Chard Farm by Bike

Two kilometres of unsealed road above the Kawarau, five estate vineyards in the glass, and no food at all — book before you ride out here.

The Details

Getting There by Bike

You leave the trail at the Kawarau bungy bridge. Chard Farm put their entrance 100 metres past it, and from there the whole visit is one road: about 2 km of unsealed road along the bluffs above the river, ending at the cellar door.

That is the longest run off the trail of any stop in Gibbston — most of the others sit between 150 and 900 metres from it — so allow about ten minutes each way and expect an unsealed surface the whole way. Chard Farm call it a long spectacular driveway.

The address is 205 Chard Road, and tapping it in The Details opens the cellar door in Maps if you would rather follow your phone.

The Wines

Five vineyards across Gibbston, Lowburn and the Parkburn valley, all of them estate-owned. Taste on the day, or order any of the range from the Chard Farm shop and have it sent.

Pinot Noir

• The Tiger2023
• Viper Vineyard2023
• Hawkesburn Vineyard2023
• Mason Vineyard2023
• Mata-Au2023
• Finla Mor2023
• River Run2024
• Manata2023

White & Rosé

• Maria Rose2025
• Mason Chardonnay2024
• Judge & Jury Chardonnay2024
• Closeburn Chardonnay2024
• Pinot Gris Sur Lie2024
• Riesling2024
• Swiftburn Sauvignon Blanc2024

What to Expect

Book first. Chard Farm say bookings are essential and they say it twice, on two separate pages. Riding 2 km up an unsealed road to be turned away is a poor way to spend twenty minutes.

Tastings are $20 a head at a stand-up bar. In their words, seating indoors or outdoors is not guaranteed, and priority goes to guests with disabilities or particular requirements — worth knowing before a group arrives expecting to sit down.

There is no food. Their own line: “Please note, we do not have a restaurant.” Nothing else on the site suggests otherwise, so plan lunch around this stop rather than at it.

Groups of six or more cannot book online and are asked to email wine@chardfarm.co.nz instead.

Worth knowing

If you leave without buying a bottle, Chard Farm ask instead for a donation to Southland Hospice. They have raised over $100,000 that way, and started after the hospice cared for Rob Hay's father in 2015.

The Chard Farm Story

Rob Hay first saw the property in August 1986 — a run-down stone fruit orchard called Chard Farm, which he took on and ran as an orchard. He had studied winemaking in Germany a few years earlier, and one evening, looking out over the place, he saw it differently: “I could see it all - the farm as a vineyard, laid out before me.” He then summoned his father, “along with his chequebook”.

Friends, family and locals ploughed, dug and planted the first vines in March 1987, and the first vintage followed the same year, made at Taramea Winery. An early critic had written that Central Otago producers who believed they could make high-quality wine were “seriously deluding themselves”. The Home Block you look out on from the cellar door, at the confluence of the Kawarau and the Shotover on ancient glacial schist, is the reply.

It is still family-run: Rob at the helm, Gerdi proprietor and office manager, Nico on the home block, Joey on European distribution, Romy on online marketing and sustainability. John Wallace joined in 1997 as a vineyard hand and took over as chief winemaker in 2002.

Told from Chard Farm's own story of the property.

Common Questions

Do you need to book?

Yes. Chard Farm say bookings are essential — this is the one stop out here you cannot turn up to unannounced. Book on their reservations page, or email wine@chardfarm.co.nz if there are six or more of you.

How much is a tasting?

$20 per person, poured at a stand-up bar. Seating, indoors or out, is not guaranteed.

Is there food?

No. In their own words: “Please note, we do not have a restaurant.” Eat before you turn off, or further up the valley.

How far off the trail is it?

About 2 km of unsealed road, or roughly ten minutes each way. The entrance is 100 metres past the Kawarau bungy bridge.

What time is it open?

Daily, 11am to 5pm. Closed Christmas Day, Boxing Day, Good Friday and 23–24 July, and open from 1pm on Anzac Day.

Can you take wine home?

Yes — buy at the cellar door, or order from the Chard Farm shop and have it sent.

Nearest Stops on the Trail

• Gibbston Valley WineryThe next cellar door east, and the biggest out here
• Peregrine WinesHosted tastings under a falcon-wing roof
• Gibbston TavernThe nearest proper meal — the kitchen runs to 6pm