By Ian Neubauer
NSW Wine Week kicks off on Sunday with the inaugural Sydney Cellar Door wine, food and music event at Hyde Park in the CBD.
Sydney Cellar Door is the major outdoor event of New South Wales Wine Week, the most significant marketing campaign ever collectively undertaken in the state in a bid to get wine lovers to get behind their state wines.
According to the NSW Wine Industry Association (NSWWIA), NSW wines sales account for less than 10 per cent of wine sold in the state despite NSW producing 34 per cent of all Australian wine.
“South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia are all parochial wine drinking states. They love and support their own. To date that has not been the case in NSW,” said NSWWIA president, David Lowe.
“This does not make sense given NSW is home to some of Australia’s oldest family wineries. It’s a challenge the NSW wine industry is taking on in 2008. We are giving NSW Wine an identity and telling the untold stories. It’s an exciting time,” he said.
In addition to Sunday’s event, New South Wales Wine Week will see dinner and wine experiences held in five of Sydney’s best hatted restaurants, a promotional drive of the state’s 14 wine regions and a revamped award ceremony in October.
Sydney Cellar Door runs from 11:00am to 6:00pm. Admission is free.