short trip + winery + buffalo mozzarella foam

Probably the place I was recommended the most whilst visiting Queenstown, Amisfield Winery is set amongst The Remarkables Mountain Range, overlooks Lake Hayes and is a short 15 minute drive from central Queenstown.

Established in 1988 the winery is one of the largest single vineyard estates in the Central Otago region, and is located within the iconic stone schist building. When you come to a place like this, the 'trust the chef' signature menu is an absolute must. Selected by the chef, the shared plates are based on the local produce and ingredients available on the day. And of course, we had the matching wines!

The lunch kicked off with our Amuse-bouche of Gazpacho, which was chilled, very tasty and refreshing. Our starter of Slow roasted pork belly rillette, fennel and watercress salad with hand made sourdough was so incredibly delicious. Very moreish! And one of my favourite dishes of the day. For our entree we had Heirloom tomato, buffalo mozzarella foam, reduction of balsamic vinaigrette jelly and basil. This was a delightful surprise! Buffalo mozzarella foam!? So light. So yum. All these were complimented by the Amisfield Brut 2010, which was the perfect match against the creaminess of these meals.

For our main we asked for a white fish instead of pink (I'm not a fan), and were greeted by the beautifully plated Lemon sole with mint grapes, walnuts, raspberry vinaigrette and verjuice. The fish was cooked to perfection with crispy skin and came with a side of some leafy greens, however I personally think the serving size was a little small.The dish was matched with the Amisfield Pinot Gris 2014, but I think it may have been better with the Amisfield Sauvignon Blanc 2014.

Our palate cleanser was Organic ginger beer, tapioca pearls and lemon foam - which I didn't like. At all. The flavours really didn't do it for me (but I don't like ginger beer) and the addition of tapioca? A tad random which I'm still not sure about. Maybe because it's a buzzword? Odd.

The main didn't look fantastic, but the combination of all those flavours was second to none. We had Roast beef with horseradish cream, radish and celery leaf salad, roasted potatoes with sweet paprika salt, and homemade harrissa and aioli dip. This was definitely one of the favourite dishes of the day, and that horseradish cream(!), was in-credible. The Amisfield Pinot Noir 2011 may have been my favourite New Zealand pinot I have tried (and just so happens to be Amifields signature wine), and of course went perfectly with the roast beef.

We were lucky enough to try a range of their desserts - Italian meringue with white chocolate sorbet, lemon curd and blueberries; Marinated tropical fruits with coconut frozen yoghurt and nobel granita; Vanilla bean pannacotta with nectarines, pistachio and rosemary and Chocolate mousse cake with pinot noir berries and hokey-pokey ice-cream. The crowd-favourite was a tie between the pannacotta and italian meringue, and it was agreed that the chocolate mousse is nothing special. I'm not a fan of dessert wine (far too sweet for me), but I drank the entire glass. Because that's what you do at the end of a degustation with matching wines.

We left feeling content (stomach-wise) and very happy (delicious wine + beautiful food + amazing location + great company does that!). I would absolutely recommend this for anyone travelling to Queenstown. It's a little way out so you'll need to hire a car or get a taxi, but it's well worth it. The staff were incredibly friendly, the food and wine were exquisite and let's be honest it was fairly cheap in comparison to degustations in Australia!!

Restaurant: Amisfield Winery
Total price (for 5 ppl): Food: $325; Beverages: $300
Hours: 11.30am - 8.30pm
Must order: 'Trust the chef' with 4 matching wines and dessert