18 Reasons I love Wine And Food At Yagan Square
Welcome to #CityWine, Perth’s own Winter Wine Festival.
This year, City Wine had a change of location, which I absolutely loved, moving from Perth City Orchard to Yagan Square.
So what were my highlights this year? Well, I had 18 of them, and if you’re in Perth, you too can enjoy City Wine today (8th June 2019), running from 2pm – 9pm.
Have I missed any highlights? Let us know in the comments.
A big thank you to the team at Wine and Food Events for the ticket to attend City Wine. This is one of my favourite events to attend!
1. Margaret River Chardonnay
As a Chardonnay lover, I was in oak and butter heaven.
I can’t visit a wine festival and not try as many Chardonnays as possible, plus when the Travelling Corkscrew is Chardonnays #1 fan, well I just have to make sure I report back. A couple of standouts for me were:
Churchview 2017 The Bartondale Chardonnay
Domain Naturaliste by Bruce Dukes Floris 2017 Chardonnay
2. Mulled Wine From Fifth Estate Wines
It might be cold outside, but Fifth Estate Wine will keep you warm with their mulled wine, made using their 2011 Shiraz.
3. Got Bubbles?
City Wine sure does!
Marri Wood Park had a sparkling Chenin Blanc available for tasting.
The back of the label offers some insight into how the wine was made.
“The sparkling is made from Chenin Blanc, Demeter certified Bio-Organic, handpicked, sorted and fermented using traditional methods.
And how cute is the label? This one has been designed by Francesca Gnagnarell of Fragnaga Art.
The Fifth Estate 2016 Sparkling Chardonnay was another favourite of mine.
I love when a winery includes there tasting notes on the table, as I find it really helps to highlight what I think I am smelling or tasting, but perhaps I just can’t quite put my finger on it.
Their tasting note mentions that the “…wine has complex aromas of baked pastry, hazelnut, lanolin, and orange rind”.
I’m thinking that this will be the perfect weekend brunch bubbles!
Love sparkling red? Tomasi in Margaret River has you covered with a Sparkling Pinot Noir. Yummy!
I had to go into the archives for this photo of the 3Drops Blanc De Noir as I didn’t snap a very good shot last night.
What do you think of the labels? I think they look very elegant!
4. Celebrate #NationalRoséDay
Today is #NationalRoséDay.
How will you be celebrating?
Let’s just say I started a little early and got stuck into some rosé last night, including this Wild Rosé from Clown Fish in Margaret River.
I was also loving the 2018 Nebbiolo Rosé from 3Drops Winery.
Think strawberries and cherries and everything pink!
5. Get A Little Funky
There were many wineries at City Wine showcasing some wonderful funky wines including:
Morlet who had a 2018 Pink Zin Pet Nat made from Zinfandel.
I also enjoyed a couple of Pet Nats from Chalari Wines, including the Merlot, whose grapes were sourced from the Perth Hills and the Chenin Pet Nat which had its grapes sourced from the Swan Valley.
Bryce and I bought a couple of bottles and I am looking forward to cracking into them soon!
6. Go Big Or Go Home
Got to love a bigger glass to enjoy your tastings!
There are two options when buying tickets either the general ticket which includes a smaller souvenir tasting glass or, like me, opt for the Plumm Glass Ticket. It does cost a little more, but I do love taking home one of these baby’s at the end of the night!
Depending on when you buy your ticket, the upgrade to the Plumm Glass Ticket is only $10 more than a general ticket.
You may want to get in early for 2020, as the Plumm glass ticket sold out this year!
7. Be A Little Naughty
Marri Wood Park had a really interesting Pet Nat called Bratty Nat and yes it is named after the winery owners daughter Nat!
What isn’t naughty, is the label which is made from recycled cotton – how cool is that!
8. Hit the dance floor or just chill out
Towards the end of the night, the dance floor was getting pretty packed and everyone was enjoying the tunes and showing off there best moves!
But if the dance floor isn’t for you, there are plenty of options to just sit down, chill and enjoy the company of others.
9. Enjoy A Taste, Buy A Glass Or A Bottle!
There are plenty of wineries, including Talisman Wines to go and visit, plus if you love their wine, make sure to buy a glass or a bottle.
10. Wine Lovers Unite
I love everything about this sign from Below and Above Wines!
#WineLoversUnite
11. Meet with award-winning winemakers
Meet two of Australia’s Top 50 Young Guns of Wine at City Wine – Alexi Christidis from Chalari Wines and Genevieve and Rob Mann from Corymbia, who made it into the top 12! An awesome achievement and a great way to put the spotlight on WA wine and our amazing wine regions.
12. Representatives From All Over The State
Sample wines from all over our state including the Swan Valley, the Perth Hills, Peel, Geographe, Margaret River, the Great Southern and the Southern Forests.
13. Baby, It’s Cold Outside (But It’s Warm Inside)
To be honest, I walked in with a jacket on and took it off almost straight away.
There is plenty of heating inside and the new look marquee set-up means there is no wind to worry you.
14. Take A Walk On The Wild Side
Have you ever tried a wild fermented wine before?
Churchview offers two – a Viognier and a Chenin Blanc.
If you’re wondering what wild fermented is, I highly recommend checking out Wine Follys wrap up on the topic.
Also, if you pop into their winery, you may also be able to try their Wild Fermented Marsanne or Riesling.
15. Are you a winner?
Head on over to the Corymbia stand and take a guess at how many honky nuts are in the vase plus make sure you enter the City Wine comp to top up your cellar for winter! You can pick up an entry form when you get your ticket scanned at the entrance.
16. Barvo for Bravos
Thank you to the Tapas Man for making sure our tummies weren’t grumbling!
We opted for the Bravos, however, there is plenty of food to choose from including croquettes, loaded fries, hot wings, boas, curries, paella, and more.
17. Zinfandel Two Ways – Still or Sparkling?
It was so good to see Zinfandel made in so many different ways.
Mandalay Winery had a lovely bottle of Zinfandel available for tasting, while the team at Morlet had the Filly’s Folly Sparkling Zinfandel Rosé and a Pink Zin Pet Nat!
18. Festival Prices
If you find yourself buying a lot of wine and taking advantage of the specials on the night, like the 3 Shiraz for $45 from Fifth Estate, you can store your wine at the Wine Lockers, found at the entrance into the venue.
Bring on City Wine 2020!
