Red Wine Fans, Rejoice: Pinot Palooza Will Showcase 50-Plus Wineries When It Tours Australia in 2023
Australia's huge pinot party is turning 11 with top-notch tipples from Australia, New Zealand and beyond — and a new stop in Perth.
Spring, plus light- to medium-bodied red wine: what a pairing. It's the duo that not only sits at the heart of Australian wine-tasting festival Pinot Palooza, but has helped the vino-swilling event become such a hit. The weather is sunny, the tipples are heady, and sipping your way through a heap of the latter is on the menu — including in 2023.
Earlier in 2023, the beloved wine fest announced that it was not only returning for 2023, but also settling back into that coveted spring timeslot. Now, it has locked in venues and put tickets on sale. The Melbourne-born wine tasting festival will celebrate its 11th year by hitting up Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane again. To close out winter, it'll also make its debut in Perth.
On offer at Claremont Showgrounds in Perth, Sydney's Carriageworks, Brisbane Showgrounds and The Timber Yard in Port Melbourne: more than 50 winemakers slinging their wares. Pinot Palooza will spread the party over three August days in Western Australia, as well as three October days in the Sunshine State. In New South Wales and Victoria, it'll be a two-day affair.
In its decade of life until now, the fest has welcomed in thousands of vino lovers. Indeed, an estimated 65,000 tickets were sold globally before its 2022 events. When COVID-19 hit in 2020, the popular celebration was shelved for two-and-a-half years, before making a comeback last year. The response? More than 12,000 folks heading along around the nation.
2023's vino-sipping fun will cover organic, biodynamic, vegan and low-intervention wines, and more. Set to share their tipples among producers from Australia, New Zealand and further afield: New Zealand's Burn Cottage and CHARTERIS; Small Island, Ghost Rock and Meadowbank from Tasmania; M&J Becker from NSW and Moondarra from Victoria.
The food lineup will feature cheese, salumi, terrines, patê, olives and other perfect vino accompaniments, with Tasmania's Grandvewe Cheese and Victoria's Mount Zero among the suppliers.
And, while Pinot Palooza is a standalone fest only across the east coast dates, in Perth it's part of an already-announced collaboration with cheese festival Mould.
PINOT PALOOZA 2023:
Friday, August 25–Sunday, August 27: Centenary Pavilion, Claremont Showgrounds, Perth
Friday, October 6–Saturday, October 7: Carriageworks, Sydney
Friday, October 13–Sunday, October 15: John Reid Pavilion, Brisbane Showgrounds
Friday, October 27–Saturday, October 28: The Timber Yard, Port Melbourne
Pinot Palooza will get pouring around Australia from August–October 2023. For more information and tickets, head to the event's website.
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