Wet Jacket

Marvellous 16.5/20

1 Bendemeer Lane, 903 State Highway 6, Lake Hayes, New Zealand

Open 10am to 5pm, 7 days
Cards MC,V

Tasting bench

The Verdict

To "Cellarbrate": We loved this cellar door which houses a modern tasting room inside an historic building. Friendly and welcoming team, cosy tasting space and great wines. Hidden Gem awarded

To "Wine about": Nothing

How many bottles did we buy: 2

Suitable for: Couples, Groups and Families

Visited September 2016 (weekday), November 2018 (weekday)

Getting There

Country

State/Province

Region

Accessibility

New Zealand

South Island

Central Otago

The cellar door is directly off the main highway between Queenstown and Arrowtown

Upon Arrival

Parking

Setting

Commercial/Boutique

Ambiance

Airconditioning/Fireplace

There are plenty of carparks for the cellar door in its current form

The cellar door is a converted shearing shed. The owner has still maintained the feel of the shearing shed with the original sheep yards outside but tricked up the landscaping with some stack stone walls and birch trees in the entrance

Boutique

We went in with our big coats on as we thought we were walking into a draughty shearing shed. Instead you are confronted with modern glass walls and a beautiful stone room with an open fireplace, modern furniture and huge barn doors that open out onto the deck and the lawns beyond

Yes/Yes indoor and outdoor

Tasting Experience

Number of wines on tasting

Particular wines or varietals known for

Wait time

Knowledge of wines

Staff attitude

Winery Tour Offered

Tasting seating available at counter

Tasting sheet/order form provided for notes

4 per tasting

Pinot Noir

No, even with another couple of groups tasting

Our cellar door host during our first visit was the owner of the winery, a pioneer of the Central Otago wine industry with this being his 3rd project in the region. He clearly knew the wines and the industry. On our second visit, the cellar door assistant also had an excellent knowledge of the wines and was able to walk us through each of the wines in detail

Friendly and welcoming on both occasions and on our visit the owner showed us around the shearing shed and the gardens and talked us through the history and future plans

No, but they do a historic tour of the woolshed and talk about the history of farming in the area and the history of the name Wet Jacket

Yes, the tasting was conducted seated at the tasting table

Yes, on tasting table

Food Offering

Yes/No

Restaurant/Café/Tasting platter

Yes

Cheese shop offering tastings and sales and food trucks outside in summer

Hip Pocket

Price range of wines

Tasting Fee

Refundable on purchase?

Tour Fee

Delivery cost per dozen

Club Membership with Discounts etc

$25-$42

$5 for 4 wines

Yes

N/A

Free

Yes

Other features, facilities and offerings

Gift Shop

Toys/play area for kids

Dog friendly

By the way...

Yes, T shirts and Cheese in the Whitestone Cheese Shop

Yes, note Nelson the winery dog is always in residence

The food trucks in summer make this a great place to visit not far out of Queenstown.

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