Desert Heart Estate
Desert Heart Estate
4.5
About
Desert Heart Estate is our small boutique vineyard, which hosts our tasting room, cellar door and the Desert Heart Kitchen, situated on the iconic Felton Road in Bannockburn. This is where our beautiful wines are created, with what is best for the land, the grape and the soul. We are not pretentious, just fun, and creative with energy and passion. Desert Heart is the perfect place to drop in, taste our award winning wines or sit and sip on a glass of wine and enjoy a seasonal, beautifully prepared platter whilst delighting in the sweeping vista of surrounding mountains and Kawarau River. This is Denny and Jane’s place, and reflects their attitude in that Desert Heart wines and food are not just made, but are created by an unyielding and impassioned focus on quality and attention to detail. Call in share a taste of “Desert Heart” and the culture and care that created it.
Suggest edits to improve what we show.
Improve this listing
Full view
Top ways to experience nearby attractions
The area
Address
Reach out directly
Best nearby
We rank these restaurants and attractions by balancing reviews from our members with how close they are to this location.
Restaurants
9 within 5 kms
Attractions
36 within 10 kms
Contribute
Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.
Popular mentions
We perform checks on reviews.
Tripadvisor’s approach to reviews
Before posting, each Tripadvisor review goes through an automated tracking system, which collects information, answering the following questions: how, what, where and when. If the system detects something that potentially contradicts our community guidelines, the review is not published.
When the system detects a problem, a review may be automatically rejected, sent to the reviewer for validation, or manually reviewed by our team of content specialists, who work 24/7 to maintain the quality of the reviews on our site.
Our team checks each review posted on the site disputed by our community as not meeting our community guidelines.
Learn more about our review moderation.
4.5
50 reviews
Excellent
42
Very good
4
Average
0
Poor
1
Terrible
3
Holidreamer
Cromwell, New Zealand60 contributions
Dec 2023 • Friends
The views are expansive over the Kawarau River to the mountains beyond and the vines nearby. The outdoor setting is magical and has a true Central Otago feel. The vineyard kitchen menu has something for everyone and the desserts were delicious. A lovely peaceful place with delicious food and attentive service. Thanks Desert Heart.
Written 1 December 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Badcop
Cleveland, OH233 contributions
Apr 2023 • Couples
I had made reservations here for lunch months in advance, as I had heard they have great platters. When we showed up, they had a sign that said closed for a private event. There was nothing going on, but it looked like they had something the night before. They made no attempt to contact us and let us know. Luckily, Mt. Difficulty, which is almost across the road but with a much better view, was able to seat us despite being booked. Go there, as it ended up being a wonderful find. Their wine tasting was great, lunch was superb and the views outstanding. Sometimes things happen for a reason and you end up with something better!
Written 30 April 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Paul H
Twin Waters, Australia107 contributions
Feb 2023
Despite Desert Heart’s website declaring that they were open on a Monday, we arrived after a long drive only to discover the gates were closed.
Pretty poor customer service!
We moved on to The Winery in Arrowtown - what a great experience that was!
Pretty poor customer service!
We moved on to The Winery in Arrowtown - what a great experience that was!
Written 20 February 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Sarah R
Cromwell, New Zealand11 contributions
Jan 2023 • Couples
Amazeballs! Great friendly staff & delicious food, see you next week! Cheese rolls & chardonnay best wine food match, greatviews
Written 21 January 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Outonalym B
Auckland Central, New Zealand9 contributions
Dec 2022 • Friends
Most stunning unpretentious winery with exquisite food and top service. My go to place when staying in Wanaka
Written 15 December 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Rachael G
Dunedin, New Zealand18 contributions
Oct 2022 • Friends
We had a wonderful time at the restaurant: the food and service was amazing. We then did a wine tasting with Denny and enjoyed it immensely. We really loved the wines, and the banter, and it was a special experience. Harper the vineyard dog is the sweetest girl. Thank you for having us!
Written 8 October 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Paula S
11 contributions
Jan 2022
Like the other reviews, great wine, great service and an awesome platter. Went more can you ask for? Went here a couple of weeks ago for lunch. Decided to do the wine tasting before deciding on the wine for lunch. Wine tasting is $10 a head, but is wiped if you purchase a bottle of wine. So worth doing. The guy doing the tastings was very knowledgeable and interesting.
Written 15 January 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ken D
Christchurch, New Zealand63 contributions
Oct 2021
An excellent experience. The food, wine and staff were all great. The platter was the best we had ever had and fully lived up to the recommendation of our hosts at Bannockburn House. This is a great place to visit and enjoy relaxing with food and wine
Written 11 October 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
GrantandSheryl D
Dunedin, New Zealand147 contributions
Apr 2021 • Friends
Great wine, amazing food, fantastic staff. Have been here a couple of times and never disappointed. There platters are amazing great variety and staff explained what was on them when they brought them out. Worth a visit. Ring and book so you won’t be disappointed
Written 5 April 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Vik_and_Linz
Auckland, New Zealand109 contributions
Mar 2021 • Couples
This is our absolute favourite vineyard in Central Otago 💕
Their wine is absolutely stunning and their food platters legendary. Sitting on bean bags looking at the view drinking their Chardonnay with their platter is as surely close to heaven as you can get.
Their wine is absolutely stunning and their food platters legendary. Sitting on bean bags looking at the view drinking their Chardonnay with their platter is as surely close to heaven as you can get.
Written 19 March 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Gilly x
Wanaka, New Zealand49 contributions
Hi. Do you know if the platters are or can be gluten free?
mrsclarkie
Cambridge, New Zealand37 contributions
Yes they made us a gluten free platter and it was totally delicious and an experience we can still "taste" in in our memory!
cathyrob129
Alexandra, New Zealand4 contributions
Loking to see if you are open for platters this sunday
Claire
Cromwell, New Zealand28 contributions
Sorry for delay, I just noticed your message here. Desert Heart does close its kitchen from around two weeks ago until after the winter, their tasting room remains available. I hope you manage to enjoy their hospitality some time soon, it is well worthwhile.
Is this your Tripadvisor listing?
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.
Claim your listingDESERT HEART ESTATE: All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (with Photos)
Frequently Asked Questions about Desert Heart Estate
- Desert Heart Estate is open:
- Sat - Mon 11:30 AM - 4:00 PM
- Hotels near Desert Heart Estate:
- (5.95 km) Carrick Lodge Motel
- (14.81 km) Kinross Winery – Cottages
- (7.44 km) Burn Cottage Retreat
- (5.90 km) Colonial Manor Motel
- (2.19 km) Bannockburn House
- Restaurants near Desert Heart Estate:
- (1.07 km) The Winery Restaurant at Mt Difficulty
- (1.76 km) Bannockburn Hotel - Wine Country Restaurant and Bar
- (2.73 km) Carrick Winery & Restaurant
- (1.78 km) Black Rabbit Kitchen & Bar
- (6.85 km) The Stoaker Room Bistro & Bar