Cellar Door Fest - Adelaide's favourite food and drink festival - returns to the heart of the city this weekend (30 January - 1 February), celebrating 15 years of supporting local producers and regional tourism.
This year's event which showcases South Australia's food and drink scene, will bring more than 140 of the state's best food, wine and spirits producers together under one roof at Adelaide Convention Centre for three days of gourmet fun and discovery.
Festivalgoers will be able to sip, sample and shop the best of SA with participating producers hailing from across 16 regions, including the Adelaide Hills, McLaren Vale, Barossa Valley, Clare Valley and as far away as the Limestone Coast, Riverland and Eyre Peninsula.
At the heart of this year's milestone celebration is a spotlight on South Australia's world-class seafood and coastal communities, with the introduction of a dedicated Seafood & Sparkling Bar and a special Eyre Peninsula showcase.
Presented in partnership with Seafood Industry South Australia, Yumbah Aquaculture and DAOSA, the Seafood & Sparkling Bar (external site) will serve up a delicious array of local seafood, including Coffin Bay oysters, Spencer Gulf kingfish and Kinkawooka mussels, with recipe cards on hand to help festivalgoers recreate the seafood magic at home.
At the Eyre Peninsula showcase (external site), festivalgoers will be able to enjoy a slice of SA's wild west coast as they sip cool-climate wines and handcrafted spirits, with local tourism experts on hand to support planning bespoke itineraries to the region. As an extra incentive to encourage attendees to 'support local', those who make a purchase at the Fest will have the chance to win one of two epic Eyre Peninsula experiences (external site).
Among other festival highlights:
- Education remains central to the Cellar Door Fest experience, with a jam-packed program of sold-out educational masterclasses (external site)spanning cheese, wine and music, along with the return of the popular Wine Discovery Stage (external site). Hosted by South Australian wine identity, Nick Ryan, the stage will offer free guided tastings across Saturday and Sunday, providing festival goers the chance to hear directly from the winemakers, explore new varieties and dive into the unique stories of our wine regions.
- Back by popular demand, the Emerging Producers Zone (external site) will shine a spotlight on a mix of 18 new wineries, distilleries and Adelaide-based brewery, Tiny Fish Brew Co - all of whom have been in the industry three years or less - providing a platform to celebrate the next generation of South Australian talent.
Cellar Door Fest opens to the public from 5pm today (Friday, 30 January) and from 11am on Saturday and Sunday. Full details and last-minute tickets are available at cellardoorfestival.com (external site).
As put by Zoe Bettison
With 350 cellar doors across the state - 200 within an hour's drive of Adelaide - South Australia's wine regions are considered must-visit destinations for both locals and visitors alike.
Cellar Door Fest not only provides an important platform for South Australian producers to connect directly with consumers, but boosts regional awareness, inspiring future visits to our beautiful regions.
It's particularly encouraging that 92 per cent of attendees at last year's Cellar Door Fest indicated plans to visit South Australia's wine regions and we hope even more are inspired to do the same after this weekend's event.
As put by Sarah Goldfinch, General Manager- Adelaide Convention Centre
We're incredibly proud to be celebrating the 15th anniversary of Cellar Door Fest, which has become a staple on South Australia's annual festival calendar.
Events like Cellar Door Fest play a vital role in supporting South Australia's wine industry, by providing consumers with a direct way to buy local, support regional businesses and ensure our world-class wineries - along with our distilleries and artisan food producers - continue to thrive.
We can't wait to welcome festivalgoers to the Centre this weekend as we toast to 15 years of Cellar Door Fest and celebrate the best of SA.
