2020 will go into the record books for many reasons but for wine lovers there is plenty this year to celebrate.
Originally scheduled for mid-winter, Winetopia is now taking place on 9 & 10 October in Wellington and 30 & 31 October in Auckland.
Event Director Rob Eliott says, “While it has been a complicated year for events, our winery partners across the country have shown huge enthusiasm for sharing their latest wines at Winetopia and we can see that the public’s appetite is strong too. This eagerness has really pushed us forward as organisers and we’ve used the extra time to develop new components of the event like the new Wine Blind feature, Golden Coins and pop-up restaurants in each city. These are going to be the best Winetopia events yet, hands down.”
Stephan Walliser of Fromm in Marlborough says, “The fruit is phenomenal. We thought that 2019 was a great year but 2020 is even better. Plus with no visitors to the winery we concentrated on nothing but wine making and I believe the wines will be fantastic!”
For the first time at the events the public will be able to purchase samples of some of the most prestigious wines in the country with the new specially created Golden Coins. These wines retail for over $100 per bottle and the line-up includes the Te Mata Estate Coleraine 2018, Church Rd TOM Chardonnay 2019, the Pisa Range Estate Black Poplar Pinot Noir 2004 and the Villa Maria Ngakirikiri The Gravels 2013.
With over 30 talks and tutored tastings at each event there is a great opportunity for visitors to get under the skin of the NZ wine scene. Free talks include “Why you should drink Pinot Noir… from Marlborough” by Joelle Thomson and “How to buy wine like a pro” by Sommelier Amber Smith. Masterclasses from experts like Master of Wine Bob Campbell and Stephen Wong include a deep dive into lesser known grapes from around New Zealand in “The Road Less Travelled” and “Comeback Kid – Why Chardonnay, the hot 90’s grape is making a comeback.”
Good wine deserves great food to accompany it and with this in mind Winetopia this October will feature pop-up restaurants by local food heroes Egmont St Eatery (Wellington) and Farina (Auckland). The menus are unique to each restaurant, but have been designed to pair with the spectrum of New Zealand wine. In addition people can pre-book a food and wine matching class led by leading experts: Floriditas, Olive Restaurant and Hippopotamus in Wellington, Nanam and Harbourside Ocean Bar Grill in Auckland.
Wine Blind is a new event feature that is designed to be an enjoyable experience but also to challenge people and give them an insight into what professionals in the world of wine get up to on a day to day basis. Sessions last for 25 minutes and are led by a revolving cast of wine gurus and sommeliers.
Winetopia is a wonderful occasion to meet with like-minded wine lovers and while the wine itself is taken very seriously, visitors are also invited to “Share A Glass” with great personalities at the event. This year that includes celebrated musician Laughton Kora (KORA, L.A.B.), actress Antonia Prebble and comedian Ben Hurley. “While I love the sheer depth of the NZ wine scene, one of my all-time favourite things to do with wine is to share a glass with someone interesting, so we’ve brought that experience to the main stage of the event. It’s very informal and a lot of fun” Says Eliott.
Winetopia is arranged by region so you can explore Northland before working your way down to Central Otago, chatting with wine makers as you go while trying their wines, and you can purchase wines on the day to take home with you. At the end of your Winetopia tour a great local band will be playing to round off your experience. Performing in Wellington is Superbad Soul Section and in Auckland it’s Coco Rocky who will end each session on a high note with a full funk and brass ensemble.
Visitors to this year’s Winetopia events will be able to sample some of the first new 2020 white wines and winemakers are bringing some of their latest red releases as well. Tickets start at just $45 (early bird price $35) including $10 worth of tasting tokens, a Spiegelau glass, talks, entertainment and live music to finish. Golden Coins, Masterclasses and Wine Blind tickets are sold separately.
WINERIES PARTICIPATING IN WINETOPIA 2020 (WELLINGTON AND/OR AUCKLAND):
Abel Methode Cider, Akarua, Astrolabe, Ataahua, Bald Hills, Big Sky Wines, Black Estate, Carrick, Church Rd Wines, Clearview Estate, Clos Marguerite, Craggy Range, Dancing Petrel, Dancing Petrel, Decibel Wines, Deep Down Wines, Elephant Hill, Escarpment, Flaxmore Vineyards, Forrest Estate, Framingham, Fromm, Gibbston Valley Estate, Greystone Wines, Greywacke, Jackson Estate, JK14, Judge Rock, Junction Wines, Karikari Estate, Lone Goat, Longview Estate, Man o War, Matavino, Moana Park Winery, Mount Michael, Mt Rosa, Nautilus, No 1 Family Estate, Ohau, , Osawa Wines, Palliser, Pask, Pegasus Bay, Pisa Range Estate, Porphets Rock, Porters Pinot, Quartz Reef, Rannach Vineyards, Rapaura Springs, Rock Ferry, Rockburn Wines, Smith & Sheth, Spade Oak, Staete Landt, Summerhouse, Takatu Vineyard, Te Mata Estate, The Elder Pinot, The Landing, The Winemakers Wife, Tony Bish Wines, Tupari Wines, TW Wines, Two Rivers, Unison, Villa Maria, Waitiri Creek, Westbrook Winery, Yealands.
PRESENTERS AT WINETOPIA 2020 (WELLINGTON AND/OR AUCKLAND):
Bob Campbell MW, Stephen Wong MW, Joelle Thomson, Amber Smith, Caitlin Perlman, Antonia Prebble, Emma Wollum, Mary-Therese Blair, Ben Hurley, Laughton Kora, Suzy Cato, Hayley Sproull, Virginie Le Brun, Angie Atkinson, Jeremy Ellis, Candice Chow, Fergus Aitken.
Winetopia is organised by Lemongrass Productions. Winetopia is an official event of Visa Wellington on a Plate in Wellington and Elemental AKL in Auckland.
Get your tickets at www.winetopia.co.nz
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