Mouth-watering festival to focus on wine

Celebrity chef Annabel Langbein was part of last year's F.A.W.C! event. Photo / Paul Taylor

Winter's icy grasp may have us rugged up on the couch, but we're already savouring the delightful taste of Summer F.A.W.C!.

The event schedule for Hawke's Bay's Food and Wine Classic [F.A.W.C!] is released today, with 4500 tickets available online from Saturday.

People can expect a fresh collection of 61 inventive offerings, featuring seasonal produce, stunning locations and incredible wines.

General manager of Hawke's Bay Tourism Annie Dundas said they were excited by the variety and innovation in this year's line-up. "It's so creative and fabulous, it makes my mouth water just thinking about it," she told Hawke's Bay Today.

Now entering its third Summer Series F.A.W.C! is becoming a must do on every foodie's calendar. "F.A.W.C! is fast on its way to being New Zealand's premium food and wine festival and we are delighted."

The Summer Series runs across 10 days from Friday October 31, finishing with a flourish on Sunday, November 9. This year the focus falls on wine, following a "stunning" 2013 vintage. It's set to launch with the ultimate "boot party" at Craggy Range Winery, which will showcase wines matched with dishes prepared by a team of Hawke's Bay chefs. Joining them will be celebrity chefs Nici Wickes, Julie Biuso, Martin Bosley and New Zealand Masterchef winners Nadia Lim, Chelsea Winter and Kasey and Karena Bird.

Ray McVinnie is set to return as F.A.W.C! ambassador for 2014.

"I love the creativity and world-class food and wine experiences that are served up during F.A.W.C! and I can't wait to get back," he said.

A huge change this year was the addition of free Masterchef classes, which have moved to a new location in Napier, making F.A.W.C! accessible to everyone.

F.A.W.C! database members will have access to pre-sale tickets from 9am tomorrow, with general sales going live from 9am on Saturday. Organisers are expecting to see a "surge" over the first couple of days and encouraged people to get in quick for their favourite events.

For access to the pre-sale, sign up to the F.A.W.C! database at fawc.co.nz