It’s the age-old question. What three things would you take with you to a desert island? If your choices are: natural wine, Mary’s burgers and a DJ for a little burger-eating, vino-swilling mood music, then let us be the first to inform you – paradise has been found.

This September 5, Mary’s and P&V Merchants will be teaming up to put on a special one-day event dedicated to natty wines, great burgers and live music on Cockatoo Island.

P&V Merchants’ Mike Bennie and Lou Dowling have set aside a stack of rare and delicious drinks just for the occasion. Expect avant-garde wines in all the colours of the rainbow, from sizzling pet nats to esoteric orange wines, chilled reds and Jura classics, as well as obscurities from Georgia, Beaujolais, Czech Republic, Sardinia, and more. They’ll be running a free-flowing wine bar where single bottles of rarities will disappear and new, hard-to-find labels will reappear at pace. Farmhouse ciders and wild fermented beers and brews of all kinds will also be available. Alongside the bevvies, they’re also bringing the best bivalves from this side of the Pacific – specifically, Wapengo Rocks Organic Oysters – for that perfect pet nat and oyster moment.

But make sure you leave plenty of room. Burger heroes Jake Smyth and Kenny Graham from Mary’s will also be onsite slinging their famous meat stacks and fries.

As for music, long time friends of P&Vs and Mary’s, Julian Hamilton (The Presets) and Dave Bowman (record collector extraordinaire) will be DJ-ing throughout the day. From 2pm – 4pm, Julian will bring the beats, from ambient, artistic-sonic landscapes to lesser-known electronic sounds. Dave will play the remaining slots, pulling out funk, soul and R&B tracks as well as African polyrhythms and New Orleans brass from his impressive collection.

If that’s not enough to keep you occupied, the 22nd Biennale of Sydney will also be up and running, which means, plenty of exciting artworks spread over the island to check out during the day.

For those concerned about Covid, the event will be held over a large area in the fresh, open-air, with special precautionary measures in place.

The Mary’s x P&V Merchants Cockatoo Island takeover will be held on September 5,  11am – 9pm. The event is free, with spots allocated on a first-in, first-served basis. For more details, head to pnvmerchants.com.