Wine+Spirits Festival celebrates NZ’s independent spirit

This July the inaugural Craft’d Wine + Spirits Festival will arrive in Auckland’s Wynyard Quarter, with more than 40 small producers showcasing their tipples at a new kind of festival to grace the City of Sails. 

Previously named The New Zealand Boutique Wine Festival, the event was held for the last six years at the Imperial Buildings in Auckland’s CBD – however with the inclusion of boutique Kiwi spirit brands the event will don a new name and move to a new location.

As part of a partnership with Coworking business Generator, the 2019 festival will be held at GridAKL / 12 Madden Street, where innovation is ripe and inspiration is celebrated. 

Craft’d Events CEO Sue Duncan says developing the brand to encompass other key components of the country’s billion-dollar export industry was a natural move given the increasing shift of Kiwis favouring bespoke options in craft beer, wine and spirits. 

“Having been a small business owner myself for many years, these artisanal wine and spirit producers hold a special place in my heart. 

“Our purpose is to change the fortunes of New Zealand’s small producers in the boutique wine and spirits industries and provide a platform for them to share their product, their innovation and genuine passion face-to-face with consumers,” Duncan said.

ATEED Head of Major Events, Stuart Turner says that the Craft’d Wine and Spirits Festival is a welcome addition to Auckland’s Winter events programme.

“It’s fantastic to see a new iteration of this event which will help bring the Tāmaki Makaurau to life in July and provide a great opportunity to showcase and celebrate Auckland’s food and beverage offering to locals and visitors.” 

Highly popular at last year’s festival, the NZ Boutique Wine Festival were the masterclasses and vertical tastings and these will return for 2019’s event with the addition of food trucks, merchandise offerings, a dispensary for bottle purchases, and a post-event ‘Craftdparty’, to ensure the carnival atmosphere keeps flowing. 

Additionally, guests can sit back and relax after tasting their way around the venue in the new Festival Club Lounge, where a range of tapas and wine matches will be available. 

The Craft’d Wine + Spirits Festival will be held on Sunday 21 July, 2019, with pre-sale tickets available via Eventfinda on 1 April and General Admission on 21 May.