The three-day festival will run from Friday 14 to Sunday 16 May and bring together local wine, food, art and music at more than 10 island vineyards.
The Waiheke Island Tourism Inc team, Fullers360, and the Winegrowers Association are behind the festival and Christina Hyde, chair of Waiheke Tourism Inc, says it is more important than ever to keep working to support local businesses.
“With the continued closure of most international borders and bouncing back and forth between lockdowns, Waiheke tour operators, vineyards and local businesses have been doing it hard,” Christina admits.
“The wine-growing industry directly employs about 750 people on the island,” says Waiheke Winegrowers Association spokeswoman Cat Vosper. “Wine tourism is a significant part of the island economy and there are lots of smaller companies who indirectly benefit from it. It is a huge employer for a small population.”
From wine, jazz, art and tapas at Casita Miro to wine and food pairings at Wild Estate, a number of vineyards are offering musical performances along with their home-grown delicacies.
Te Motu is offering one glass of The Shed rosé with locally sourced canapes. Te Motu Vinyl Club will be mixing records for all three days of the festival and Jane Burn’s art will be on display, and on Saturday night the vineyard is collaborating with Dark Skies Waiheke to explore the celestial neighbourhood from 6pm to 10pm, weather dependent.
Full story in this week’s Gulf News… Out Now!!!
