A handful of reasons why we look forward to the Hawkes Bay Wine Celebration – the very best of the bay on your front doorstep.

Come September 26 and 27, Auckland and Wellington will be treated to the best of the bay, during an evening of wine tasting tips from leading winemakers, industry news and a sneak peak at upcoming vintages. Wines on show will include delicious local chardonnay, aromatic whites, world-class red blends and the region's drawcard – syrah.

In a bid to keep you in the know and ensure you don’t miss a beat, we’ve collated a handful of Hawke’s Bay Celebration highlights that no foodie, or wine-lover, can afford to miss.

There will be tasty morsels to sample
No wine evening is complete without some seriously delicious food pairings. Wellingtonians will be treated to a variety of flavoursome offerings from Ruth Pretty’s Gua Bao, while Aucklanders will enjoy a series of canapes from the team at Everybody’s. Each of the Hawke’s Bay Hero Varietals – namely chardonnay, syrah and a variety of red blends – will be paired with the smaller bites on offer throughout both evenings.

Go 'beyond the bottle' with The Wine Table Talk series
Settle in for the night and expand your wine knowledge with a verified wine pro. The Wine Table Talk series is a unique opportunity to learn more about Hawke's Bay's Hero Varietals with a regional wine expert. If you’re heading along to the Auckland event, cosy up on the couches at Everybody's for an evening of all things wine. For those in the capital, the mezzanine floor of Te Aro’s Prefab Eatery will delve in to all aspects of wine production that Hawke's Bay is so famous for.

Enjoy a taste of F.A.W.C! before of the main event
With the Hawke’s Bay Summer Food and Wine Classic on the not-so-distant horizon, consider an evening with the region’s best drops a ripe opportunity to get the scoop on the upcoming event schedule and snag yourself tickets before they sell out. F.A.W.C will be on-site during both events, offering mouth-watering morsels from around the region.

All of your favourite Hawke’s Bay wines will be available on your doorstep
While a weekend away to enjoy the best of the bay may feel like a tall order during the mid-year madness, this unique event enables visitors to try more than 200 wines from 35 different producers, without leaving town. Consider this a perfect escape from the daily grind, if only for an evening. This year’s participating wineries include Tironui Estate, Hopes Grove Vineyard, Alpha Domus, Ant Mackenzie Wines, Askerne, Babich Wines, Beach House, Black Barn, Church Road, Clearview Estate, Collaboration Wines, Coopers Creek, Craggy Range, Cypress Wines, Elephant Hill, Esk Valley Estate, Lime Rock Wines, Linden Estate, Mills Reef, Mission Estate, Moana Park, Monowai Estate, Ngatarawa Wines, Osawa Wines, Paritua Wines, Rod McDonald Wines, Sacred Hill, Squawking Magpie Wines, Stonecroft Wines, Supernatural Wine Co, Te Awa Estate, Te Mata Estate, Trinity Hill, Vidal Estate and Villa Maria Estate.

You might just go home a winner…
It goes without saying that there’s plenty to celebrate, so the team at Hawke’s Bay Wine Celebration are starting the party early, offering both Wellington and Auckland ticket-holders the chance to win an entire case of wine, with each case including 12 delicious bottles of wine. Need we say more?

Hawke’s Bay Wine Celebration
Auckland event:
Everybody's,
7 Fort Lane, Auckland
Tuesday, 26th September
6.00pm–8.30pm 

Wellington event:
Prefab, 
14 Jessie St,
Te Aro, Wellington
Wednesday 27th September
6.00pm–8.30pm 

To secure your tickets to the Hawke’s Bay Wine Celebration in Auckland on September 26, simply head over here. To secure your tickets to the Wellington event on September 27, head over here.