To say we are looking forward to the Cellar Door Fest is probably the understatement of 2016! Because we are sooooo excited! Luckily for us, and you, we don’t have to wait too much longer with the Festival kicking off on February 26, but last night, we were treated to a little teaser of what we can expect. And we want more, more, more!
When the ‘Cellar Door’ opens there will be more than 150 wineries from 15 regions together at the convenient CBD location of the Adelaide Convention Centre to offer free tastings to ticketholders. The wineries will sit alongside food producers, micro-breweries and other boutique producers to give guests a fantastic weekend out in Adelaide! In its 6th year, the Cellar Door Fest is a staple on the calendar. Where else can you go to compare wines from across all the regions and pair it with some delicious foods and a beer along the way? If you’re feeling like something a little different, there are also masterclasses and long lunches to keep you satisfied.
But back to last night. After venturing to three Adelaide-based cellar doors, our stomachs and heads are reminding us that we ate and drank well. Just the way we like it.
We kicked off the night at Tidswell Wines. This little gem is based on Sydenham Road in Norwood and while they are small, they have a hands on approach to every stage of the winemaking and selling process so you truly do “meet the makers” when you visit. We enjoyed their wines with a Bottega Rotolo platter which was every bit as tasty as it looked. We could have stayed all night but before we got too comfortable, it was time for the next stop.
A short walk around the corner led us to Signature Wines. You may have heard of these guys, they supply all the best hotels and restaurants with their wines. But did you know they were in Norwood? Or that they could throw together a set up like this? We were super impressed by the effort they put in to hosting us and every element was considered. The four wines, including their rare, flagship wine, we tried were all quite different and showed the diversity of this winery. And more cheese was on offer so of course we tried some. It would be rude not to. Ruby Spice lent a hand to prepare the spiced beef brisket burgers so we were nourished in every way. We were given a pot of Ruby Spice’s Memphis Magic Dry BBQ rub to take home and try. Yummity yum!
It was tempting to curl up in our chair with the Shiraz and settle in for the night. Luckily the guys from Signature Wines had transport sorted to our final destination. Some lucky guests piled into the 1958 converted Cadillac hearse and rolled on down to Tomich Wines on King William Road.
As the final stop of the night, Tomich understood that everyone was a bit weary and full – the wine and cheese coma had well and truly set in… So they rolled out the red carpet (literally) and put on the coffee to welcome us. Tomich provided the Sparkling and Red Cacao (you may know them from their amazing dessert bar in Stirling every Friday night) provided the chocolates and coffee. The chocolates were simply to die for. The little raspberry number had us eyeing off everyone else’s and wondering how we could go about snatching theirs… Heaven in a chocolate!
Last night gave us a snapshot of what’s to come at this year’s Cellar Door Fest and if excited was an understatement before this sneak peek, then now we are dancing in circles, jumping up and down, giddy in love with what is to come… Because we know that we will not only be seeing more of these guys, but also all of the other wineries represented over three nights and days. Our advice? Grab yourself a weekend pass and soak it all in over the course of the weekend, starting with after work drinks on the Friday and finishing with the perfect Sunday sesh.
Alec Gilbert, Adelaide Convention Centre CEO said the Cellar Door Fest is a celebration of the best South Australian producers with more than 50 featured at the Festival for the first time. “We’ve evolved the Festival this year to recognise that it’s not only wineries that have cellar doors but also cheesemakers, chocolatiers, smallgoods producers and even some primary producers,” said Mr. Gilbert.
“For producers without a cellar door or direct shopfront then the Festival can be even more valuable because it provides a unique opportunity to offer product samples and educate and inform potential new customers.
“For visitors, the Cellar Door Fest promises to take them on a journey through the regions and to provide a fun, informative and mouth-watering experience.”
New features at the Cellar Door Fest this year include a Long Table Dinner (part of the Long Table Dining Series), newly created Master classes, and the Cellar Door Fest Beer Garden. The Garden provides a relaxed space for visitors to unwind and sample a few boutique South Australian beers and ciders.
Check out the full program and snap up your tickets online by visiting www.cellardoorfestival.com.au.
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