The Raglan Vine team
Deb and Carlene dreamed up the Wine festival event while sitting on the deck and sharing a bevy in 2024. Deb, the former Creative Market coordinator for The Raglan Community Arts Council, and Carlene, a wine merchant and consultant, called on Brian for his IT and marketing smarts. Together they designed a blueprint for the first festival which has grown into a series of events.
Carlene explained, “We’re aiming to make wine a bit more accessible and interesting to people. The whole kaupapa is that it shouldn’t be an elitist thing, it should be one of life’s pleasures. Making people feel comfortable with it is part of that.”.
Vendors share their wisdom at all events in helping demystify wine. The Raglan Vine team expect event attendees will gain unique insights into the artistry behind each vineyard.
Ticket holders are entitled to 30ml tastings from a variety of vendors. There are also wine sales with special discounts, plus attendance at any discussion, and access to the Festival and Foodie Garden Bars.
Raglan residents didn’t have to look far to find the latest in winemaking with Barrelled Wines offering a taste of their range of small batch artisan wines from vines that were planted in 2018. Also representing local producers, Workshop Brewery tempt beer-lovers with a selection of their finest acholic and non-alcoholic award-winning brews.
Brian says, “We are bringing our complementary skills to what we are calling “flavours of nations” to test options for food, wine, beer and even BBQ festivals.
The February 2025 festival included boutique, family-owned winery Takapoto Estate, located on the shores of Lake Karapiro, the New Plymouth urban winery Known Unknown, and Eketāhuna-based Catalyst Fruit Wines. Adding an international flavour was Sante Wines who represent small, family-run French wines as well as tastings from lesser-known regions.
On the food front, cheesemakers joined the festival, sharing their latest produce and insights into the world of cheesemaking. And for the gastronomes, there were several food vendors to tempt the tastebuds between wine and beer tastings.