Overview
Local wine fiends are never shy of options to sample chewy tannins and get oaked. Now, the people who brought us Game of Thrones-themed wine tasting event Game of Rhones and something called "wine edutainment" are at it again, this time with an event recognised as the largest Pinot Noir festival in Australasia.
Pinot Palooza arrives on our shores this September after five years of wine swirling across the ditch in main centres: Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide.
Rather than confuse punters with umpteen varietals of buttery chards, Pinot Palooza will, if you didn't already figure from the name, focus purely on the best Pinot Noir from across New Zealand and Australia. Over 60 wineries will be involved on the day, headliners including: Ata Rangi, Rippon, Mt Difficulty, Te Whare Ra, Burn Cottage, Greywacke and Pegasus Bay alongside Australian imports Curly Flat, Moondarra, Yarra Yering.
Drink tokens will be bypassed, and instead unlimited wine tastes will be included in the $60 ticket price. The enhanced VIP option ($95) will also give wine hounds early access from 11am, a personally curated experience from a top sommelier and a food voucher. To soak up all that vino, free-range rotisserie Bird On A Wire will offer select items from their menu.
Pinot Palooza will debut at Shed 10 on Saturday, September 3. More info here.