Grape Debate Hits Hawkes Bay

Grape Debate Hits Hawkes Bay

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 2 August 2017

Hawke’s Bay residents have a great way to stay warm this August with heated debate, heart-warming wine, and plenty of laughs on offer.

The famous Colliers Rural Grape Debate comes to the Te Awa Winery on Friday the 4th of August for the third year in a row. Two teams will argue the moot, “is bigger better?” with TV comedian Jeremy Corbett to keep them in line.

“The Grape Debate is so much more than another night at a winery,” says event organiser Rebecca Tacon, owner-operator of Planit Events.

“It’s an event where passion and fire comes out as winemakers argue their points and do their best to win the crowd over with their words as opposed to their wine.”

Team Boutiques and team Giants will take the gloves off and argue whether large scale winemaking is better than small scale.

Tony Bish from Tony Bish Wines, Rod Easthope from Easthope family Winegrowers, and Daniel Brennan fromDecibel Wines will be sparring for the Boutiques, with Nick Picone from Villa Maria, Natalie Christensen from Yealands and Nikolai St George from Giesen representing the Giants.

“The Grape Debates can get pretty heated, so Jeremy Corbyn will be there to provide comic relief and ensure it’s just witty words that are thrown across the room,” Rebecca says.

As well as the debate, the night will be a fundraiser for the Lowe Corporation Rescue Helicopter, thanks to a live and silent auction.

“Grape Debates aren’t just a heck of a load of fun, they actually give winemakers a chance to get together and dispute ideas in a light-hearted but highly competitive environment, as well as raise money for a good cause” Rebecca says.

“The highlight of the debating is the banter that the winemakers seem to all have in extraordinary amounts. It turns out winemakers love a good argument! The wine drinkers in the crowd to get pretty involved too.”

Those drinking wine in the crowd have Rebecca’s word they’ll be drinking the good stuff too.

“We wouldn’t dare serve average wine at an event full of winemakers. There’d be a riot!”

Tickets to the Grape Debate are $150 and include a three course meal, pre-dinner drinks, and a great selection of wines. Tickets are availbe from Event Finda or Planit Events

ENDS

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