Plans flow for new wine events

WHILE the Heritage Uncorked festival has been put back in the bottle this year, the Bendigo Winegrowers Association has committed to hosting a range of smaller events in October.

The original main event, scheduled for Saturday, 9 October, would have featured wine tastings taking place at several heritage destinations across Bendigo including Ulumbarra Theatre and the Town Hall.

While lockdown lifted in regional Victoria last week, COVID-19 restrictions including density limits have impacted the association’s planning of a full-scale event.

President of the Bendigo Winegrowers Association Wes Vine said they are now planning week of smaller scale dinners, workshops and tastings as part of Bendigo Uncorked Week on 1 to 10 October.

“Whilst the unpredictability of the main program event has become financially non-viable, we are hopeful that we will deliver an excellent week of boutique wine events,” he said.

“This year’s program registration was the biggest we have ever seen, with more than 14 events originally registered over the 10 days.”

The full program is subject to changes, however currently  features a rosé dinner, a red wine blending workshop, meet-the-maker events and a tasting at Eaglehawk’s Star Cinema.

“We are hopeful that we will be able to deliver at least eight of the original ideas, including Heritage Recorked, a streamlined replacement for the October 9 event,” Mr Vine said.

“We know how important sales and revenue are right now to our winery members, but also to our restaurant and hospitality friends, and we’re doing our best to support them,”

Tickets purchased for the original event will be refunded in full, and more information on the Bendigo Uncorked Week events can be found at bendigowine.org.au.