Forget the first, 6 May is the day that Luna Wine Store welcomes 30 of Australia’s most exciting winemakers and natural wine importers to the region for the Full Moon Natural Wine Festival at the Eltham Hotel.
Following on from the raucous success that was last year’s inaugural event, this year’s festival promises to be an afternoon of high energy, beautiful wine, great music and conversation, and is a rare chance to chat face-to-face in a casual, party environment with those who are connected to the land on which this beautiful produce is crafted.
Guests will be able to taste over 100 wines from around the country, with winemakers visiting from Tasmania, Margaret River, Adelaide Hills, Gippsland, Barossa, Mount Gambier and plenty more, welcoming the likes of Dan Graham (Sigurd Wines), Rory Duggan (R. D’Meure) and importers Lo-Fi Wines, Liz Carey (Vivant) and Giorgio de Maria.
Luna Wine Store is Byron Bay’s only natural wine store, focusing entirely on independent organic, biodynamic and natural wine producers.
There will be live music, food created by a joint effort of the Eltham and Ciao Mate kitchens and the Eltham’s bar is open as usual. Wines shown on the day will be available for takeaway after the festival.
Luna Wine Store’s Russ Berry says they want to create an environment that brings people closer to the wine they are consuming. ‘We want to open the dialogue between producer and consumer that is mostly overlooked within people’s relationship with wine, and other drinks’.
‘I love how people engage with their food and its provenance in this region, and Full Moon, with a bit of dancing and live music thrown in, is a place for our community to interact and maybe walk away having learnt something interesting about the direct relationship between soil health and a wine’s qualities.’
Once the tasting ends, the party carries on into the evening with Luna’s ‘Baller Bar’ serving unique and rare natural wines from around the world by the glass.
Tickets are $75 via Eventbrite; click the link on Luna Wine Store’s webpage, or alternatively drop by in-store on Jonson Street to make a purchase. Bookings for Echo readers are available with a 10 per cent locals discount, just use code ‘ECHO23’ at the checkout.
Bookings for the charter bus ride at 7pm or 9pm to Bangalow or Byron Bay are available at the time of ticket purchase, for $12.50.
The Full Moon Natural Wine Festival at the Eltham Hotel, Saturday 6 May, 2–5pm.