Gippsland winemakers are celebrating the end of harvest with the popular Tinamba Food & Wine Festival this Sunday, April 14.
Wine Gippsland President, Alistair Hicks, of Blue Gables Vineyard near Tinamba, said that association members have finished picking vintage 2024, and are ready to showcase their current release wines.
“The Tinamba festival has a really loyal following. It is a great opportunity to meet the local winemakers, try their current wines and find out the inside story on what they hope for vintage 2024,” Mr Hicks said.
Warm and dry conditions since Christmas meant that ripening happened earlier, and many local wine producers are happy with both quality and yield.
The annual festival is in its 14th year and regularly attracts up to 2,000 people, held most years in autumn sunshine. Last year, despite being rain-affected, the event still attracted a crowd of around 700 happy patrons, enjoying plenty of seated and sheltered options.
Eight local wineries are participating, including festival regulars: Blue Gables, Glenmaggie Wines, Lightfoot Wines, Narkoojee Wines, Nicholson River Winery, and Wyanga Park Winery.
Two new faces this year will be Carrajung Estate, formerly Tom’s Cap Vineyard at Willung South, and Xavier Goodridge Wines, featuring wines made from the Maffra vineyard next to Vines on Avon.
Hatted restaurant Tinamba Hotel is serving its popular festival fare options, along with several local gourmet food producers. The Tinamba CFA will run a gourmet sausage sizzle.
The Hip Pockets, a 10-piece funk, soul and R&B band, featuring some of Gippsland’s best-known musicians, is providing the entertainment.
Bus tickets are available, and must be booked in advance. All admission tickets booked by Friday, 12 April, will go into the draw to win a prize worth more than $1500. Book at: www.trybooking.com/COLXW
Part of the ticket sales go to local community groups and service organisations who assist with the setup and running of the festival.
For more information, follow Tinamba Food & Wine Festival on social media or see www.winegippsland.com
