The Church by Bike
An 1894 Presbyterian church, moved 300 kilometres to Gibbston in one piece, now pouring its own Stronsay Chardonnay with a full kitchen behind it.
The Details
- Address
- 2323 Gibbston Highway, Gibbston 9371
- Phone
- 027 213 1855
- info@thechurchcellardoor.co.nz
- Website
- thechurchcellardoor.co.nz
- Social
- Open
-
Monday 11am – 5pm Tuesday 11am – 5pm Wednesday 11am – 5pm Thursday 11am – 5pm Friday 11am – 5pm Saturday 11am – 5pm Sunday 11am – 5pm
- Bookings
- Recommended Book a table
- Food
- A full kitchen — pizzas, sandwiches with fries, fish and chips, a grazing board and desserts.
Getting There by Bike
About 270 metres off the Winery Bike Trail — a minute's riding, and the red dotted line on the map below is that stretch.
Their own FAQ puts it plainly: the cellar door is “located just off Gibbston Highway and the Gibbston Bike Trail, making it easily accessible by bike”, with designated parking for bikes as well as cars and buses, and wheelchair-accessible toilets on site. The address is 2323 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
The Stronsay Chardonnay is the estate wine — 100% Gibbston fruit off the Shanagolden home block, 28-year-old vines, fermented in neutral oak barriques, made by winemaker Jen Parr. The shop sells it by the twelve-bottle case with shipping included within New Zealand.
These wines taste better in person
BOOK YOUR RIDE — FROM $149✓ No booking fees ✓ Free 48hr cancellation ✓ Free bad weather refund
What to Expect
This is not a single-estate cellar door, whatever the vines outside suggest. The only wine grown here is the Stronsay Chardonnay off the home block. Everything else on the list is Mount Edward, from Lowburn and Bannockburn — pinot blanc, grüner veltliner, chenin blanc, rosé, gamay, the TED and single-vineyard pinot noirs, and a pet nat rosé. Glasses run $16 to $23, bottles $59 to $89.
No tasting price is published anywhere on their site, so ask at the counter what a flight costs.
The kitchen is a proper one, and it is the reason to time your ride around this stop. Personal pizzas $21 to $24, a beef brisket or chicken caesar sandwich with fries at $28, tempura fish and chips $27, a toastie and fries at $16, and The Church Grazing Board at $49 — Gibbston Valley cheese, olives, fig and pear chutney, honied walnuts, pickles, seasonal fruit and warm bread.
There is beer on tap too, including their own pilsner brewed by Scotts in Oamaru, plus cider, a hard lemonade from Kingston, low and zero-alcohol options and coffee.
Worth knowing
Book online if there are fewer than ten of you, and phone 027 213 1855 for ten or more. If you are deciding on the day, their own instruction is to ring rather than use the online system. They also host weddings and private events, which is worth a thought before riding out unannounced.
The Church Story
In 1867 Johanna Enright sailed from Ireland to New Zealand, and in 1897 she married her brother's friend, James Leslie. They settled in Gibbston and kept cows, chickens and pigs to feed the miners on the gold diggings, raising nine children in a thatched two-room cottage a few metres west of where the church now stands. She wrote home to Shannagolden, County Limerick, about her new surroundings — and the home block here is called Shanagolden still.
The chardonnay went into the old Leslie property in 1994: about two hectares of it, at 400 metres above sea level and 45 degrees south, which is where its character comes from.
The church is a newcomer by comparison, and it is not from here. It was built in 1894, Presbyterian, in a small coastal town about an hour south of Dunedin — their history page spells it “Wangolia”. It sat on a hill there until 2000, when it was moved to Gibbston in one piece: 300 kilometres, 24 hours.
Told from The Church's own history of the land.
Common Questions
- Do you need to book?
- Booking is recommended. Under ten, book online; ten or more, call 027 213 1855 or email. If you are deciding on the day, their own instruction is to phone rather than use the online system.
- How much is a tasting?
- No tasting price is published on their site. Wine by the glass runs $16 to $23 and bottles $59 to $89, so ask at the counter what a flight costs.
- What time is it open?
- Daily, 11am to 5pm.
- Is there food?
- Yes — a full kitchen. Pizzas, sandwiches with fries, tempura fish and chips, toasties, a $49 grazing board and desserts.
- Whose wine do they pour?
- Their own Stronsay Chardonnay, grown on the home block here, alongside a list of Mount Edward wines from Lowburn and Bannockburn.
- How old is the building?
- The church was built in 1894, Presbyterian, in a small coastal town south of Dunedin. It was moved to Gibbston in one piece in 2000 — a 300 kilometre journey that took 24 hours.
- How far off the trail is it?
- About 270 metres — a minute's riding, and there is designated bike parking.
Nearest Stops on the Trail
- KinrossBack west — five wineries at one counter
- Mt RosaNext east, single-estate and quiet
- Brennan WinesTempranillo and zinfandel, at the far end
