Held in Sydney at Ambush Gallery, a quirky warehouse space in Waterloo, the ticketed event was co-hosted and organised by online drinks publication Sip Your Style (www.sipyourstyle.com.au), and events and PR company, Fireworks PR (www.fireworkspr.com.au).

“Riesling is one of those varietals largely misunderstood by a lot of consumers, with many assuming it’s a wine style still stuck in the 70s and is mostly sweet,” said Katrina Holden, editor and founder of Sip Your Style. “With the idea of the vintage fashion element, we wanted to contrast and demonstrate that just as the fashions have changed since the 60s and 70s, so too have the styles of modern Australian Riesling, with Wrapped in Riesling designed to showcase to a youthful, stylish crowd the diverse and modern flavours of Riesling,” said Katrina.



Held during the second annual Summer of Riesling initiative in Sydney, which sees a number of Riesling-themed tastings and events take place around the city, Wrapped in Riesling attracted a Friday night, after-work crowd of around 180 guests who sipped on over 25 wines from 11 different Riesling producers including Brown Brothers (VIC), Dal Zotto (VIC), Dandelion Vineyards (SA), Frogmore Creek (TAS), Henschke (SA), Knappstein (SA), Kirrihill (SA), Leasingham (SA), Peter Lehmann Wines (SA), Raidis Estate (SA) and Taylors (SA).

The goal was to create a night-time market atmosphere and so the gallery was set up with a layout designed to allow guests to move freely between the wine stalls which were mixed in amongst vintage fashion and food stalls. After being greeted with bright orange, yellow and green Chinese lantern decorations at the entry, guests were presented with a Riedel varietal-specific Riesling glass. They then moved throughout two warehouse spaces with a mix of wine stalls and clothing from Vintage Fashion Emporium (The Sydney Antique Centre) with eight vintage clothing stalls. Renowed DJ group Future Classic set the tone mixing modern interpretations of retro classics. Sydney City Oysters shucked fresh oysters on the night; while Spring Bay Seafoods cooked up a storm, serving bowls of mussels in laksa sauce – both ideal matches for Riesling.

Sydney managed to turn on a suitably steamy summer evening, perfect for a glass of crisp Riesling, which guests enjoyed both while talking inside to the producers, while browsing through the vintage gems, or also on the laneway where crowds converged to enjoy their wine while taking in the cool tunes.
“Having more than one element to the evening, in terms of fashion and music, not just wine, really helped us draw a different style of crowd, and certainly consumers who may not necessarily have shown up to a traditional ‘Riesling Tasting’,” said Katrina. “While the wine remained as deservedly the star of the show, the fashions seemed to provide a welcome distraction for the attendees, who were able to mix up their evening and set a comfortable pace between wine tasting sessions, shopping and trying on clothes, eating and socialising,” said Katrina.
Co-organiser Kathy Lane, from FireWorks PR, was rapt with the event, saying, “Vintage fashion, food and fine Riesling was a great concept that really worked with the crowd. It was a move away from the classic wine tasting format and we thank all of the participants for getting on board and trying something different. We were delighted with the evening and hope that we’ve converted some more punters to the joys of Riesling!”

Feedback from guests indicates they found the producers to be friendly, they enjoyed connecting with them and learning about the broad range of Riesling styles on offer. Their perceptions about this noble grape were pleasantly challenged and guests who had arrived not being fans of this wine left with a new-found enthusiasm to give it more of a go in the future. And of course, one or two shimmied off into the Sydney night with, one-of-a-kind vintage fashions and accessories. All in all, not a bad way to spend a Friday night.

You can stay in touch with other consumer-related events by Sip Your Style at www.sipyourstyle.com.au or following on Twitter @sipyourstyle

Their next wine event takes place during the A+ Celebrations in April. Sip Your Modo: Australian Flavours, Italian Style, 22 April, 2-5pm at Global Gallery, Paddington Sydney.