With thousands of people coming to Winetopia each year to experience some of the very best of the New Zealand wine scene, we thought long and hard about what we could do to really deliver.
"What if we could offer people the chance to try some of the very best wines in the country that had been aged to their optimum? Some of the wines that collectors fall over themselves to get their hands on. Wouldn't that be cool?"
And the Dream Room Masterclass was born. These wines aren't just expensive, they are hard to find. Some of the wines were only made in very small batches, and then they have had to be stored and cared for in tightly controlled conditions, sometimes for over a decade. Given the combined cost of these wines, we figured it wouldn't be right to try and sell tickets to this tasting to our Winetopia customers, it would be expensive and in our ethos of sharing great wine with the masses, only offering it to a few people just didn't sit right. Much better to give ticketholders all an equal chance to win - a "Golden Ticket" type experience.
We have been fortunate to have been able to rope in one of our resident wine gurus, Stephen Wong MW to lead this tasting in Wellington. Stephen will give his very knowledgeable assessment of what gets a wine to cult collector status, and be able to talk you through the miniature of each bottle. Auckland wine guru to be announced soon.
Here are the wines that will be at the Auckland masterclass.
Church Rd TOM Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot 2015
Craggy Range Le Sol, Syrah 2009
Prophets Rock Cuvee Aux Antipodes Pinot Noir 2020
Cloudy Bay Te Koko Sauvignon Blanc 2015
We have ten pairs of tickets to give away to this Dream Room Masterclass in each city. To ensure you are in the draw, buy your Winetopia entry tickets during the Early Bird period (which ends on 29 May for the Wellington event, and 3 July for Auckland). GA Tickets receive one entry, purchase Premium Tickets and you have two entries into the draw.
Note, the Dream Room Masterclass will take place on Saturday afternoon, Session 2. If your name is drawn and your ticket is for a different session, you will be offered access to Session 2 for the Masterlcass.
The Dream Room is also the subject of a Main Stage talk taking place during Session 1 and 3 of the Wellington event. Stephen Wong MW will be leading a shorter discussion about what makes these top wines so sought after, and attendees may be lucky enough to try one of these wines, likely to be of a more recent vintage!
Auckland Main Stage schedule to be announced soon. Sign up to our newsletter or follow on our social channels to be the first to know.