How much is a wine tasting at Waitiri Creek?

$20 for three wines and $25 for five, with library wines $5 each on top — and the tasting is free if you buy two bottles or more.

Do you need to book to visit Waitiri Creek?

Unclear. Their Instagram tells you to book a tasting, but no booking page on their own site resolves — so ring the cellar door on +64 274 463 946 if you want a table held.

Is there food at Waitiri Creek?

Yes — cheese platters, gourmet pies from Sanga's in Cromwell and toasties on locally made sourdough, from $12.

How far is Waitiri Creek from the bike trail?

About 900 metres, at the far end of Gibbston Back Road — four minutes' riding.

Waitiri Creek by Bike

Q: What time is Waitiri Creek open?

Waitiri Creek publish winter hours of Wednesday to Sunday, 11am to 5pm, closed Monday and Tuesday. No summer hours are published.

A cellar door in a historic woolshed at the far end of Gibbston Back Road — the cheapest tastings out here, hot pies and toasties, and beer, gin and whisky on the same list.

The corrugated-iron woolshed that holds the cellar door, its doors open behind a bank of flowering lavender

The timber bar inside the woolshed, bottles lined along the counter and shelves of wine, spirits and glassware behind

A bare wooden table on the terrace looking down the valley over lavender, vine rows and the road running out between the hills

The Details

Address: 91 Gibbston Back Road, Waitiri Creek Woolshed, Gibbston
Phone: +64 274 463 946
Website: www.waitiricreekwines.co.nz
Social: Instagram

Open

Winter hours — no summer hours published

Wednesday	11am – 5pm
Thursday	11am – 5pm
Friday	11am – 5pm
Saturday	11am – 5pm
Sunday	11am – 5pm

Tastings: $20 for three wines, $25 for five

Food: Cheese platters, gourmet pies and toasties.

Getting There by Bike

About 900 metres off the Winery Bike Trail, at the far end of Gibbston Back Road — four minutes' riding, and the longest run to a door in Gibbston apart from Chard Farm. The red dotted line on the map below is that stretch.

It is the same turn-off as Mt Rosa at number 47 and Brennan at 86, so all three come off one detour. Waitiri Creek publish their own bike map of the valley, so riders arriving on two wheels are expected rather than tolerated.

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

Check the day before you ride out here. Their published hours are Wednesday to Sunday, 11am to 5pm, closed Monday and Tuesday — and they are labelled winter hours, with no summer set published at all. This is the one stop in the valley that can be shut while everything else is open.

Tastings are guided, and the cheapest out here by some distance: $20 for three wines, $25 for five, with library wines $5 each on top. Buy two bottles or more and the tasting is free.

The food is real food. Cheese platters at $32 and $45, gourmet pies from Sanga's in Cromwell at $14 to $16, and toasties on locally made sourdough from $12. At the far end of a day's riding, a hot pie beats another cheese board.

It also works for a group where not everyone is drinking wine: local craft beer, locally distilled gin, Lammermoor whisky, a 2.5% beer, a zero-alcohol Heineken and a proper soft drink list, all on the same bar.

What is poured: Stella Sauvignon Blanc, Waitiri Creek Pinot Gris, Gewürztraminer and Chardonnay, Harriet Rosé, Drummer Pinot Noir, the Reserve Pinot Noir, and library pinot noirs back to 2013. Glasses run $12 to $23.

Worth knowing

Bookings are a grey area. Their Instagram tells you to book, but no booking page on their site resolves, so ring the cellar door on +64 274 463 946 if you want a table held. They also close on Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year's Eve, New Year's Day and Good Friday, and from 1pm on Anzac Day.

The Waitiri Creek Story

Waitiri Creek was established in 1993, one of Gibbston Valley's original wineries, by the Ward family — settlers who reached the bottom of the South Island in 1875, farmers and sawmillers who came with the gold rush. Their Shanagolden vineyard has grown pinot noir here for years, planted by the family and picked by hand ever since.

In the vineyard they have dropped the bare-earth approach in favour of cover crops planted between the rows, to control vine vigour and improve soil health and biodiversity. Underneath is 400 to 500 mm of wind-blown glacial deposit over four to five metres of free-draining alluvial schist, at 300 to 350 metres above sea level.

The building is a historic woolshed, and the cellar door moved into it some years ago from the old church. Where the woolshed came from, and how old it is, they do not say.

Told from Waitiri Creek's own account of themselves.

Common Questions

What time is it open?: Wednesday to Sunday, 11am to 5pm — closed Monday and Tuesday. Those are labelled winter hours on their own site and no summer hours are published, so ring +64 274 463 946 before riding out.
How much is a tasting?: $20 for three wines and $25 for five, with library wines $5 each on top — and the tasting is free if you buy two bottles or more.
Do you need to book?: Unclear. Their Instagram tells you to book a tasting, but no booking page on their own site resolves — so ring the cellar door on +64 274 463 946 if you want a table held.
Is there food?: Yes — cheese platters, gourmet pies from Sanga's in Cromwell and toasties on locally made sourdough, from $12.
Is there anything other than wine?: Local craft beer, locally distilled gin, Lammermoor whisky, a 2.5% beer, a zero-alcohol Heineken and a soft drink list — all on the same bar.
How far off the trail is it?: About 900 metres, at the far end of Gibbston Back Road — four minutes' riding.

Nearest Stops on the Trail

Brennan WinesSame road, just back toward the trail
Mt RosaSame turn-off, and the closest of the three to the trail
The ChurchBack west — a full kitchen in an 1894 church