Things to do in Wānaka
Food & wine
Wānaka wineries are small and close together. Rippon has been farmed biodynamically by the Mills family since 1982 and pours daily from midday to 5pm, by appointment. Maude Wines opens its small Golf Course Road tasting room Thursday to Sunday, midday to 5pm. Cardrona Distillery makes single malt whisky, gin, vodka and liqueurs up the valley.
Rippon sits on Wānaka Mount Aspiring Road, the same road as the park, so it is the closest of the three. Bookings are essential there and a no-show fee applies. Maude recommends booking because the room is small. Cardrona takes walk-ins for a complimentary tasting and opens daily from 9.30am to 7pm.
Sort the driver before you set out, or use the Cardrona shuttle from Wānaka that runs Tuesday to Saturday. Pods and boats suit couples building a day around cellar doors, and the communal kitchen back at the park is a good place to open whatever bottle you carried home.
Cardrona Distillery
A single malt distillery in the Cardrona Valley with free tastings, guided tours and a restaurant.
Less than 20 minutes from Wānaka; 45 minutes from Queenstown AirportClassic Tour 75 minutes
Maude Wines Tasting Room
A small cellar door on Golf Course Road pouring Maude wines by the glass, the bottle or as a guided tasting.
Tasting Bench approximately 45 minutes
Rippon Vineyard
A biodynamic vineyard on the western shore of Lake Wānaka, with lake and mountain views from the tasting room.
Cellar door tasting approximately 30 minutes; private tasting approximately 1 hour
Questions
Before you head out.
Do we need to book a Wānaka wine tasting?
At Rippon yes, tastings are by appointment only and a no-show fee applies. Maude recommends booking because the room is small. Cardrona Distillery welcomes walk-ins for its complimentary tasting.
What days are the cellar doors open?
Rippon opens daily midday to 5pm. Maude opens Thursday to Sunday, midday to 5pm. Cardrona Distillery opens every day from 9.30am to 7pm, which is the widest window of the three.
Is there a way to visit without driving?
Cardrona Distillery runs a shuttle from Wānaka, Tuesday to Saturday. For the cellar doors, agree a driver between you before you leave the park.
Stay at Sundale
A base five minutes from the water.
Design-led pods LUMI Pods
Light-led timber pods built for slow mornings.
Your Wānaka basecamp
Make Sundale your base.
Cabins, studios, motels and soft-grass camping, five minutes from the water and close to everything above.