Rippon Vineyard
A biodynamic vineyard on the western shore of Lake Wānaka, with lake and mountain views from the tasting room.
Rippon has been farmed by the Mills family since 1982 and sits on a slope running down to the lake. The cellar door is open daily from midday to 5pm, and tastings are by appointment. A standard tasting is free and takes about half an hour, with a longer private tasting available on weekdays. Book ahead, as they fill up days or weeks in advance.
Highlights
- Free cellar door tasting, by appointment only
- Biodynamic vineyard farmed by the same family since 1982
- Tasting room looking over Lake Wānaka to the Southern Alps
- Children are welcome in the tasting room with an adult
Good to know
- Location
- Rippon Cellar Door
- Start point
- 246 Wanaka Mount Aspiring Road, Wānaka 9305
- Duration
- Cellar door tasting approximately 30 minutes; private tasting approximately 1 hour
- Season
- Open daily 12pm to 5pm
- Cost
- See venue for current pricing
- Family-friendly
- Yes
Bookings are essential and a no-show fee applies per person. Wine can be bought without a booking, but the property is a working farm and home, so general sightseeing is not open.
Visiting from Sundale
Rippon sits at 246 Wānaka Mount Aspiring Road, the same road as the park at number 217, so it is a short and simple drive west with the lake on your right. The cellar door is open daily from midday to 5pm, and tastings are by appointment only, so make the booking before you leave your site.
Bookings are essential and a no-show fee applies per person, and the appointments fill days or weeks in advance. A standard tasting runs about half an hour and is free. The longer private tasting takes about an hour and runs on weekdays, so plan a slower afternoon around it.
Pair it with the five-minute walk from the park down to the Lake Wānaka foreshore, either before you go or once you are back. Remember Rippon is a working farm and a family home, so general sightseeing is not open. Decide who is driving before the first pour.
Stay nearby
Design-led pods LUMI Pods
Light-led timber pods built for slow mornings.
Questions
Do we need to book a tasting at Rippon?
Yes. Tastings are by appointment only, bookings are essential, and a no-show fee applies per person. They can fill days or weeks ahead, so book before you arrive at the park. Wine can be bought without a booking.
Can we take the children to the cellar door?
Children are welcome in the tasting room with an adult. It is a working farm and home rather than an attraction, so there is nowhere for them to roam. The park playground is a better bet for running about.
How long should we allow?
A standard cellar door tasting takes about half an hour. The private tasting, available on weekdays, takes about an hour. Add the drive each way and it makes an easy half afternoon out from the park.
Nearby
More things to do.
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
Blue Pools Track
An easy forest walk over two swing bridges to river pools that run an extraordinary blue.
30 minutes one wayEasy walking track
Your Wānaka basecamp
Make Sundale your base.
Cabins, studios, motels and soft-grass camping, five minutes from the water and close to everything above.