ACT Region's Wineries Unite for Harvest Festivities

Wineries across the ACT region are set to expand this year's harvest festivities with the introduction of the inaugural Canberra District Wine Week.

From Monday 4 April to Sunday 10 April, the Canberra District Wine Region will celebrate the 2016 vintage with a week-long program of wine tastings, food and wine dinners and other special events in Canberra, Murrumbateman, Yass, Bungendore and Gundaroo, culminating in the annual Harvest Festival at most cellar doors on the weekend of 9-10 April.

Canberra District Wine Week will be officially launched with a superb wine dinner at Hotel Realm in Barton on Wednesday 6 April featuring Gourmet Traveller's 2013 Winemaker of the Year, Clonakilla's Tim Kirk, as MC and highly-regarded wine writer and judge, Huon Hooke, commenting on the various wines on show.

The launch dinner is but one event, with tastings, dinners, wine trails and a myriad of opportunities to explore the terroir of the region and celebrate the variety, diversity and quality of the wines on offer.

Some Canberra District Wine Week highlights include:

• Nightly wine tastings at Hotel Realm Pavilion Bar
• A blind tasting competition at The Canberra Wine House
• A tasting event of natural and left-field wines at 86 in Braddon and Clementine Restaurant in Yass on Tuesday 5 April
• Cabernet producers will match their wines with local lamb dishes at Flint at Shaw Vineyard Estate on Thursday 7 April
• Local winemakers will match Sangiovese to delicious wood-fired pizzas at Four Winds Vineyard on Thursday 7 April
• An exclusive Pinot Noir event at Pialligo Estate where Pinot Noir from Lerida Estate, Lark Hill Winery and Clonakilla will be matched with seasonal dishes on Friday 8 April
• A Vegie Patch Dinner hosted by Poachers Pantry and Wily Trout Vineyard under the stars on Friday 8 April

The week-long celebrations will conclude with the annual Harvest Festival on Saturday 9 April and Sunday 10 April, with local wineries offering vineyard and winery tours, winemaking presentations and hands-on activities such as barrel tastings and foot stomping.

The program of events can be found at cdww.com.au, but be sure visit the site regularly as new events are being added on a daily basis.

For other things to see and do in the Canberra region, head to visitcanberra.com.au