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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
While lockdown lifted in regional Victoria last week, COVID-19 restrictions including density limits have impacted the association\u2019s planning of a full-scale event.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhilst 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,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis year\u2019s program registration was the biggest we have ever seen, with more than 14 events originally registered over the 10 days.\u201d<\/p>\n
The full program is subject to changes, however currently \u00a0features a ros\u00e9 dinner, a red wine blending workshop, meet-the-maker events and a tasting at Eaglehawk\u2019s Star Cinema.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe 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,\u201d Mr Vine said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know how important sales and revenue are right now to our winery members, but also to our restaurant and hospitality friends, and we\u2019re doing our best to support them,\u201d<\/p>\n