Sydney Cellar Door 2009

My perfect day usually consists of sunny weather, good food, good music and a good drop. Last Sunday was one such perfect day, when the Sydney Cellar Door wine festival rolled into Hyde Park as part of NSW Wine Week.



This was a wine lover's haven with over 100 vineyards under one roof – a perfect opportunity to sample the best wines NSW has to offer without the petrol-guzzling kilometres and road rage. Fifteen NSW regions are represented and some of the honourable guests include Southern Highlands, Hilltop, Gundagai, Canberra district, Cowra, Orange, New England, Riverina as well as the big hitters Mudgee and Hunter Valley.

Peterson Champagne House (Hunter Valley) proved extremely popular with constant queues for the bubblies!

Tamburlaine Organic Wines (Pokolbin, Hunter Valley)

As a preventative measure against intoxication, food is a must. Sydney’s top venues were on show to feed the drunken masses and the menu doesn’t disappointed with stalls from Alio, Bay Tinh Restaurant and Sean’s Kitchen (who was loaded with some frighteningly large Paella pans) as well as a host of multicultural cuisines.

Michelle's Turkish Gozleme

BBQ Moroccan Chicken with Couscous, pistachio, rocket and Tahini/Yoghurt dressing

Justin North provided a double hitter of Bécasse and Plan B and a little self-promotion didn’t hurt either with tables of his new book on show. Apparently his other flagship restaurant Etch was set up but this was nowhere to be found. I also missed out on Sweetness the Patisserie and The Burlington but I digress (note for next year - pick up a map or a guide!).

A selection of Asian desserts from Yai

Arriving after 3:30pm proved good value with much of the food discounted with the impending closing time. It’s also my way of excusing myself for sleeping in on the weekend - something I hate to do but can’t help doing!

Spanish paella from Sean's Kitchen

Eumundi Smokehouse (details at end of post) was easily the best smelling food stall and being a chorizo fan-girl I couldn’t help milling around the BBQ but at least they didn’t mind a photo or two!


By the way can anybody enlighten me as to why Eumundi's eggs were confused?


Mr S was in the mood for Justin North (aren't we ever?) and opted for Plan B's famed Wagyu beef burger and the most delectable dessert of Banana Crème Brulée Custard with Salted Peanut Brittle from Bécasse.


If Bécasse's dessert sounds good, that’s because it is. I can only succinctly describe it in three words. Oh. My. God. The fact that it was selling cheaply for $5 meant that Mr S. had to put the restraints on me lest I crash-tackled the whole Bécasse stall.


I wasn’t very famished myself (yes, such a thing is possible) but I was in a mood for some dim sum and hit the jackpot with Dim Sum Station.


Huge bamboo steamers of dumplings and buns were begging to be photographed and the lovely ladies at the stall happily assisted by bringing over freshly filled steamers of dim sum for me to shoot. It will look prettier, they said.


My reward was a plate of crisp spring rolls and a BBQ pork bun to satiate my yumcha cravings. Darn, how I love the earth-shattering crunch on my spring rolls!


Stomachs insulated, we began the wine tour. Leave your water bottles and flasks behind at home as wine tasting could only be done with a special Cellar Door wine glass (available in a package included with $20 worth of taste test tickets).

McGuigan Wines (Pokolbin, Hunter Valley)

Of course the majority of the real estate was occupied by the Hunter Valley wineries most notably Tyrells, Tempus Two and Bimbadgen as well as my favourites Brokenwood and Scarborough Wines.

Hunter River White 2008 and Verdelho 2008 from Tulloch Wines (Pokolbin, Hunter Valley)

Briar Ridge wines (Hunter Valley)

I was looking forward to battling the warmth with a glass of chilled Verscato however all Tulloch Wines could do was to apologetically show me their empty stockpiles! For a sticky aficionado like myself, an absence of my beloved dessert wines and fortified wines meant that I was the designated driver today after all. Still it was fabulous to discover new vineyards in regions that I have never visited, mainly Orange, Canberra and Southern Highlands. Hint to Mr S….I think another wine road trip is in order!

A selection of wines from Angullong Vineyard (Orange)

A big cheers to all the obliging wine stalls who happily assisted in the photography with some impromptu props and 'wine styling', even suggesting that I manhandle and arrange their products myself as I saw fit!

A selection from Capital Wines' Ministry Series and Bluegum Shiraz Kyeema (Canberra District)

Cookoothama wines from Nugan Estate (Darlington Point, Riverina)

Windowrie Estate was especially jovial and insisted that Mr S. get behind the stall and join him in a photo! That’s him, um, getting friendly with Mr S. but at least he looked like he enjoyed it – so much that he requested a copy of the photo!

Mr S. getting close and personal with Windowrie Estate

A 6 litre bottle of Windowrie Estate's The Mill Shiraz 2006

The festival was winding down and the stalls were packing up but the live band was really kicking up the atmosphere up a few notches as the crowd revelled in the gorgeous autumn day (I wonder how much of the happy atmosphere could be attributed to the mass wine consumption?).

Dancing up a storm (very much expected when there are copious amounts of wine to be had)

Highlight of the evening was when Sean’s Kitchen cooked up a giant satellite dish of paella with their leftovers and told us to return in 20 minutes for some free paella. Now those are words we should hear more often!


And of course a photo with his paella was essential!


The giant dish of paella is a sight to behold as we basked in the emanating aromas of seafood and saffron.



The mussel was one of the freshest I’ve tasted of late and the paella was gorgeous with the trademark colour of the exotic saffron. Want to see more?



The crowd demanded more musical encores and I’m sure the revelry would’ve continued well into the night if it weren’t for the security grinches who were quick to tell them to pack up and leave.


Perhaps they had their eyes on the paella? Or maybe they needed to wind down with a glass of wine or two themselves! Spitoon optional.


The Sydney Morning Herald and NSW Wine presents the second annual NSW Wine Week March 1-7 2009.

"This exciting celebration aims to promote the diversity of the NSW Wine regions and bring NSW wine into the minds and hearts of consumers through an exciting program of outdoor and restaurant based events."

Throughout March, restaurants featured in The Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide will offer a special meal for lunch and dinner matched with a glass of premium NSW wine for $50 and under. Bookings are recommended.

For more information on NSW Wine Week visit their website.

Don't forget that the Taste of Sydney festival is on 12th to 15th March at Centennial Park. I'll be there on Sunday 15th so come say hello! I'll be with Mr S. of course so refer to the above photo and look out for his boyish good looks (*ahem*). Alternatively look out for the Asian lass with the arm tattoo and the big camera eating her way through the day...naturally.

Eumundi Smokehouse Sydney
402 New Canterbury Road
Dulwich Hill NSW
(02) 9569 0205
Open Thurs to Fri 11am-6pm and Saturday 7am-2pm