Central Otago for food and wine travellers: Pinot noir and beyond
If you are visiting New Zealand’s South Island from overseas, it’s understandable for you to have visions of lakes and mountains, hopes of spotting whales, dolphins and kea, and you’ll doubtless know many Marlborough sauvignon blanc brands. Central Otago is the bit that often surprises people, so much so it’s often missed entirely or just seen as a route between Queenstown and Dunedin. But this inland ‘paradise’ – as it’s referred to by many who live there – is more than worth stopping for. The landscapes feel almost cinematic: Yes, Central Otago makes world-class pinot noir. But it is also a region where you can spend a morning tasting traditional-method sparkling, drink a blanc de noirs at lunch, finish with a taut riesling, then pick up cherries or apricots from a roadside stall, depending on season, while taking in – or stopping for many photo opps – to take in the cinematic landscape. Schist rocks craggs dotting hillsides, wide basins, big skies, and rows of vines that look improbably precise against a largely raw and rugged backdrop. This is a guide to Central Otago for travellers who find joy in the produce of a place beyond ticking off known brand
