A colourful line-up of wine experts, personalities and masterclasses, and the opportunity to sample world-class varietals from 60 well-renowned vineyards, will see thousands of passionate wine lovers make the annual pilgrimage to Shed 10, Auckland (22 – 23 June) and this year the larger venue of TSB Bank Arena, Wellington (29 – 30 June).
Returning for a second year, wine aficionado’s will be given the opportunity to explore hundreds of lovingly crafted wines accompanied by expertly paired food, music and ideas and meet the makers from across the main regions of New Zealand.
New to this year, Winetopia is offering food and wine matching masterclasses, by joining forces with four outstanding New Zealand restaurants: Apero Food & Wine, Clooney Restaurant and Cazador in Auckland and Noble Rot Wine Bar in Wellington, bringing a true experience of being ‘wined and dined’.
Attendees will be able to unearth their favourite deep reds and aromatic whites from the likes of Craggy Range, Vavasour, Prophet’s Rock and Elephant Hill, taking home their favourite selections to sip, swirl and savour.
“Winetopia was founded to truly celebrate the breadth of the New Zealand wine scene. We wanted to create an event where people can get fully immersed in the subject – where you will meet some of our best winemakers, sample incredible wines and have a really good time learning. The sell-out success of our previous events proved there’s a strong demand for Winetopia and along with our partner Singapore Airlines we’re excited to show off the line-up for this June.” said founder Rob Eliott.
The 2018 programme features free educational tastings, masterclasses and the ‘Share a Glass’ talks with fun personalities such as lead singer of The Black Seeds and band leader of Fly My Pretties Barnaby Weir in Wellington, and award-winning actress Robyn Malcolm in Auckland.
On-board for the third year in a row, Singapore Airlines’ General Manager New Zealand Simon Turcotte says that the airline is proud to support the nation’s largest wine tasting event.
“We pride ourselves on offering an impressive selection of food and wine in the air throughout our cabin classes, and it’s exciting to be able to partner with an event that shares our passion for bringing exceptional wines to Kiwi palates,” said Turcotte.
“This year our Manager of Food and Beverage along with one of our senior Air Sommeliers will be joining the Auckland event to share their insights and experience when it comes to selecting, tasting and serving wines at altitude.”
Wine enthusiasts will be able to discover how the shape of a glass can improve or limit the taste and aroma of any wine they drink, thanks to a masterclass presented by Spiegelau wine glass expert Michael Jemison. The perfect opportunity to taste some great wines and experience first-hand how the right glass can enrich your wine tasting experience.
High profile, celebrated wine writer Mike Bennie (AU) and the country’s most prolific wine commentator Bob Campbell (MW) are set to share their vast wine knowledge in Auckland, and leading the charge in Wellington are Australian wine guru Nick Stock and New Zealand’s newest Master of Wine, Stephen Wong.
There will be three sessions in each city; Friday from 5:00pm – 8:30pm, Saturday from 12:00pm – 3:30pm and 4:30pm – 8:00pm. Admission includes a premium Spiegelau glass for attendees to take home (valued at $20) and limited release Ridiculously Good Value tickets are selling fast.
Visit http://www.winetopia.nz/ for tickets and further information. #winetopiaNZ
