Advice about buying wine in NZ required.

[rosewaterwrx]

Hi all,

I will be making a short ski trip late July to NZ and have a few questions about purchasing wine, any advice would be most welcome. Unfortunately I will struggle to get much of a chance to get to more than a couple cellar doors (hoping to get to Felton rd) but would be very keen to source some wine from local retailers around Queenstown/Wanaka.

Can anyone recommend a couple of good retailers in these regions?

If I am purchasing say a mixed dozen and mailing them back to myself in Australia am I going to have to pay WET? I have actually had a couple of wineries freight a dozen wines to me before and never had to pay WET, so I was hoping that If I am sending myself wines that WET wouldn't apply as it isn't a commercial sale?

Does anyone have any idea about the quality/price of wines available via duty free at Queenstown?

Thanks in advance
David

[TiggerK]

Crappy selection available at Duty Free (in fact I'm sure there was little if nothing at all at ZQN, international is a very small part of the airport). Not sure about WET, suspect it'll be 50/50 chance of getting caught, anything bought overseas is subject to WET, no matter if personal or commercial. (someone correct me if I'm wrong please).

Getting back into Sydney, they're not fussed about you being over your wine duty free limit... what airport you coming back into?? (Brisbane is way more strict). Smokes, champers and spirits are a very different story, but with NZ wine, 95% of the time (Sydney staff) couldn't care less as long as you admit it upfront. I've taken 17 bottles with two of us and they didn't bat an eyelid, even though 3 each is the limit.

WineTastes in Q'Town is a great retailer, check the website and mention website pricing to get the required discount as standard in-store pricing is a bit much. It helps if you've had a good tasting instore as well (which is well recommended). They also do shipping to Aus, not cheap though, think $120NZ for a case or thereabouts?? Prob still cheaper than buying here, esp if getting the good stuff. Great enthusiastic staff too, and they usually have stuff like Rockford BP, St Henri etc at cheaper prices than Aus too if you're interested.

The Betty's shops all around town (bit of a monopoly) are a bit crap, but sometimes a good special is on which helps. They have a bit of nice stuff like Le Sol, Te Mata Bullnose etc, but mostly the very avg 'duty free' brands at too high prices.

I did find a really good shop in Cromwell township which had some hard to find wines at OK prices, can't remember the name but hard to miss if you're there (Cromwell is pretty small, and really cold!! I shiver just thinking about it!)

The main (only?) supermarket in Wanaka was quite good too (New World I think). I distinctly recall buying Rippon PN for something like 60-70NZ in Q'Town, then finding it for 40-45NZ in the Wanaka supermarket!! Gutted at the time but c'est la vie.

Let me know if you want any thoughts on food etc in Q'town. Food is a touch more pricey over there than here, but usually rather good. Don't miss Fergburger!!

Cheers
Tim

[Michael R]

TiggerK .....aka the chapelle corby of nz wine!
When it comes to courier'ing the finest nz drops.....he's the man
FWIW. I can't remember the name of the Cromwell shop either, but it's very good, and a 5 min drive from Felton road. I'm a big felton fan, great wine, but think you need to book before you arrive. The supermarkets can be crap, but please check them out as you can definitely strike gold, I got an 03 BP for $48 ....was corked though
Definitely check out the rippon cellar door in wanaka, easily the most beautiful I've been to, plus awesome wines. Felton road are neighbors with mount difficulty, but I' d recommend olssens or carrick over them.

Enjoy
Michael

[Wizz]

Some good advice there.

Wine tastes in QT is good for its selection but the shelf pricing is steep.
Wanaka Fine WInes is also worth a look.
ZQN duty free is rubbish.
The supermarkets are surprisingly good for low to mid range wines.
Not sure where the Cromwell store TiggerK refers to is - I'm over there every year and have never been into it?

Felton Road is now open to the public 2 to 5 Mon to Fri, and worth a visit. I'd also recommend Carrick or Bald Hills ahead of other Bannockburn cellar doors. Rippon is indeed excellent if open. Chard Farm and Peregrine are worthwhile visits, and some of the smaller Gibbston producers are probably worth a visit. I'm less enamoured with GIbbston Valley or Amisfield. In Cromwell itself, Rockburn is well worh a look, as is Quartz Reef.

There are also a few options on the Cromwell Wanaka Road, although I cant confess to much experience with those ones.

Shipping back to Aus - $NZ120/doz is OK as a going rate. if you ship yourself via the NZ postal service you are exposed to paying WET - Ive got away with it once and been caught once.
A number of the cellar doors usehttp://www.NZWinehome.co.nz to ship to Aus, and their charge covers WET, GST, and freight within Aus. You might be able to accumulate a mixed dozen from cellar doors and ship them home that way via whoever you visit last - I haven't tested whether every cellar door is willing to do that.

[Michael R]

Thanks wizz, It's been a couple of years, but the shop was in the little shopping mall in Cromwell, I remember they had the Felton blocks at reasonable prices, plus the owner was a decent guy. Hope it's still there.

