Overview
Drop everything. Nothing is as important as this Game of Thrones-themed wine tasting.
Are you still, still recovering from The Red Viper versus The Mountain? Are you feeling a little nostalgic for the days when Tyrion could lay around boozing on vino? Perhaps you should be drinking your sorrows away with some like-minded Thrones fanatics. Confused? We’ll lay it down for you.
Game of Rhones is a wine-tasting event touring that's been touring Adelaide, Brisbane and Melbourne since 2014. Now it's expanding the empire to Sydney and Auckland, stopping by our fair city on Saturday, July 4 at Queens Wharf. Featuring over 40 producers and 100 wines, it's a one-day, all-out trial by combat to determine the best offering of the grape varieties from the Rhone Valley in France — Shiraz, Grenache, and Viognier among others. There'll also be local wines, ciders and beers from every corner of Kings Landing/Australia/New Zealand all of which have been confirmed to contain no poison and you, the humble commoner, will be entrusted to pick the victor.
But this isn't just a run-of-the-mill wine tasting set-up. To keep that theme solid, the Rhone Bar is where you can taste wines from ‘Beyond the Wall’ (ie: the Rhone Valley). Then, you can sign up for a blindfolded tasting in the 'torture chamber' (a highlight of previous Game of Rhones events). Suffice to say, after a few of these Rhone Valley wines, we'd probably confess to a secret or two.
Of course, it wouldn't be Thrones-worthy if there weren't a few extra kickers. To accompany your wine, there will be a selection of feast-able treats available such as suckling pig and venison pie — if you’re a vego or a vegan, you've probably already guessed this is a highly meaty affair — and there's also the option to come in costume. In previous Rhone events, it appears that patrons have either gone all out, or rocked up in jeans. Obviously we suggest the former, because quite frankly it would be amazing to see a hoard of drunken Daenarys' walking the streets of Sydney — not unlike that time DJ Hodor came to town for Rave of Thrones. So many Khaleesis.
Game of Rhones is coming to Auckland on Saturday, July 4 from 1-6pm at Shed 10, 89 Quay Street, Queens Wharf. Your $50 ticket includes a special take-home Riedel Ouverture Magnum wine glass and all tastings from 1pm-6pm, however food prices are not included. For more information see the Game of Rhones website.