This year’s Seriously Shiraz Festival drew a monster crowd, with Victorian winemakers thrilled with the event’s capacity to help showcase their products.
The 2016 edition, held as the first event of the Winterlude Festival on Friday, attracted 400 wine enthusiasts – up from 150 the year prior.
Event manager Kate Burrows said a considerable social media push and partnership with Ballarat BMW had helped increase the night’s popularity.
“It’s positioned perfectly,” she said.
“We’ve had some amazing feedback from the wineries and attendees.”
Co-owner of attending Grampians-based winemaker SubRosa, Nancy Panter, said the demographic of the crowd was a good sign for the event.
“What was really exciting to see was so many people in their early 20s discovering wine for the first time through to the more senior and experienced wine tasters,” she said.
“There are lots of very high quality winemakers on the doorstop of Ballarat in the Grampians and Pyrenees wine regions.”
