Cover Story
Issue No. 57 - February/March 2011
Cellar door takes Centre stage
Adelaide Convention Centre’s iaugural Cellar Door Wine Festival Adelaide has stirred up such demand that the available stalls for the event sold out in 12 days.
The Centre’s own initiative, the Cellar Door Wine Festival will create a new food and wine experience which has been lacking from the ‘Mad March” lineup of major events, when thousands of visitors enjoy South Australia’s burst of festival action.
“As a convention centre trying to attract national and international conferences and events we have been increasingly confronted with a challenge during the Festival Season of late February and ‘Mad March’,” says Convention Centre Market Development Manager, Giovanna Toldi.
“The popularity of the Clipsal 500, and particularly the short lead time in confirming the dates, and the growing success of the festivals means accommodation is at a premium and relatively expensive in Adelaide. That inhibits our ability to attract non local conferences.
“We therefore decided to create our own event, one which could become a regular feature on our calendar, contribute to the product offering in terms of festivals and add to Adelaide’s attractions during this period, promote one of the State’s key products – wine – and one which would provide much needed assistance for suppliers to promote their products.”
Billed as the first wine festival to cover the entire state, CDWFA aims to recreate the cellar door experience for city dwellers.
“People do not always have the time or resources to explore all the wineries or the wine regions and the attractions they have to offer but what if we provided the opportunity for the regions to showcase their products and services in the heart of the City?” Giovanna says.
“This is very much a shoulder period for the Centre and we are able to offer very co...