I know what you mean about the gibbston valley, however amisfield is worth a visit IMO, great cellar door experience and it's on the road to Cromwell from QT. rockburn cd was based in an industrial estate when I was there. Decent wine but I wouldn't prioritise it on a short trip.

[rosewaterwrx]

Thanks everyone for the feedback, will be a great help. i do find it a bit confusing that Sydney airport (I will be departing and arriving from this point) turn a blind eye to multiple bottles of incoming wine from NZ? Surely they would be on a very tight rein and if found not to comply 100% to the guidelines would be in all sorts of trouble? I will have to take the advice given into consideration and have a think about the best method of getting around a dozen wines back home.......cheers.

I've never been to NZ, quite excited to be honest, lets hope to snow is great and the weather is mild.

[TiggerK]

They just can't be bothered calculating and collecting the fairly small duty on bottles they assume are worth about 20NZ per bottle, and I was never asked how much they were worth at any time. The method to calculate is complex and just not worth their time it seems. As I say, as long as you declare it upfront and don't have any spirits, champagne or cigarettes, the main issue is your baggage allowance and making sure they don't break in your suitcase!! I wrap in clothes plus bubblewrap and in small 2 or 3 pack boxes and also avoid the edges of the suitcase. Never had a problem. NZ is not considered a target for customs, they're far more worried about your honey, fruit, nuts, dirt and wood!

Worst case scenario you'd get someone on the wrong day, and end up paying a small amount of duty/WET on the wines.

Always helps to have something like wooden articles/nuts etc to distract them from the wine too!! Most times coming through my bags aren't even xray'ed, it's casual plus here in SYD.

[Polymer]

Yeap..I think most of the time, they just can't be bothered to go through all that paperwork for what they think will be 15 dollars...

Same with the US...it is .21/.31 cents a bottle...so it just isn't worth the hassle to charge you 2 dollars..

[Maximus]

Mr Tigger is on the money.

The store in Cromwell was called Pembrokes. There is now a sushi store there (Cromwell's hit the big time - two sushi stores!).

John had two stores, and the one in Wanaka is still operating, in addition to WFW. In can be a playground for sourcing some iconic Aussie brands with favourable NZ$ retails. Alan Hamilton Cellars in Arrowtown is also worth a look-in. Great selection of local wines without the tourist prices of Queenstown and Wanaka. Make sure you have a Venison Pie at the bakery while you're there.

Feel free to email me if you'd like some more intimate information about wineries/restaurants/etc. Subject to timing, I'd be happy to give you a vineyard tour if that was of interest.

Rug up - the days are getting cool...

Cheers,

[burgster]

I agree with a lot of the above.

I would never buy wine duty free, its always a rip off.

The Cromwell shop has been closed for years.

The best shops are probably Wanaka Fine Wines and Allan Hamiltons in Arrowton. Always have a look in New World Supermarkets as well.

The Wine Tastes shop in Qtwn is a rip off, although you may find some cheap Aussie wine if you like that sort of thing. Long way to come to buy that though.

The best way to get wine into Australia is to take six bottles per person through Sydney. Try shipping a whole case seperately and you can be wacked with crazy amounts of wet. They treat sav is if its a $25 wine.

When visiting wineries don't just restrict yourself to Pinots, some of the rieslings are stunning.

Enjoy your visit. Its a great place.

[TiggerK]

Wine Tastes shelf prices are indeed too high, but as I said, they typically have 20% off all their instore prices on their website. If you mention it, they will normally give you the website pricing, esp if buying a few bottles. They know you can always go back to the hotel, order online and pickup!

Been a few years since I was in Cromwell obviously! The Arrowtown shop is very good, but prices not exactly cheap. Fair though. Must check out WFW next time I'm there.

six bottles per person burgster? Three is the official limit, so anything above that should be declared, but as I mentioned, usually quite safe.

Yes the CO Rieslings are great, esp Mt Edwards, Felton Rd and Auburn. Have fun and good luck with the snow! Coronet usually the safest bet as their snowmaking is impressive. Treble Cone for great black runs, Cardrona for family and all round fun. Remarkables quite good as well.

Cheers
Tim

[rosewaterwrx]

Thanks all for the very useful advice. Maybe I'll try mailing a 6 pack and see if it gets through and also just take a 6 pack onboard with me and declare it. I will be going for a week and spending 3 days skiing (I can do most blue runs whereas my friend is a complete beginner). I have only ever gone skiing in Australia so hopefully this will be a step up and fingers crossed the weather is kind. It's quite a beautiful, surreal experience to be whizzing down a mountain at a speed far surpassing your skill level and looking at the stunning scenery of the surrounding mountains.

As I'm travelling with a friend, wine tasting will unfortunately be pretty limited as we will have to compromise on how we spend our remaining time (still have to figure out if Bungee jumping is a good or very, very bad idea:). I am hoping to spend 1/2 a day visiting cellar doors (Felton, Mt Edward and maybe 1 or 2 more) but if not then visiting the enomatic at Wine tastes may have to suffice.

Hopefully I can get back to NZ around November with younger bro who also loves his wine for a real shot at the cellar doors on the north island. So this is more of an adventure trip and will try and manage some wine tasting/buying in where I can.