Celebrating the 2020 Wine Collection

18 Feb 2020

It was with great pleasure that I’m attending AIME this week and I’m excited to be launching ICC Sydney’s 100% New South Wales (NSW) produced wine collection, as well as a four-part documentary series celebrating the stories behind the list.

The release of our 2020 Wine Collection, curated by our talented Beverage Operations and Cellar Manager, William Wilson, is an exciting step into 2020 and marks the furthering of a commitment by ICC Sydney to support NSW’s world class winemakers.

When we opened the doors of ICC Sydney just on three years ago, we had a very clear ambition. We wanted to not only deliver world class events, but also make a positive and lasting impact on the communities in which we operate.

This is why we developed our Legacy Program and within this our Feeding Your Performance, the philosophy for our culinary and beverage offering. Focused on fuelling the body and minds of delegates, it also champions NSW’s amazing producers by sourcing the best in local food and drink throughout the state – supporting businesses and their communities.

As part of this, we made a very clear commitment to NSW’s world class winemakers. We opened our venue with a wine list comprising of 80% NSW wines, and last year upped this to 92%. Today, I’m proud that we have increased this to 100%. Every bottle on our 2020 Wine List now comes from within the state.

We’ve done this not just because we believe it is our role to support local producers, but because NSW makes some of the finest wine in the world. This story deserves to be shared with our global audience. As a genuinely international venue we can do this, while also being proud of the outstanding quality of the wines we are serving our guests.

Across the county, food and wine producers are facing extremely challenging times. From prolonged drought and record temperatures, through to this summer’s devastating bushfires, many regional businesses and communities have been devastatingly impacted over the last few years.

However, from this adversity has come courage, innovation and the determination to continue to create the world’s best food and drink. This is no better demonstrated than by NSW’s winemakers who continue to produce stunning wines.

Across the state, they have been adapting to harsher weather and drought by changing production methods, planting new varietals and shifting harvest timings to continue to consistently produce incredible wine. They are truly inspirational and their story reinforces our decision to produce this documentary series.

During the last few years of growing our partnership with NSW winemakers, we have had the privilege of learning about their craft, hard work and the many fascinating stories behind the bottles we serve at ICC Sydney.

To celebrate our new 100% local wine list, we decided to capture and share some of these stories in a short documentary series, which we have called ‘100% Local’. In four parts, the series takes a look at the state’s producers – from famous, established winemakers, through to emerging talent – as well as exploring themes such as the growing impact of climate change, their resilience and innovation.

We’re delighted to share the first episode now and look forward to rolling out the subsequent three over the coming weeks. It has been a privilege working with NSW winemakers both to curate our delicious wine list and create this series.

Episode one, Our Commitment, is available to watch here now:

Back to News