Overview
If you listen carefully, you might just hear the sound of a light- to medium-bodied red wine sloshing around a glass. That's because the world's favourite celebration of pinot noir is finally returning, with the news Pinot Palooza will make its comeback in just a few short months.
In its 10 years of life, the Melbourne-born wine tasting festival has become a global affair, with an estimated 65,000 tickets sold, worldwide. But once COVID hit in 2020, it saw the popular event shelved for two-and-a-half years.
Now, that hiatus is finally over, with a huge tenth-anniversary edition of Pinot Palooza set to hit Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney and Auckland in 2022.
The comeback tour kicks off this autumn, returning to the festival's homeland of Melbourne with a couple of wine-filled days at Port Melbourne's Timber Yard from May 6–7. Brisbane Showgrounds are up next, hosting Pinot Palooza from May 20–21, before Sydney gets its shot on June 17 and 18. The festival then crosses the ditch for its Auckland edition from October 15–16.
While the wine-sipping fun will play out similarly to before, across three sessions at each event, there is one big new addition in store — a dedicated Tasmanian hub set to showcase a curation of wine, spirits, cider and cheese from over 20 top Tassie producers.
As always, you'll spend your event session swirling and sampling a huge array of pinot noir from across Australia, New Zealand and the world. Word is, over 70 winemakers are coming to the party.
Also like before, there'll be pop-up bars and food stalls to keep you busy in between sips, with favourites Burn City Smokers, Taco Truck and Nama already confirmed for the Melbourne edition.
Pinot Palooza 2022 will hit Melbourne on May 6–7, Brisbane on May 20–21, Sydney on June 17–18 and Auckland on October 15–16. To nab tickets or find out more, jump over to the website.