Iconic wineries unite for ‘grand tasting’ this November at Howard Park Wines for Pair’d Margaret River

Tickets are now available for one of the prized headline events for November’s Pair’d Margaret River festival.

Two grand tasting events will bring together 16 of the region’s most popular wineries to showcase their wares against a stunning backdrop at Howard Park Wines, partnered with a steady flow of gourmet food, wines, music and epicurean insight.

The grand tastings are garden party-style events which include masterclasses with veteran wine writers Nick Ryan and Erin Larkin as an optional add-on for interested guests.

“This is a pretty rare gathering of so many Margaret River legends, in both bottled and human form,” Ryan said.

“I haven’t been this excited about a tasting for a very long time.”

The November 16 and 17 events billed “unlimited gourmet dishes” featuring WA produce along with the music and “around the barrel” sessions with local vignerons.

Wineries featured include the region’s most famed brands such as Cullen, Xanadu Wines, Voyager Estate, Vasse Felix, Leeuwin Estate and others.

“The event is the coming together of an incredible group of Margaret River’s finest wine producers, giving guests access to a large collection of rare museum wines at the Wine Chapel tastings, as well as the ability to learn more through masterclasses and Pair’d talks,” Howard Park Wines general manager and director Nat Burch told the Times.

“Having 16 local winemakers of this calibre pouring their rarest drops really is one for the history books.”

The festival’s sommeliers have been hard at work behind the scenes bringing the event to fruition and new details were also offered this week on more than 30 options for punters.

The new and expanded program includes Attica chef Ben Shewry DJing among the vines at the New Wave Gathering, a wine lover’s quiz night at Australia’s Best Wine Shop, crayfish rolls paired with chardonnay at Castle Bay and more.

Famed foodie and Blur musician Alex James will also oversee the musical score for one of the program events.

James said he had been developing his skills as a winemaker since his last visit to the Margaret River region.

James described the festival’s combination of wine, music and food as “the holy trinity”.

“There are endless ways you can pair the three and I’m always looking for new ways to do so,” he said.

“The secret ingredient is sunshine, which we’re guaranteed plenty of in the Margaret River region.

“Margaret River is a gold mine of independent producers because the sunshine gives everything an incredible intensity of flavour, particularly the wine.”

Visit pairdmargaretriver.com for tickets and more information.