Continuing on my adventures while in Queenstown, I will be making a journey to the surrounding towns and visiting Cromwell and Bannockburn. These small little towns are just a short drive away from Queenstown. I am headed there to visit some wineries and orchards. These are some of the best regions in the country for wines. I have decided to share my experience heading to Felton Road Wines, Te Kano Estate and Jackson Orchards in a separate post since the previous one is a little lengthy. Do read my previous post to check out the other areas that I visited while in Queenstown.

South Island Road Trip – Wineries in Bannockburn

The colours were full-blown and I love the hues as we made our way down to the Bannockburn from Queenstown. The views are amazing despite it being a rather greyish and wet morning. The yellow and red colours as well as little cottages. Gorgeous! I was invited to Felton Road Wines for a visit and tasting. This is one of the wineries in the Central Otago region just about 50 mins out from Queenstown. There are a plethora of wineries in the Bannockburn area.

Check out how cute the winery is. The grounds are full of vines and grapes. We came right in the season and they are almost in the harvesting season. I love how nice it smells over here on Felton Road. They had lavender all over the grounds which make such a welcoming scent as you pull up.

We started the tour with a little history of the place and the winery. Felton Road started in 1992. The guide then gave us an intro to the grounds and the types of grapes around the winery. They have a total of 75 ha.

We then went on a walk of the winery and go to see some of the production facilities as well as the barrels where wine is aged in.

As with any visit, we then got to the tasting. Where we got to try a couple of Felton Road labels. First, we started with the 2021 Bannockburn. Pinot Noir are one of the famous variants from this area. We then got to the 2021 Calvert, 2021 Block 5 Pinot Noir, 2022 Vin Gris and the 2022 Dry Riesling.

Right after, we went to Te Kano Estate which is just 5 mins away. Te Kano is Māori for ‘The Seed’. The seeds we plant today will blossom for future generations. How applicable is that for a winery and vineyard. Te Kano is a fairly young vineyard in comparison. Special mention to Nick the cellar manager for showing me around.

We first took a drive to the nearby area and visited some of Te Kano’s vineyards. They produce various grapes here including Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris. Some of the vines are located right by the lake and on an elevation. I have learned that the elevation affects the timing of the ripening which will then affect the character and flavours.

A dream of mine finally came true here at Te Kano. While I have visited various wineries and vineyards around the world, this is the first time I got to try the grapes right from the vines. I love it. I got to taste Cabernet Franc.

We then retreated to the cellar door for a tasting and had a lovely exchange with Nick over wines. The cellar door is gorgeous and the views over the surrounding area are gorgeous. We love their signature Pinot Noir and the Blanc de Noir.

South Island Road Trip – Jackson Orchards 

After having fruits for the entire 28 years of my life, I finally step foot into an orchard and see how these fruits came about. Jackson Orchards is amazing and there are a good variety of fruits to go around. What you get to see and pluck depends on the season. You can check them out on their website to see what is available during the period of your visit.

Embark on an orchard tour where a guide will bring you around the expansive grounds and give you an introduction. It is a lot of fun. We got to get some apples right from the trees.

Furthermore, the grounds are very pretty especially under those apricot trees. It makes for a gorgeous picture. I appreciate that the tour guide also had pictures on hand to show us the orchards and fruits that are not available when we are there.

If not you can also just drop by the store and pick up some of the fruits. They also sell other products such as nuts and honey. I finally knew why dried fruits are so expensive as it takes 7 kg of fresh fruit to make 1 kg of dried fruit.

Conclusion

It was an amazing day and super fulfilling. I love such an experience when on the road. Besides getting to see stuff that is unique and what we do not have in Singapore, you also get to gain knowledge and widen your horizon. I appreciate Felton Road Wines, Te Kano Estate and Jackson Orchards for inviting me. Special mention to Nick for showing me around. It is such an eye-opener. I even got my first taste of Cabernet Franc right from the vines. Do check them out if you are in Queenstown. Looking forward to seeing some of these wines in restaurants here.