Don't Miss: The Vivian Wine Bar at Laneway Festival

By Shandelle Battersby
Viva
Peter Lorimer of The Vivian wine bar, which appears annually at Laneway. Picture / Babiche Martens

One of the highlights of the St Jerome’s Laneway Festival in recent years is the sweet set-up of The Vivian bar, which features organic/bio-dynamic wines from local boutique wineries.

Curator Peter Lorimer, whose day job is running NZ Wine Portfolio which represents such winemakers in overseas markets, started the small and personal wine bar in 2014. He aims to pair his selections with the environment and the artists performing at the festival, while lifting the level of wine offerings available for punters.

“Laneway is about diversity and delivers [it with] musical genres and experiences. People are open to new tastes and we’ve had incredible feedback on the wines in previous years. You’re not going to find the usual suspects like sauvignon blanc and chardonnay, but we aim to deliver drops that are delicious, thought-provoking and suit the gig,” he explains.

Peter cites the band Foals closing Aotea Square in 2013 and the “floating, surreal, summertime perfection” of Flume’s sunset spot at Silo Park last year as two of his favourite Laneway moments, and for this year’s festival on January 30 at Albert Park his picks are Floating Points, Mick Jenkins and White Lung.

Two of the wines he recommends sampling on the day include Cambridge Road’s 2015 Naturalist sparkling blanc, which he says should be enjoyed with music by Floating Points, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard and Refused, while Lime Rock’s 2014 Pinot Noir could be sipped to the tunes of Mick Jenkins, Tame Impala and The Veils. The more left-of-centre the music, the more esoteric the vino, he says.

“Life’s too short to listen to the same music or drink the same juice every day,” he enthuses. “Be brave and embrace the small and beautiful wines being crafted by passionate local vignerons.”

• Visit The Vivian at St Jerome's Laneway Festival — Albert Park Precinct, January 30. Tickets $160 at auckland.lanewayfestival.com

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