Sydney’s northern beaches becomes wine country on Sunday, April 22, when many of the Hunter Valley’s leading winemakers set up stall for the day in Avalon.

The beachside suburb’s Village Green at Dunbar Park will play host to all the action, as part of the Uncorked Avalon Festival.

Twenty-three winemakers from Australia’s oldest wine region will make the journey south, including such luminaries as Allandale, Briar Ridge, Brokenwood, First Creek, Hungerford Hill, McLeish Estate, Margan, Mount Pleasant, Savanah Estate, Tulloch and Tyrrell’s. Beer drinkers won’t miss out, with Ironbark Hill Brewhouse bringing their craft brews to the party.

There’ll be plenty of food to accompany the drinks. Hunter Valley restaurants and producers joining in the fun include Chill Bar, Choux Patisserie, Hunter Valley Cheese Company, Il Cacciatore, Inbocca, Pimp My Chimney, Pukara Estate, The Cellar Restaurant and Rockin’ Oysters.

And talking of oysters, in a festival first, visitors can enjoy a pop-up Semillon & Oyster Bar showcasing the Hunter’s iconic semillon variety matched with Sydney Rock oysters.

Four of the region’s leading winemakers – Mount Pleasant, McLeish Estate, Tamburlaine and Tulloch – will hold master classes at the pop-up bar. The 45-minutes classes cost $45 per person, and include a souvenir Riedel glass, a flight of Hunter Valley semillon and half a dozen oysters. Classes are limited to 20 spots only, so be sure to book in advance.

This year’s Uncorked Avalon also provides a taste of what’s to come at the Hunter Valley Food & Wine Festival in May and June.

To make things easy on the day, skip the line for tickets by pre-purchasing a festival glass and four tasting vouchers online for $26.00. If you prefer to rock up on the day, a wine-tasting glass can be bought for $10.00, while tasting vouchers are $4 each.

Uncorked Avalon kicks off at 10.30am, with the last wine vouchers sold at 4.30pm and last wine poured at 4.45pm.

Visit winecountry.com.au for more information and to pre-purchase tickets.