Cellar Door Fest Barrels On

Adelaide’s favourite food, wine, beer and spirits festival will shine its spotlight on more than 180 wineries, breweries, distilleries and food producers from across South Australia’s regions in its eighth year from March 2 to 4.

Festival favourites of masterclasses and delectable long table dining  return in 2018. The Fizz Whizz masterclass will see patron’s enjoy an in-depth tasting of Deviation Road’s sparkling wines with owner and Vigneron Hamish Laurie, while Udder Delights: A Royal Affair will plunge attendees into the history and world of cheese.

Long table dining highlights will include even more local talent, with Iberia and Vinteloper teaming up to showcase Spanish and Portuguese dining, a blind beer tasting showdown with Mismatch Brewing and Pikes Beer Company with matched BBQ platters, plus a single-malt whisky showcase from McLaren Vale Distillery with a three-course paired meal.

A strong new focus for Cellar Door Fest in 2018 is South Australia’s burgeoning crop of emerging winemakers. This year an entire zone of the festival will be dedicated to wineries that have been in the game for three years or less, showcasing new styles and talent.

Wine marketer and Cellar Door Fest 2018 Wine Ambassador Paul Henry says the resurgence of new talent in the wine world is a sign of growth in the local industry. Further, that growth is evident across the Australia’s gastronomic board, particularly in Adelaide.

“I think you can really see that across a range of disciplines in Adelaide at the moment,” says Henry, “new restaurants, bars, venues and artisan producers influencing where and what we drink, and also encouraging an interest in not just what we eat and drink, but perhaps more importantly, where and how it is produced.

Paul Henry

Henry says that a brilliant upside of an event like Cellar Door Fest is that it gives consumers a chance to expose themselves to these new ventures all in one place, and in turn gives those producers a chance to grow their market.

“Bringing all of this talent together in one feature at Cellar Door Fest makes it accessible, immediately identifiable and encourages a natural sense of search and discovery,” he says. “An event like this provides an invaluable platform for search and discovery — vital for both the rising brand stars, as well as the adventurous, curious consumer.”

Another new experience that attendees can enjoy at this year’s Cellar Door Fest are the intimate DIY workshops, where industry professionals will be teaching the tricks of the trade in the worlds of cheese making, gin blending and Italian cuisine. And for anyone seeking yet another exciting event, Jessie Spiby’s Food, Booze + Dancing Shoes, paired with Alpa Box & Dice wines, plus tunes from Porch Sessions, will provide Cellar Door Fest’s official Friday night afterparty.

Cellar Door Fest 2018’s expansive program goes to show how far the event has come in past years, and Henry says this is also a win-win for consumers and the industries they support, particularly winemakers.

“Encouraging this kind of exchange — offering new consumers new options, and thereby supporting new and nascent talent — is one of the most important dynamics in the wine community.  There is no more important challenge than creating the next generation of responsible, passionate consumers, and to do so by exposing them to new winemaking talent and brands.”

Cellar Door Fest 2018
Adelaide Convention Centre
March 2-4
Tickets available via cellardoorfestival.com

This article is brought to you by Cellar Door Fest