The Manure Room is Ayrburn's home of wine flights and shared plates, set within Queenstown's most delicious destination — a multi-venue food and wine precinct tucked into the folds of the Southern Alps at Lake Hayes.
Where many tasting rooms run to a schedule, this one is refreshingly unhurried: The Manure Room hosts self-guided tastings of Ayrburn Wines, giving you the space to swirl, sniff, sip and savour at your own pace. The wines are crafted from Central Otago's best vineyards, with nuanced flavours that showcase the region's renowned terroir — from Pinot Gris, Methode and Rosé to pinot noir and magnums, plus special single vineyard wines from Gibbston, Bannockburn and Bendigo.
Plates made for sharing keep the glasses company, and the Cellar Door retail space inside the venue means any favourite can be discovered and packaged up to take home — with international shipping available. Membership of the Napoleon Club adds exclusive retail and dining discounts, concierge priority booking and pre-release invites to Ayrburn events, along with a magnum upgrade on your birthday.
As one of ten venues across the precinct — from Billy's glass house to The Woolshed bistro and The Vintners Bar, home of the whisky flight — The Manure Room works beautifully as a standalone stop or as the tasting chapter of a longer Ayrburn day. Bookings can be made via the Ayrburn website.
The Manure Room is the pour-slowly corner of Ayrburn, Queenstown's self-styled most delicious destination — a multi-venue food and wine precinct tucked into the folds of the Southern Alps at Lake Hayes. While siblings across the precinct fire up bistro grills and bakery ovens, this room is dedicated to two simpler pleasures: wine flights and shared plates. It is unmissable for those discovering Otago for the first time — and, as the precinct likes to say, every time thereafter.
What sets The Manure Room apart from a conventional cellar door tasting is the self-guided format. The venue plays host to self-guided tastings of Ayrburn Wines, which means no timetable, no script and no rushing: you move through the flight at whatever pace the afternoon demands. The precinct's own description is difficult to better — it is the perfect setting to swirl, sniff, sip and savour.
The wines in the glass justify the ceremony. Ayrburn's wines are crafted from Central Otago's best vineyards, with nuanced flavours intended to showcase the region's renowned terroir. The range is broad for a single estate: a Pinot Gris, a traditional method Methode, a Rosé, pinot noir including the 2022 Whimsy, and magnums for tables with ambition. For those who want to go deeper, there are special single vineyard wines from Gibbston, Bannockburn and Bendigo — three sub-regions of Central Otago, each with its own expression of the same celebrated landscape.
Alongside the pours come shared plates, the venue's other calling card, turning a tasting into a long, leisurely graze rather than a quick sample-and-go.
Falling in love with a bottle mid-flight is very much allowed — and catered for. The Cellar Door and retail space sits in The Manure Room, with a second outlet at R.M Prime Produce, where the team will help you discover and package up your favourites to enjoy again at home. International shipping is available, so the bottle you met at Lake Hayes can follow you almost anywhere in the world.
Regulars have another route in: the Napoleon Club, Ayrburn's membership programme. Members enjoy exclusive access to retail and dining discounts, a club concierge for priority bookings, and pre-release invitations to Ayrburn parties and events. And in a gesture that says a great deal about the place, the club upgrades you to a magnum on your birthday.
The Manure Room is one of ten venues within Ayrburn, and the precinct rewards wandering. Across the grounds you'll find Billy's, where a historic homestead meets a glorious glass house; The Woolshed, a Michelin-selected bistro; The Bakehouse for all-day, all-fresh alfresco eating; The Burr Bar for drinks shaken or stirred; The Dairy, a storybook of sweetness; The Dell, the central gathering spot; and The Vintners Bar, home of the whisky flight. If you'd like a guided counterpart to your self-guided flight, the Barrel Room hosts Ayrburn wine tastings on the hour from 11:00am daily, journeying through the sub-regional offering.
Getting there is sorted, too: Ayrburn points visitors towards safe, reliable transport options so you can focus on the fun. Tables at The Manure Room can be booked through the Ayrburn website. Come for one flight and you'll understand why the precinct holds Qualmark Gold certification — and why so many visitors build an entire Otago itinerary around this one bend in the road at Lake Hayes.