How to Prepare for City Wine 2015
Out of all the Perth wine festivals in 2014, I’m pretty sure City Wine was my favourite. In 2014 the festival made its debut and I am so glad it did. I had an absolute ball. That teamed up with the festivals convenient location, fantastic participating WA wineries and the fact that it wasn’t too busy was perfect for me.
I’d like to think I am somewhat of an experienced wine festival goer having attended quite a number in my time in WA and around the world. So therefore I wanted to share with you what I’m looking forward to the most at this years festival as well as some all important wine festival tips to help you make the most of it.
What I’m looking forward to the most at City Wine 2015:
I love all my regulars. However I am a creature of habit and I do tend to go back to all the wineries I know well. Which is not a bad thing as typically they’ll always have new wines out to try. However these days I do make a solid effort to visit the stands of the wineries who I haven’t yet come into contact with as who knows what I’ll find.
So after studying the exhibitor list, below are 5 of the stands I will definitely be heading to first (I’ll try not to drink all the good stuff before you guys can get there!):
1. Vine Collective’s WA Sparkling Bar
You guys know I have a penchant for bubbles, so there is no doubt this is right up my alley. Ben, the head honcho of the VC will be pouring some fabulous sparkling wines from around Western Australia. For instance the likes of Sittella, Myattsfield, Rockcliffe, Oranje Tractor and Flor Marche with everything from the standard Pinot Chardonnay through to some funky Sparkling Sauv Blanc, Riesling, Chenin Blanc and Rose. You can find out more here.
2. Freehand Wines, Great Southern
I actually tried a couple of the Freehand Wines last year and loved them (read more here). Matt the winemaker describes the wines as ‘natural wines’ which are “100% biodynamic/organic grapes ideally grown by the vigneron/winemaker, made using zero additions of sulphites in the winery”. Matt produces Semillon, Merlot, Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and a Rose.
3. Brygon Reserve Wines, Margaret River
Brygon is a new one for me which I spotted on the City Wine facebook page last week. Brygon are a 5 star rated Margaret River winery and were voted in the top 10 best new wineries y in Australia by James Halliday. I love my reds but I tend to drink far more whites so I am glad to see they have a strong white line-up of tipples to try. Brygon are also offering a 10% discount on 6 bottles or more purchased at City Wine.
4. Barwick Estate Wines, WA
I have seen Barwick pop up here and there over social media recently which has peaked my interest. The company own 3 vineyards throughout WA in Margaret River, Blackwood River Valley and Pemberton. Plus they are offering a festival special of: Buy any 2 cases and receive a case of White Label for free!
5. Tomasi, Margaret River
Another newbie on the scene! Tomasi comes to us from the folks at Oceans Estate Margaret River. They are the most South Eastern vineyard in Margaret River in the Karridale sub region. They produce Merlot, Pinot, Cabernet Merlot blend, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and a Rose.
How to get the most out of your $25 City Wine Ticket in 2015:
- Plan ahead, check out the exhibitor list and make sure you hit up your must visit wineries first
- Drink water! All those tastings do add up and I’m pretty sure you’d like to remember all of the evening
- Take photos of your favourite wines on your phone throughout the evening so you can either buy them at the end of the night or order online (most wineries will have special festival prices, so take advantage of these!)
- You can check out all the festival specials as well as accommodation specials if you want to make a night of it in the city here
- Take the train! Seriously, the festival is a skip, hop and a jump from the Perth City station so there’s no excuses
- Get there early! I really shouldn’t be telling you all this, as I like to think it’s mine and a few other punctual people’s mantra. Even though I love being on time, I love to show up as soon as the gates open at festivals so I can literally get the pick of the bunch. I can visit all the wineries on my ‘Must Visit’ list before the crowds get too big and I have to wait in line
- For even more tips check out my My top 10 wine festival essentials post
To say I’m excited about the event is an understatement. I’ll hopefully be attending on the Friday night so I can pop up a blog post prior to the Saturday session with all the juicy gossip so stay tuned and make sure you check out what I thought of City Wine 2014.
