The bond between Italians and their food and wine is a sacred one, and with the Sydney Italian Wine + Food Festival, Sydneysiders are invited to partake in this holy combination. Get ready to abandon any carbless aspirations and embrace gloriously hearty nosh as this festival returns to Sydney. With it comes the promise of produce that will dance upon your tastebuds in a merry cheese and basil-infused tarantella.
This year, they're setting up shop for the day at the Barangaroo Reserve for the first time and they're bringing along some of the best names in Italian cuisine. Cooking demonstrations and talks will be on all day. Want to see mozzarella being freshly made? You can. Want to watch fettuccine be churned out from scratch? Go for it.
As well as watching the creation of Italian food, you can also, of course, eat some. There will be fresh produce to purchase, with everything from gelato to coffee, pasta to pizza on offer. The marketplace will host pop-up restaurants from some of Australia's best chefs, including Sydney's Popolo and Balla, Brisbane's Otto Ristorante and Melbourne's 400 Gradi. Pair that with over 200 of Italy's finest wines and you've got yourself a damn good feast. Not to mention a casual Negroni Bar.
Once you've eaten yourself silly, you can loll around in a semi-food coma in the wine garden while enjoying some live Italian jazz. As the day transitions into night, expect a full DJ set of Italian vinyl and European tracks until 9pm.