Urban Winery Project x Three Blue Ducks Pop-Up

Overview

Having hosted numerous sold out pop-ups in Adelaide and Melbourne since 2013, the Urban Winery Project is now on its way to Sydney. The crew will be teaming up with Three Blue Ducks to host a four-course dinner and grape stomping session (yep, involving your bare feet) at the Ducks' Rosebery warehouse.

"After three years in Adelaide and two in Melbourne, we couldn't ignore that a huge number of our followers were calling for us to come to Sydney," says David Bowley, founder and winemaker at Vinteloper, the Adelaide Hills-based winery behind the Urban Winery Project. "The distance means it's the hardest UWP we've attempted, but at Vinteloper we're never afraid to put it all on the line."

UWP decided to team up with Three Blue Ducks for their "amazing chefs", as well as their "values and philosophies". Bowley says, "They sit by side with our own. Plus, they have the amazing Rosebery venue, perfect for a winery pop-up. How could we choose anywhere else?"

There'll be two events, held on Wednesday, March 8 and Thursday, March 9. Each will be a free-flowing type of evening, combining drinking, eating and wine-making. On arrival, you'll be sipping on wine and sampling from roaming plates. When you're ready, you'll be invited to partake in various stages of wine making.

"Our team are on hand to explain people through each activity, starting with some plucking of grapes off the stems. Then, we remind everyone that fortune favours the brave," says Bowley. "After a nibble on an entree and some more wine, we invite people to roll up those cuffs and jump in, to immerse themselves in the world of winemaking ... It's that Lucille Ball moment that we've all been waiting for."

The point is to show you that winemaking is a whole lot of fun. So, you'll be spared too many rules and long, monotonous speeches, in favour of good, old-fashioned, hands-on experience.

"As the hours roll on, it's a full sensory overload, with the wafts of our accompanying feast filling the air, sounds of glasses clinking and grapes popping, as you see, first-hand, the basket pressing creating the juice that will be turned into next year's wine to accompany next year's feast."

The four-course dinner is a slightly more formal, sit-down affair. That said, food will be served on share plates around a long table, so it's still an inclusive experience. You're encouraged to "talk, share and ask questions".

Bowley set up the Urban Wine Project in 2012 to give city-dwelling people the chance to experience wine making. "Loads of people drink wine, but a tiny percentage know anything about how the beverage they love ends up in their glass," Bowley says. "We rip back that curtain and expose the craft in its raw state, in the hope that, by seeing inside and participating in making wine, every glass of wine they drink for the rest of their lives will taste a little bit better."

 Urban Winery Project and Three Blue Ducks' pop-up is happening March 8 and 9 at 6.30pm for a 7pm start. Bookings (02) 93 890 010 or via UWP's website.