‘No better location on the planet for a wine-tasting’: Sydney Cellar Door returns

Try vino from 35 wineries across NSW’s 16 wine-growing regions at the state’s largest open-air cellar door. Plus events at Firepop, Claret Club, Famelia and more.

November 2, 2026

Picpoul, the crisp, briny white from the south of France, is often called the world’s best match for oysters. The grape is native to a tiny stretch of coast in Languedoc-Roussillon, where the vines grow beside oyster-filled lagoons.

It also thrives about 3½ hours west of Sydney in the rural township of Canowindra in the NSW Central Ranges (about 30 minutes from Cowra). Windowrie Estate owner Jason O’Dea is one of only a handful of Australian winemakers working with the grape, grown from cuttings imported from France.

You can taste it as it was intended, with a freshly shucked oyster in hand, at Sydney Cellar Door, which returns to The Rocks from Friday, November 13 to Sunday, November 15.

Held at First Fleet Park, with views of the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge, the event brings together more than 35 wineries from the state’s 16 wine-growing regions. “There’s no better location possibly on the planet to host a wine tasting,” says winemaker Aaron Mercer of Mercer Wines in the Hunter Valley, who will be back for his third year. Entry is free, with a tasting tumbler and five tokens priced at $40.

The Hunter will be well represented, with 22 producers pouring some of its best-known bottles, including Tyrrell’s semillon and Brokenwood’s Verona Vineyard shiraz. Liz Silkman, the only NSW Winemaker to be named Halliday Winemaker of the Year, will pour the chardonnay herself on opening night.

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Beyond the Hunter classics, expect plenty of lighter, Mediterranean-style wines, filled with “vibrant fruit and freshness,” says Mercer, “that you don’t need to age for a decade.

“When it comes to wine, we are a hugely diverse state,” he says adding that, geographically, NSW has similar altitude variations to France, “but we have more variety.”

His picks include barbera from Orange, montepulciano from Hilltops and sangiovese from Gundagai. “Our montepulciano is the biggest seller at our Hunter Valley cellar door. It sells more than prosecco and pinot grigio, which is pretty crazy.”

Sydney Cellar Door is part of NSW Wine Month, a statewide celebration of local wines held across 60 events, from wine-paired lunches to tastings and masterclasses, held at restaurants and bars across the state.

In Enmore, hatted restaurant Firepop will match its charcoal-grilled menu with the cool-climate, high-altitude wines of Borrodell in Orange on Tuesday, November 17. The standout will be the wagyu skewers cooked over charcoal and served with three-year-aged pickled garlic shoots from Moonacres Farm. Borrodell’s 2014 aged pinot noir picks up the skewer’s char and savoury notes, while a 2021 pinot meunier cuts through its richness.

Chardonnay drinkers should head to Claret Club on Saturday, November 14. At the hatted bar, co-owned by sommeliers Bridget Raffal and Harry Hunter, Silkman will host a lunch that begins with spring asparagus and sauce gribiche, paired with her 2019 aged-release semillon, followed by roast chicken with mint and shallots, alongside the newly released 2017 SILK Chardonnay. The wine scored 98 points in the Halliday guide, and Silkman calls it an “absolute stunner”. Two days earlier, on Thursday, November 12, Silkman will also lead a tasting at Famelia, a Newtown wine bar and bottle shop that only stocks wine made or produced by women.

Elsewhere this month, The Art Syndicate in Surry Hills is pouring rare, aged and iconic NSW wines by the glass, drawn from a bottle-only archive list. Altitude Restaurant at the Shangri-La is hosting a wine-matched dinner featuring Brokenwood, Tyrrell’s, Ross Hill and Clonakilla. Or, for something more leisurely, try an Urban Wine Walk, a self-guided wine trail through Newtown or Balmain.

Sydney Cellar Door is on November 13 to November 15. Head here to pre-purchase your tasting pack. For further information on NSW Wine Month events, visit the website.

Erina Starkey – Erina is the Good Food App Editor for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. Previously, Erina held a number of editing roles at delicious.com.au and writing roles at Broadsheet and Concrete Playground.

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