A new festival celebrating the best wine and food from Wanaka and around Central Otago will kick off this weekend (Sunday March 21) and the organiser hopes it will be the start of an annual fete. 

Ripe - The Wanaka Wine & Food Festival is the brainchild of Wanaka local Nathan White, who saw a gap in the market for an event celebrating Central Otago wine and food.

“Pinot in the region is world class and we didn’t have a marquee event celebrating it,” the wine aficionado told the Wanaka App. “I also thought there was room to bring more variety to the type of events we have here too.”

Nathan has selected more than 30 of the best winemakers and food producers for the Sunday’s event - plus music, entertainment and masterclasses - which will come together at the upmarket Corbridge Woolshed, which overlooks a backdrop of 325 hectares of rolling hills and Wanaka mountains.

“We just wanted something a bit unique for our venue and wanted to create the right atmosphere to suit these fine wines and beautiful central otago produce,” Nathan said. 

The festival will celebrate the best of Central Otago wine and food. PHOTO: Supplied

The wines have been chosen just as carefully as the venue, with a list featuring some of the region’s big names as well as small boutique wines and “wines that I know are really good”.

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The food too, represents Wanaka’s best and selections from the wider Central Otago food scene, Nathan said, and “classic Kiwi band” the Jordan Luck Band selected for their wide appeal.

See also: Master sommelier joins wine and food festival lineup

Giving back is important too - Ripe organised a fundraising event at Hook with Maude Wines which raised around $800 for the Wanaka Food Bank.

To bring Ripe from idea to reality Nathan has brought together a group of event industry veterans including Anna McConville (site manager), Ashley Wilson (health and safety) and Torte Lyons (volunteer manager), and received support, encouragement and advice from a variety of keen locals.

There will be no gate sales on Sunday but for now there are still tickets for Ripe available on the event website, as well as tickets for some of the ‘masterclasses’ with the likes of master sommelier Cameron Douglas and Quartz Reef wines.

Find tickets and more information for Ripe - The Wanaka Wine & Food Festival taking place on Sunday (March 21) here.