If you are on the road in the Queenstown region this holiday season a great place to visit is Wet Jacket. The old Bendemeer wool shed is Wet Jacket’s cellar door and Whitestone’s cheese room.

Wet Jacket is tucked in behind Amisfield, at the entrance to Bendemeer housing estate in Arrowtown. The original wool shed and shearing quarters have been retained with the cellar door at the back of the building and the cheese room at the front. The rustic building is inviting with a feeling of yesteryear.

Over the summer months the backyard behind the woolshed comes alive. A variety of food trucks provide interesting bites from 11am to 6pm daily. Relax under the willow trees on bean bags with a glass of wine and a small plate of delicious food.

These are the food trucks that will be frequenting Wet Jacket this summer.

Monday-Tuesday : Morsel
Wednesday-Saturday: Focus on Food
Sunday: Lake & Wood Brew Co.
Saturday / Sunday – Beer served by Lake & Wood Brew Co.

As well as the food trucks the cellar door and the cheese room are open for tasting daily. Wine tasting is $5 per person, waived with the purchase of a bottle of wine.

The name Wet Jacket came from a marine reserve between Dusky and Breaksea Sounds in the Fiordland National Park. Captain Cook named it Wet Jacket Arm on his second trip to New Zealand in 1773 because the crew’s jackets were sodden after spending many days in torrential Fiordland storms.

Owner of Wet Jacket, Greg Hay is passionate about the area having spent more than 20 years exploring Fiordland, hunting and gathering. He is also passionate about Central Otago wines having started one of the first wineries in the region, Chard Farm and later Peregrine. Wet Jacket is his latest venture.

If you are visiting the Queenstown region, these blogs may be of interest too.

Queenstown: A region for all seasons- NZ Herald, November 21 2017

Exploring the ethereal wilderness of the Dart River

The ‘food experience’ at Amisfield Bistro is the finest in Queenstown