Sydney Cellar Door | A Tantalising Line Up | 26 & 27 Feb

Media Release

A Tantalising Line-Up at Sydney Cellar Door!

NSW Wine Festival ~ February 26 – March 31, 2011

Top New South Wales wines, hip Australian musos and the coolest local restaurateurs and regional food producers see this year’s jam-packed Sydney Cellar Door set to tantalise your tastebuds, thrill your ears and sooth your soul. Kicking off in Hyde Park on Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th February, Sydney Cellar Door opens the month-long NSW Wine Festival and is destined to be even more delicious and entertaining than ever.

Matching the 400 NSW wines on taste is a mouth-watering line up of food and produce stalls including the groovy dudes from Bodega and Porteño (Sydney’s hottest new restaurant) manning their first ever outdoor event with empanadas and seriously succulent roast pork.  They’ll be joined by the likes of Jared Ingersoll from Cotton Duck, and Morgan McGlone from Young Alfred serving up his Wollongong royal red prawns and roast pineapple, coconut, sago and mint salad.

NSW regional produce will be celebrated with fabulous smoked meats from Poachers’ Pantry, a chic charcuterie platter from Baroque Bistro and award-winning cheeses from Bangalow Cheese Company.  The delicious tastes continue with Syrian specialties from Almond Bar, spicy bites from Chat Thai, rice paper rolls from Snakebean and luscious duck pies from Sweet Infinity.  There will be dessert treats from Sweetness the Patisserie and The Restaurant at the Art Gallery of NSW who’ll pair Araluen stone fruit with buttermilk pannacotta.

And live music all weekend will provide the perfect atmosphere.   The Cellar Door Stage opens with the high octane sounds of The John Field Band before moving over to the breathtaking vocals of ‘Jazz Vocalist of the Year’ Emma Pask.  Saturday afternoon will wrap up with Australia’s own godfather of soul Doug Williams with old school funk, soul and R&B for the whole family.

Sunday starts out easy with Dixieland trad jazz from Robbers Dogs, before the pace hots up with The Strides’s own brand of hip-hop-Afrobeat-reggae fusion. This dynamic ten-piece features the easy musings of reggae master Ras Roni from Trinidad and MC Lil Gzeus.  Slide into Sunday afternoon with Kinetic Method, an eclectic mix of acoustic guitar, keyboard and percussion with elements of funk, dance and R&B.

With a world-class festival vibe Sydney Cellar Door is expected to attract over 20,000 attendees as for the first time visitors will have two full days to enjoy the state’s largest outdoor wine experience. Around 100 winemakers will be presenting more than 400 wines to discover.  Leading NSW wineries attending include the likes of Audrey Wilkinson, Bimbadgen, Brokenwood, Cumulus Estate Wines, Glandore, Logan, Nugan Estate, Scarborough Wine Company and Tyrrells.

The NSW Wine Festival program continues with restaurants featuring NSW Wine matches and exclusive degustation dinners in Sydney’s best restaurants.

·         The Sydney Morning Herald Sydney Cellar Door: Saturday 26 & Sunday 27 February (11am-6pm)

Set in one of Sydney’s most beautiful alfresco venues, Hyde Park South, it is free to enter, with wine tasting packages starting at just $25. Purchase from www.nswwinefestival.com.au

·         Dine with NSW Wine
Throughout March, participating restaurants will offer a special lunch or dinner meal matched with a glass of premium NSW Wine for under $50.  Participants include: Azuma, Number One Wine Bar, Catalina Rose Bay, Golden Century, Bathers’ Pavilion, Ormeggio, and  a number of regional NSW restaurants such as Silo in Newcastle, Eschalot in Berry and Arnott’s Bakehouse in the Hunter.

·         NSW Wine ~ Tour of the Regions Dinners

Four of Sydney’s leading hatted restaurants (Marque, Buon Ricordo, Restaurant Arras and Pilu at Freshwater) will host unique Tour of the Regions dinner experiences.

To pre-purchase tickets and for further details please visit www.nswwinefestival.com.au