Food and Wine Classic tickets in hot demand

Tickets to this year's Winter F.A.W.C! are in hot demand with 10 of the 48 events already sold out, organisers say.

Hawke's Bay Tourism communications manager Vicky Roebuck said there had been more interest from outside Hawke's Bay than last year and urged people to "get in quick" before events sold out.

The Winter F.A.W.C! was in its second year. Last year's event saw 30 events over four days, while this year's event, held from June 6 to 29, would be "double the size," with 50 events held across four weekends, Ms Roebuck said.

Winter F.A.W.C! gave people a reason to visit Hawke's Bay in the off-season. "Think lamb, roaring fires and big glasses of red."

Ms Roebuck said 27 per cent of event tickets, which went on sale last week, were already sold. The first event to sell out was The Cellar Sessions in the underground cellar of Elephant Hill.

Elephant Hill Marketing Manager Vince Labat said, "We expected a keen level of interest in our event, but to be the first event to sell out is fantastic. We are really looking forward to showcasing Elephant Hill premium wines alongside our Head Chef Ashley Jones' menu to create a wonderful food and wine experience which is really what F.A.W.C! is all about."

Ms Roebuck said other F.A.W.C! events that were sure to sell out quickly were the Black Barn Goes Underground to Italy at the Black Barn underground cellar, the Speakeasy at Trinity Hill's cellar door and the Wild & Game at Sacred Hill's cellar door which featured celebrity guest chef Chris Green from the award-winning Arbitrageur restaurant in Wellington.

Hawke's Bay Tourism general manager Annie Dundas said organisers were "delighted" with ticket sales to date. "There are so many great events on offer for Winter F.A.W.C! and we really encourage people to book early so they don't miss out on what will be another fabulous celebration of Hawke's Bay food and wine this winter," Ms Dundas said.

Winter F.A.W.C! is sponsored by Hawke's Bay Today.

Tickets and full event info at www.fawc.co.nz