Do you need to book to visit Kinross?

Booking is recommended. Every experience is bookable on their own site, and the group tastings carry minimum party sizes that need arranging in advance.

How much is a wine tasting at Kinross?

The Classic Experience is $30 per person. A Kinross-only tasting is $25, single-producer flights of Valli or Wild Irishman start at $50, and the Behind the Vines vineyard tour starts at $120 for a minimum of four.

Which wineries pour at the Kinross cellar door?

Kinross fronts five Central Otago wineries: Hawkshead, High Garden, Kinross, Valli and Wild Irishman.

What time is Kinross open?

The cellar door is open seven days, 10am to 5pm, with the last wine experiences at 4.30pm. The bistro runs 11am to 5pm, last orders 4.30pm.

Is there food at Kinross?

Yes — the Kinross Bistro serves seasonal plates, platters and snacks with a kids' menu, 11am to 5pm. It is dog-friendly, and there is live music through summer from 3 to 5pm.

Can you stay overnight at Kinross?

Yes, in the vineyard cottages. Check-in is 3pm to 5pm and checkout 10am; guests get a complimentary wine tasting and access to the outdoor hot tub between 3 and 9pm by booking.

How far is Kinross from the bike trail?

About 160 metres — the shortest hop off the trail out here, and a minute's riding.

Kinross by Bike

Five Central Otago boutique wineries pouring at one counter — Hawkshead, High Garden, Kinross, Valli and Wild Irishman — with a bistro, vineyard cottages, and the shortest hop off the trail of any stop out here.

The low stone-and-timber cellar door building sitting at the end of its own vineyard rows, with a bare schist hillside rising behind

The tasting room's long communal tables and bar stools under a raked black ceiling, floor-to-ceiling windows opening onto the vines

Looking down on a bistro table where several people reach across black bowls of shared plates, glasses of rose and red between them

Low autumn sun breaking over the Gibbston Valley, poplars and vineyard blocks running along the valley floor below the ranges

A cottage bedroom with a timber-panelled wall behind the bed and vine rows visible through the window

The Details

Address: 2300 Gibbston Highway, R.D.1, Queenstown 9371
Phone: 03 746 7269
Email: info@kinross.nz
Website: www.kinross.nz
Social: Instagram · Facebook

Open

Monday	10am – 5pm
Tuesday	10am – 5pm
Wednesday	10am – 5pm
Thursday	10am – 5pm
Friday	10am – 5pm
Saturday	10am – 5pm
Sunday	10am – 5pm

Tastings: $30 per person
Bookings: Recommended Book a tasting

Food: The Kinross Bistro — seasonal plates, platters, snacks and a kids' menu. Bistro 11am – 5pm, last orders 4.30pm.

Getting There by Bike

About 160 metres off the Winery Bike Trail — the shortest run to a door of any stop in Gibbston, and a minute's riding. The red dotted line on the map below is that stretch.

Kinross describe the way here themselves, as “a 15 km ride on a well-maintained, off-road cycle path that offers panoramic views of the Kawarau River and nearby vineyards”. The address is 2300 Gibbston Highway, and tapping it in The Details opens it in Maps.

The red dotted line is the distance from the Winery Bike Trail to the winery's front door. Tap the map and zoom out to see where you turn off.

The Wines

These wines taste better in person

BOOK YOUR RIDE — FROM $149

✓ No booking fees ✓ Free 48hr cancellation ✓ Free bad weather refund

What to Expect

Five wineries, one counter: Hawkshead, High Garden, Kinross, Valli and Wild Irishman. That is the whole reason to stop — five cellar doors' worth of Central Otago without five more turn-offs.

The Classic Experience is $30 a head. There is a $25 tasting of the Kinross label on its own, single-producer flights of Valli or Wild Irishman from $50, a Pinot Noir Experience at $50 and a Premium Central Otago Experience at $75 — both needing six people — and Behind the Vines, a guided vineyard tour with six wines, from $120 for a minimum of four.

The cellar door opens at 10am, earlier than most of the valley, which makes this a sensible first stop. The last wine experiences go at 4.30pm. The bistro opens an hour later at 11am and takes its last orders at 4.30pm too.

The sparkling on the list is a French Crémant de Bourgogne from Vitteaut-Alberti, exclusive to Kinross in New Zealand. It is an import, not one of the five.

The bistro is dog-friendly and family-friendly with a kids' menu, and there is live music through summer from 3 to 5pm. A 15% surcharge applies to food and wine on public holidays.

Worth knowing

Kinross took the inaugural Qualmark New Zealand Wine Tourism Award in 2024 — the national tourism quality body, not a magazine list.

The Kinross Story

Thomas Kinross, a Scottish pioneer, arrived in Central Otago in 1860 on the vessel Stormcloud. In the late 1860s he set up a trading post, farm and gold agency on the land the winery now stands on. He married Helen Allan in Scotland and brought her back to Gibbston; they had eleven children. He was postmaster for 51 years, died in 1921 aged 86, and is buried in the Arrowtown cemetery.

Christine and John Erkkila bought the property in early 2013 and built the cellar door, bistro and accommodation that stand on it now. One of the pinot noirs poured here is called Storm Cloud.

Told from Kinross's own history of the property.

Common Questions

Do you need to book?: Booking is recommended. Every experience is bookable on their own site, and the group tastings carry minimum party sizes that need arranging in advance.
How much is a tasting?: The Classic Experience is $30 per person. A Kinross-only tasting is $25, single-producer flights of Valli or Wild Irishman start at $50, and the Behind the Vines vineyard tour starts at $120 for a minimum of four.
Which wineries pour here?: Hawkshead, High Garden, Kinross, Valli and Wild Irishman. The sparkling is a French Crémant from Vitteaut-Alberti, exclusive to Kinross in New Zealand.
What time is it open?: The cellar door is open seven days, 10am to 5pm, with the last wine experiences at 4.30pm. The bistro runs 11am to 5pm, last orders 4.30pm.
Is there food?: Yes — the Kinross Bistro serves seasonal plates, platters and snacks with a kids' menu, 11am to 5pm. It is dog-friendly, and there is live music through summer from 3 to 5pm.
Can you stay the night?: Yes, in the vineyard cottages. Check-in is 3pm to 5pm and checkout 10am; guests get a complimentary wine tasting and access to the outdoor hot tub between 3 and 9pm by booking.
How far off the trail is it?: About 160 metres — the shortest hop off the trail out here, and a minute's riding.

Nearest Stops on the Trail

The ChurchNext east — an 1894 church with a full kitchen
Mount EdwardBack west, up Coalpit Road
Mt RosaSingle-estate, at the quiet end of the valley