Canberra District Wine Harvest Festival

Editorial

Although it remains quiet and modest, the ACT is actually home to a great many vineyards – 140 to be precise. These are organised into more than 33 wineries and all are within a 35 minute drive from the capital city. For the most part they are boutique vineyards which take great pains to shape the qualities of the wine they produce. This wealth of wine is worth excavating and The Canberra District Wine Harvest Festival is your chance to do so.

Taking place from Saturday, 10 to Sunday, 11 April, the festival will celebrate the harvest by allowing locals and visitors to have a rare, intimate glimpse at almost 30 different wines – and wineries – in the Canberra district. The festival will be taking place across different venues, each of which will host special tastings, meal offers and/or entertainment. For example you could head across to Gallagher Wines and learn all about Champagne production, watch “disgorging” demonstrations and perhaps even nibble on a Turkish platter or a pear and chocolate ganache. If you’d like to learn more about winemaking, McKellar Ridge Wines will be hosting a “Tour de Vats” at 2pm daily so you can see, smell and try the fermenting wines, listen to the winemaker and taste wines from the 2008 vintage. If you’re more food minded, Pankhurst Wines will be matching its wines with lunch and live blue grass music. There are loads of other wineries offering fantastic deals, so make sure to get your hands on a program and don’t miss out!

For more information call 1300 554 114, email visitcanberra@act.gov.au or visit www.canberrawines.com.au/events/whole_of_region_festivals.html.

Agnes Gajewska, March 2010