Wellington Wine & Food Festival 2017

words by niall roeder

If you’re partial to swallowing food, wine and craft beer from waterfront stalls with friends and fam by your side and a tune in your ear – which should be absolutely everyone – then the Wellington Wine & Food Festival is for you.

From Luna Estate wine to Funk Estate beer and eats from the Crab Shack, the festival is the coming together of the very best local grub and swill merchants. Restaurants, wineries and breweries, some of which are well known only to Welly locals, will stand side by side March 10 – 11 on the Wellington waterfront and showcase what they do best – feed your face.

We take a look at what you should eat and drink at the Wellington Wine & Food Festival 2017…

Afrika
When someone’s dishing up crocodile gumbo and ostrich vatapa, the only question you should be asking is, “can I have some, please?” Afrika only uses locally-sourced seasonal halal ingredients and delicious African meats, which unless you’ve been to the great continent, you probably haven’t tried. This is adventurous food.

Karaka Cafe
Get some Aotearoa on your plate. Everyone’s favourite waterfront cafe will be serving delicious Māori cuisine at the festival. Pacific Style Raw Fish is the go here – lemon cured fresh fish in coconut cream.

The Ramen Shop
With noodles made in house the traditional chukamen way, and free range and locally sourced ingredients, you’d be daft to miss this Japanese food with a kiwi twist. All of what they’re planning on plating up sounds ace, but the picks of the bunch seem to be the Dashi Waffle with Chicken Karaage and the Shoyu Shiitake Ramen.

Good George Brewing
We’re all praying for a sun-soaked festival and which golden lubricant flows freely on such days? Cider does. These legendary booze hounds make a scrumptious peach cider with juicy Scarlett O’Hara peaches that will have you swaying the streets (drink responsibly, would you). It’s sweet, slightly tart and refreshing as.

Kereru Brewing
The sudsologists at Kereru Brewing Co. have a talent. That talent is brewing British and European style craft beers with New Zealand-grown ingredients, like Gladfield malts and Nelson hops. We recommend sipping their Big Pigeon Pilsner, a crisp number with bold NZ hop and malt flavours; or the GuavaWeisse, a refreshing kettle-soured and unfiltered Berliner weisse-style ale made with wheat and guava puree.

Whitehaven Wine
You have to give it to them, the self-proclaimed most respected family wine company in New Zealand can make a good drop. It’s definitely worth your while sampling a glass of their Whitehaven Sauvignon Blanc – a medium-bodied vino with fragrant fruit flavours, well suited to chin-stroking wine know-it-alls and grape juice rookies alike.