Industry News A Feast of flavours this Sauvignon Blanc Day This year’s Bayleys Friday Night Feast shares its place on the calendar with International Sauvignon Blanc Day. Feast Marlborough chair Fiona Fenwick says the event, to be held in central Blenheim on Friday May 7, has “treats in store for Marlborough foodies”, with street food vendors encouraged to use as much local Marlborough produce as they can in their dishes. “And how exciting that this year we also share the date with International Sauvignon Blanc Day,” says Fiona. Wine Marlborough will have a Sauvignon Blanc Lounge at Feast, matching some of the region‘s best wines with some of its best food, says general manager Marcus Pickens. “We’ll be celebrating the variety within our own community by showcasing Sauvignon Blancs that won gold at the 2020 Marlborough Wine Show.” He says the lounge, which will be set up on Wynen Street, behind CPR, is “the perfect place to enjoy a feast of flavours on International Sauvignon Blanc Day”. Fiona says Feast is an opportunity to demonstrate to visiting celebrity chefs what makes Marlborough food and wine so special. Feast is a family friendly event, with music and entertainment, as well as a “future foodie” area with games for the kids. Over 5,000 people attended last year’s event and similar numbers are expected this year, with the event falling the night before the Saint Clair Vineyard Half Marathon. Bayleys Friday Night Feast will be held in and around The Forum in Blenheim from 3.30pm to 8.30pm on May 7.
Cellar doors
Sydney International Wine Competition
Kaikōura MP Stuart Smith’s proposed bill to parliament to allow cellar doors and wineries to charge for tastings without needing an on licence has been welcomed by the industry. Customer experience manager at Cloudy Bay Nicky Hewett says by charging for tastings, cellar doors can be better resourced and staff better trained allowing for an enhanced overall customer experience. Cloudy Bay is not directly affected, as it charges for its tastings but Nicky welcomes standardisation in the industry saying it allows wineries to provide a quality product. “It means wineries can offer back vintages and rare wines and a range of wines you wouldn’t get if you weren’t charging,” she says. It also allows staff to manage their host responsibility better, she says. Currently, cellar doors and wineries cannot charge for tastings if they don’t have an on-licence and with that comes responsibilities such as offering a range of food and non-alcoholic beverages. Stuart says the required law change was “simple but important” and if accepted would make it much easier for wineries to run a successful cellar door operation. His proposed bill has been put in the ballot and it is now a case of waiting for it to be drawn, then it needs to go through various stages such as readings and select committees.
The Sydney International Wine Competition will return this year, with entries accepted from July 12, and judging to take place in late October. The 2021 competition will have a panel of 13 judges from Australia and New Zealand, including four Masters of Wine, chaired by Warren Gibson (pictured). The final 400 wines will be set aside for rejudging with appropriate food, leading to about 250 wines being awarded Top 100, Blue Gold and Gold medals, along with 25 trophies. Competition co-convenor Brett Ling says that given the difficulties faced by the wine industry over the past year, it’s important for competitions such as the Sydney International to proceed, to highlight to consumers the exceptional range of food-friendly wines available to be enjoyed at restaurants and at home. “This is a very important year for the Australian and New Zealand wine industries as they come out of Covid and have to face additional issues with international distribution.” He says there will be greater emphasis on wines from Australia and New Zealand this year because of logistical issues, but he expects “very keen interest in the competition from across the world”. sydneywinecomp.com
26 / Winepress April 2021
