Rippon

Free wine tasting in wanaka! Rippon is a privately owned winery in wanaka. We tried 4 different types of wine and they were all extremely smooth and fresh. Me and my partner love a chilled red and their pinot noir was probably the best we’ve tasted. They make you taste a sparkling pinot noir, a chardonnay, and two pinot noirs. We bought a bottle of their wanaka village pinot noir and can’t wait to open it on our next date night. It is completely free and you don’t have to pay anything or buy anything after the tasting if you don’t want to! It is a bit further away from wanaka town but only a 10mins drive away. 100% recommended.

What a beautiful winery! Our guide was wonderful. We learned a lot about the red and white wines, but we think it would be a great addition to also explain the method of wine tasting. Also, it would have been perfect if we had some cheese or little bites to go with the wine

We had a such a wonderful experience at Rippon! I emailed in advance to book a private tasting and we had such a nice time with Haddon. The views are incredible and the wines are great - Haddon walked us through the tasting at the perfect pace and made it informative and fun. It was a highlight of our time in Wanaka and hope we get to come back again!

Cellar Door, knowledgable and friendly. Tried 4 lovely wines. Amazing setting. No pressure to buy at the end but pricing was fair if you did want something!

We went to Rippon vineyard this afternoon for the cellar door tasting session. It was absolutely fabulous! We were blown away with the views, the wine and Vanessa and Peter who were so knowledgable, friendly and made our experience so lovely! 10/10 recommend! X

A very nice tasting. Excellent cool climate wines offered for tasting with spectacular views. Customer service was excellent. Missed booking online but called and was very kindly slotted in anyway.

30 minutes and 5 wines to try all for free, with some of the best views you can imagine and with a very good commentary on the wine by the guide. If we weren’t travelling so far away from home we would’ve definitely bought some wine for family. 100% recommended

Stunning view point and beautiful wines too. Staff were very friendly and warming to our random stop off for the view and we also purchased a few bottles of wine.

The free tasting was amazing! Awesome views, great customer service, we learned a lot about the local wines and the processes they have in place. The winery itself is beautifully placed with great scenic pictures for the taking. We left with a few bottles, it is really that good. Definitely come here and schedule a tasting!

Book in advance! They won't let you in unless you have a reservation made already. Pros: - Free Tasting - Insane view of Lake Wanaka - Service - very friendly and super informative Cons: - We liked most of their wine but not their Pinot which is what they are famous for. However, most else in our group loved the Pinot so I am not going to give them 4 stars just for that. We would definitely love to spend more time here and walk the grounds. It would be a gorgeous wedding venue on a sunny/not windy day. Loved it here!

This is really a fun place! I went with my husband on ass gorgeous day and we had a fantastic time! Sooo romantic sipping wine with this fantastic view! The view and atmosphere is easily 5 stars. And they offer FREE wine tastings! This place has an amazing view of lake wanaka and you can walk around at your leasure and take pictures. This alone is worth a visit. Maybe I judged a little harsh but I just was not a huge fan of the wine itself so I took off a star for that. But it's probably just my wine pallet and I'm by no means a wine export. The staff was friendly as well. This place is definitely worth a visit if your in the area and the price is right! I would highly recommend a visit and maybe you will like the wine more than I did. I would rate 4.5 stars if I could...

I had the pleasure of coming here when I visited lake Wanaka with some friends. It is a winery that is located on the top of one of the hills surrounding the lake. What can be better than hanging out with friends while drinking wine surrounded by a gorgeous view? We didn't have to make any reservations. We showed up and were allowed to walk the grounds and building before partaking in some wine tastings. Which were very tasty.

Gorgeous gorgeous view. Lovely property and nice tasting room. Their wines were okay... probably better for someone that likes whites, but only a couple reds. It is very nice that the tasting is FREE, which is unheard of in New Zealand, but you do have to listen to them tell you how they are different than all the other vineyards in New Zealand....

The main thing to note about Rippon - and, frankly, the main reason we swung by here instead of driving straight from Mt. Aspiring National Park to Queenstown - is the absolutely stunning view you will get here. I'm not a huge wine person, but I have been to many vineyards in the U.S., and none of them come close to the jaw-dropping views that you will have here. After winding up a dirt road that's perhaps a bit narrow for regular cars to use as a 2-lane road, you reach the parking lot and see rows of grapes set against the backdrop of Lake Wanaka and the mountains, and it feels like you are in paradise. You can walk around the grounds a bit, and it is truly a beautiful place to grow and drink wine at. Speaking of the wine, the best, by far (IMO) was the 2012 Pinot Noir that we had at the tasting. 2012 was a great year weather-wise for Central Otago pinot noirs (at least according to the folks behind the bar!), and it really shows in how smooth and silky this vintage drinks. I venture to say it's even better than the one on the mature vines, which I drank elsewhere and felt was a tad dryer / jammier than the standard version. You also taste the 2011 vintage, which is a clear distinction (similar base flavors but way dryer), allowing you to really taste the difference in the climate from year to year. There are some whites to taste as well (the sauvignon blanc is definitely more on the herbal side, while the Gewurtztraminer has a nice, mellower taste to it), but none matched the high note that the 2012 Pinot Noir hits. Unfortunately, you cannot drink any by the glass here, so unless you are planning on taking down a bottle on the spot, the sample is as much as you will taste there. We also had a cheese and charcuterie plate - a bit less impressive than the wine, unfortunately. Crackers were the most plentiful food item served, with a small piece of spiced boar spread (not very flavorful and a bit small) and Brie that was not very creamy either. It put a bit of a damper after the initial high from the views and the wine tasting, but overall, Rippon is still a place worth visiting, if even only for the picturesque views that you will never forget.

A biodynamic vineyard with lovely rieslings and Pinot noirs and a simply spectacular view!! Have a tasting and then enjoy a bottle of your favorite while taking in your surroundings!! :)

Amazing!!! Stop here for the view alone. Extremely friendly staff and terrific wine. Aside from the tree, this should be your second must do in Wanaka!