Invivo is a popular winery that produces Bokumo wines and has won numerous international awards for its Sauvignon Blanc, rosé, and Pinot Noir.
This Sauvignon Blanc , created in collaboration with Sarah Jessica Parker, an actress who became popular in Japan through Sex and the City, is a regular top-selling item at Bokumo Wines.
Invivo has now launched the world's first winery airline, Invivo Air , and began flights from Auckland to Queenstown on January 31st.
A winery on an airline? What on earth is this? We'll tell you more about it and share the story of the lucky people who were able to join this first flight.
What is Invivo Air?
Last year, Invivo announced the launch of Invivo Air, a unique experience for wine lovers.
The flight will take you from Auckland to Queenstown with InVivo co-founders Tim Lightbourne and Rob Cameron, including an in-flight wine tasting.
After arriving in Queenstown, you will visit the Invivo winery, enjoy dinner, and stay at a luxury hotel. Then, after breakfast the next day, you will return to Auckland for a two-day, one-night trip. Yes, this plan allows you to enjoy Invivo wines throughout the trip.
Co-founder Rob Cameron said:
InVivo Air is the world's first winery airline and we look forward to taking wine lovers on the ultimate winery experience both in the air at 18,000 feet and on the ground.
He commented.
This special flight was sold for 1,149 New Zealand dollars (approximately 100,000 yen) per person, and tickets were limited to 30 people. Tickets were sold out quickly.
Want to know more about wine flights?
Let's take a look at the details of Invivo Air's inaugural flight from an article in New Zealand's major newspaper, the NZ Herald...!
Passengers who boarded the plane at Auckland Airport around noon were shown to their seats along with a bottle of sparkling wine, a collaboration between Invivo and the popular Irish actor and presenter, Graham Norton. Each seat also contained a host of souvenirs packed in logo-printed tote bags!
Then, Cameron, founder of Invivo, personally delivered the safety instructions and the plane took off, starting a 27-hour journey planned entirely for wine.
After takeoff, we were served a lunch of roasted vegetable wraps and pumpkin salad, followed by a tasting of four different wines.
The first two glasses were a 2022 Sauvignon Blanc, a collaboration with Sarah Jessica Parker that was recently introduced at Bokumo, followed by a Chardonnay, followed by an award-winning Rosé, also a collaboration with Sarah Jessica Parker, and a Malbec, a collaboration with Graham Norton, to finish off the evening.
Upon arrival in Queenstown, we will visit the oldest winery in Central Otago, Invovo, where we will receive an in-depth lecture on the winery along with some Pinot Noir and delicious snacks.
After the winery visit, we went to Queenstown's iconic Botswana Butchery for a buffet dinner specially prepared for the tour, with plenty of wine to choose from. The dinner went on until late, with dessert and cheese platters being served as the night drew to a close.
That night we stayed at the luxury hotel "Hilton" in Queenstown, and left the next morning at a leisurely pace. It seems that there was a wine tasting on the flight back to Auckland, but some people passed, saying they had drunk too much wine... However, some people enjoyed mimosas and Chardonnay.
When's your next flight?
According to Invivo founder Lightbourne, the wine flight was initiated as a way to celebrate the lifting of the coronavirus lockdown and to boost tourism, which had been hit hard by the pandemic.
I thought I'd rent a plane and take the opportunity to tell the world about it.
said Lightbourne.
This news spread quickly around the world, and there were inquiries from major media outlets around the world, including the US news site CNN, and thousands of people applied to get tickets for the flight.
Invivo is looking to expand beyond domestic flights in New Zealand to international flights in the future. If you register your email address on Invivo Air's official website ( invivoair.com ), you will receive information about the next flight.
