The Hunter Valley is packing their picnic bags and bringing a bounty of produce with a vinous focus from their fertile region to Balmoral Beach. Head to the Esplanade on October 20 for a day of wine tastings, cooking demonstrations and live entertainment.
Entry to this sommelier haven is free, and there are tasting packages going for $26-$31, so you can wander the markets sampling the finest Hunter Valley drops. Explore the climatic shifts between wine growers and producers from Allandale Winery, Boydell's, Hungerford Hill, Mount Pleasant Wines, Pepper Tree Wines, Tamburlaine Organic Wines, Tulloch Wines and many more. The Hunter Distillery will be returning for a second year, elevating the festival beyond grown up grape juice with their top shelf vodka, gin, schnapps and liqueurs.
After all that dancing fuel, you’ll be ready for the snack heaven provided by wine country food pros like Lovedale, the Deck Café and Oaks Cypress Lakes Bistro & Bar. And if you’re sufficiently impressed with the spread, you can take home a charcuterie board’s worth of dairy from Hunter Valley Cheese Factory, preserves from Fat Wren Farm and everything in between from Hampers of the Hunter.
To mix up feasting styles, there’ll also be six sessions of barbecue demos across the day, where you’ll pick up some hot techniques and get a gourmet plate of anything from smoked lamb shoulder to spit-roasted porchetta matched with a glass of wine for $10.
The day in the sun will be set to a jazzy live soundtrack, with the tasting race beginning at 11am and last drinks being called at 5pm. They’ve even organised your designated driver for the day, with a free shuttle bus connecting Balmoral Beach with Mosman and Spit Junction every 15 minutes.
