'Toast Martinborough' tickets in big demand
05 Oct 2010
Toast Martinborough
Sunday 21 November, 2010
Tickets for New Zealand’s premier wine, food and music event - Toast Martinborough - are about to go on sale with organisers bracing themselves for a repeat of last year when 10,000 sold out in just 13 minutes.
The unique event sees the entire historic town of Martinborough, in the famous Wairarapa wine growing region north of Wellington, become the festival site.
Thousands of people wander from vineyard to vineyard sampling new release and special vintage wines as each of the nine participating wineries provides gourmet foods, prepared by some of New Zealand’s top chefs, and live entertainment.
Double 'Toast'
Known simply as ‘Toast’ to locals and regulars, the wine festival is now in its 19th year and has more than doubled since 2000.
The quality of the local wines, fine foods, atmosphere and setting have given Toast Martinborough such a reputation that it sells out instantly, every year.
Around 9,500 litres of wine are consumed and more than 600 cases of wine sold on the day of the festival.
Nine wineries
The nine wineries taking part in this year’s event are Alana Estate, Ata Rangi, Margrain Vineyard, Martinborough Vineyard and Burnt Spur, Muirlea Rise, Palliser Estate, Te Kairanga, Tirohana Estate and Vynfields.
Each vineyard expresses its own personality with food and entertainment on the day- some more relaxed and sophisticated and others lively and energetic. Festival-goers can easily walk from one winery to another or ride free shuttle buses.
Bands for this year's festival include Katchafire, The Thomas Oliver Band, Don McGlashan, The Nairobi Trio, Elizabeth Braggins, The Rodger Fox band, Nudge, Baji, The Beat Girls, Supermodel, Jedi Nights and the Waratahs.
Martinborough wine
Although the Wairarapa - Martinborough region represents just 3% of New Zealand’s total wine-producing area, it wins a disproportionate number of trophies and medals for its size.
In international wine competitions the Wairarapa often outstrips the efforts of larger, more commercially-focused regions.
Unlike other wine regions where awards are generally concentrated on one or two varieties, Martinborough wines attract top awards across the range of varieties. Even varieties grown in relative small quantities are produced to an award-winning level.
Predominant varieties are pinot noir (54%), sauvignon blanc (23%), chardonnay (8%), pinot gris (5%) and riesling (4%).
There are 58 vineyards in the region - many small, family-owned wineries where the focus is on producing quality rather than quantity.
Popular destination
Wairarapa’s close proximity to New Zealand's capital, Wellington city, makes it a popular weekend destination. The area is characterised by quaint little towns dotted between rolling fields of sheep, olives and grapes - all set against a panoramic mountain backdrop.
As well as the attraction of many boutique wineries, the area has also gained a reputation for high quality cafes and world-class restaurants.
The town of Martinborough is located at the centre of the Wairarapa wine region. Most of the boutique wineries are within an easy walk of the town square.
The region's vineyards tend to be planted on high alluvial terraces in deep stony and free draining soils. Climatically the area is similar to Marlborough, with low rainfall, high sunshine hours and cool nights.
Wairarapa is best known for pinot noir which is a notoriously difficult wine to make well. The grapes must be extremely ripe when picked, have very high sugar levels, and are best suited to cool climate regions.
More information
NZ wine Industry
New Zealand events - Spring 2010
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