement around Arrowtown. Kids are kept engaged by the likes of an 'Odd One Out' game…

8. Arrowtown Gaol

21.48 MILES

With gold rushes came lawlessness. Arrowtown's prisoners were originally manacled to logs, but in 1876 this schist jail, now surrounded by homes, was…