Ripe: The Wānaka Wine & Food Festival is delivering good news to wine lovers everywhere – we can still take part in a celebration of Central Otago's wines, all without leaving the house.

Wānaka's much-anticipated wine and food festival did unfortunately fall victim to Covid restrictions, but the event creators were ready to think outside the box. Possibly the first virtual wine tasting event of its kind, the Ripe Virtual Tasting Session encourages people to hold their very own mini wine festivals at home, dedicated to sipping and savouring Central Otago's famous drops.

The virtual event will take place on Saturday March 19 from 2pm to 4.30pm, the same day of the original event, and will feature seven of Central Otago's finest wineries presenting two wines each. The winemakers will be joined by sommelier Candice Chow, who will help showcase each of the outstanding wines. The seven wineries taking part in the event are Akarua, Gibbston Valley, Mount Michael, Maori Point, Maude, Misha’s Vineyard and Quartz Reef Wines.

Ripe director Nathan White said, “We’re hoping everyone’s still got the original festival date in their diary and will embrace the idea of going virtual by hosting their very own watch party with friends. It’s a great way to spend an afternoon, sharing great Central Otago wine together.”

“If you can’t come to Ripe, we’ll bring Ripe to you,” he said.

The event is open to anyone who purchases one of the featured wines, available from Ripe's website. Once purchased, you will receive your unique code to access the Ripe Virtual Tasting.

ripewine.co.nz