Wine Island Reveals Solid 2016 Food and Vino Lineup

If you only get stranded on one island this year, be sure to make it this one. After the colossal success of their inaugural endeavour, Wine Island is returning to Sydney Harbour this November for another long weekend of fun, food and sweet, sweet wine.

For those who missed out last time, Wine Island is more or less what it sounds like, in that it's an island where you drink a lot of wine. More specifically, it's a three day mini festival on Clark Island in Sydney Harbour, where you can spend your time knocking back glass after glass while feasting on mouth-watering cuisine. There's also be a range of activities to enjoy; last year we partook in cooking classes and treasure hunts. Yes, treasure hunts. No wonder we dubbed it the Best New Event of 2015.

Wine Island 2016 is set to run from Friday, November 11 to Sunday, November 13, and they've just released some new deets about the festivities. A new addition will be the King Valley Prosecco Road, which will celebrate the Italian sparkling varietal from Victoria over Italian snacks and a game or two of bocce. Also new on the lineup will be Dessert Island, where you can sample some of Sydney's best sweets matched with dessert wines.

You certainly won't go hungry, either. Noms will be provided by the much-anticipated Barangaroo vermouth bar Banksii that's set to open next month, along with Chur Burger, Oysters Unplugged and the Hunter Valley Cheese Factory.

Tickets will go on sale to members (you can sign up here) on Monday, August 29 and to the general public on Thursday, September 1. General admission tickets ($95) include vintage ferry transport to and from the island with a glass of sparking on board, five wine tastings, masterclasses and your own wine glass. For the real fancypantses, the VIP package ($190) gives you all that plus a meal voucher, licence to sip away to your heart's content with unlimited tastings (not a challenge), and access to the Friday sessions.

So get your finger hovering over that 'buy' button — tickets sold out in less than two hours last time.

By Tom Clift and Lauren Vadnjal.