The Highlights of City Wine 2015

I went to City Wine 2015 with a plan. Yet it all literally went out the window from when I first stepped through the gates!

This was the 2nd year for the annual inner city wine festival which took place at the Urban Orchard pop-up area right by the central city train station. The festival is held over two evenings, a Friday and Saturday. And I would say that there are around 30 wineries and food businesses involved showcasing their tasty goods under the bright lights of Perth City.

A huge thank-you to the organisers, CMS Events, for inviting Mr. Spittoon and myself along, we had such a fun night and seeing as we could take the train it meant there were no arguments over who had to drive. It just meant we were both feeling a little worse for wear the next day!

This year I went with a group of friends so instead of trying to get around every single stall I actually sat down and enjoyed some food and glasses of wine. Heck I even got up and had a good boogie this year. So much fun and great live music!

Of the stalls I did manage to visit, here are some of my highlights of the evening:

WA Sparkling Wine Bar

It’s always a pleasure bumping into Ben who is the creator behind Vine Collective, the Trip Advisor meets eBay for WA Wine. My standouts here were the Oranje Tractor Sparkling Sauvignon Blanc and the Flor Marche Rizzante Riesling.

Fifth Estate Wines

I always love the friendly chatty service at Fifth Estate. This year my picks were the Chardy, Rose and Sparkling Shiraz.

Freehand Wines

It was so lovely to finally meet the couple behind these Great Southern natural wines. Matt was super friendly and was telling us all about the cellar door they are building themselves – I can’t wait to see it when it’s completed (hopefully by Christmas this year he said) as there was mention of hay bales being used in the construction of it.

I loved how these guys had little cards you could take away with you which had 3 descriptors of the wine on. Forget long-winded printed out tasting notes, these guys are doing it right! Plus they had cheese and crackers on offer too, very smart. My top picks where the 2012 Semillon and the 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon (I still can’t believe how well this one has aged, I was literally shocked at how well it’s currently drinking!).

Arlewood Estate

We ended up only trying the whites here, but the La Bratta was simply stunning! A nice big bold white wine made of Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay. We were told it’s ‘the white wine for red meat’.

Barwick Estate

I’ve been hanging out to try these guys wines for so long now. Brilliant value at $15 a bottle for most of their wines and the Optimus Shiraz was pretty special.

Happs Wines

Big ups to anyone who does a straight Sem, and these guys hit the nail on the head with their Semillon. Absolutely stunning and their Chardy was also pretty special. Lovely service too!

And then of course there were all my old favourites like Talisman, Castelli, House of Cards, Howling Wolves and more. I am pretty sure I could find a wine I liked at every single stall!

I did go a bit crazy this year and tried some of the spirits on offer too. The Great Southern Distillery had a stall and were giving out tastings for $2 a pop. I tried the Oraiste Orange liqueur which was really tasty. I also had a Liquid Nitrogen Espresso Martini from the team at Cocktail Gastronomy, of course it was mainly just the show I was paying the $15 for!

To soak up all the lovely local booze we snacked on a hummus and falafel plate from the team at The Hummus Club which was super tasty. And also we had a voucher for a tasting plate from Two Queens which was AMAZING! It’s not your typical tasting plate which is why I liked it so much, plus the deep-fried cheese sticks were heaven. Mr. Spittoon and I literally inhaled everything on the plate!

All up it was a fab night. I love how the festival is smack bam in the city centre and there’s no doubt that I’m already looking forward to City Wine 2016! You can check out more of my photos here.

Did you go? What was the highlight for you?