World’s first winery airline is up and running

Guests with the New Zealand-owned Invivo Air tasted more than 16 wines at altitude during its inaugural flight this week.

New Zealand wine producer Invivo took to the skies this week for the first official flight of its recently formed Invivo Air.

Travelling from Auckland to Queenstown, the 30 guests that boarded the Invivo Air Saab 340 plane enjoyed a wine tasting at 18,000 ft, a vineyard tour, winemakers’ dinner and overnight stay at the five-star Hilton Queenstown Resort & Spa.

More than 16 different Invivo wines were sampled during the trip, including expressions from Graham Norton and Sarah Jessica Parker’s collections, and drops from the producer’s flagship Invivo range.

Wines were served alongside local Kiwi cuisine such as fresh oysters, West Coast whitebait, Lumina lamb and Stewart Island salmon.

Named ‘Cloud Wine’, the aircraft’s interiors reflected a vineyard aesthetic, complete with hanging vines, and guests received an inflight magazine, a sun hat and sun cream, snacks and a face spritz to freshen up on arrival.

Upon arrival in Queenstown, guests were transported to ‘Legend’s Terrace’ – one of Invivo’s oldest vineyards in Central Otago – for a tour and tasting, featuring live music from a local band, overlooking the views of Bannockburn and Felton Road wine producing regions.

In the evening, guests enjoyed a lavish Winemakers’ Banquet-style dinner at Queenstown’s Botswana Butchery, which opened exclusively for Invivo Air. The five-course meal featured dishes such as Freshly Shucked Oysters and Seared Fijian Yellowfin Tuna Tataki – all paired with Invivo’s range of wines and spirits.

Guests then stayed overnight in lakeside rooms at the Hilton Queenstown Resort & Spa on the shores of Lake Wakatipu, before returning on the Invivo Air flight the next morning back to Auckland.

“As a Kiwi company, we loved showcasing some of our stunning wine regions, vistas, gastronomy and of course wine to our passengers,” said Lightbourne. “We’ve had such positive feedback from our guests, we’re planning our next experience – we’d love to run an international flight for our next trip!”

Ticket purchases for future Invivo Air flights – both domestic and international – are now available from Invivoair.com. The company plans to offset carbon emissions on behalf of every guest that travels with the airline.