A South Australian label has been named as the official wine for a sporting spectacle at the MCG later this year that is said to be backed by millions in Victorian government funding, writes Des Houghton.
Move over Penrith Panthers. Stand down Brisbane Broncos.
The San Francisco 49ers are heading Down Under for a clash with the Los Angeles Rams in Melbourne on September 11.
The blockbuster event will also be a celebration of Australian wine from Hill-Smith Family Estates.
The game at the MCG before a likely sell-out crowd has already provided a tourism windfall for Victorian with hotel and restaurant bookings soaring.
There were more than 100,000 people in the online queue for tickets when the box office opened.
They included 25,000 Americans, some of whom paid between $1750 to $2800 for premium tickets.
The game will kick off at 10.35am to better suit television times for a global audience.
The event will be a day-long “festival” with Y Series wines on offer.
The Herald Sun reports that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is planning an entertainment spectacular as part of the festival with Taylor Swift a possible headline act.
She is familiar with the MCG and attracted 96,000 fans for her performance there in 2024 during her Eras tour but could easily break that record if she agrees to perform in September.
NFL legend Joe Montana will touchdown in Melbourne for the game and speaking engagements.
Both teams each have more than four million Facebook fans.
The NFL plans to play a second game in Victoria in 2027.
The Victorian government is reportedly paying $15 million a game to back the events.
Hill-Smith Family Estates has partnered with the NFL to publicise the popular Y Series range of wines strategically marketed at $15 a bottle.
Some are lighter wines with seven per cent ABV, or alcohol by volume.
That’s about half the usual 13.5 to 14.5 ABV in many other Hill-Smith vintages.
They are honest wines and they are great value for the price.
Enter Hill-Smith winemaker Kiki Han, who was born in Xinxiang in Henan province in central China’s Yellow River Valley where her father is a baker and her mother is a banker.
She came to Australia to study winemaking when she was 18 and has worked across the Y Series range.
“Y Series is a daily drinking wine, something you wouldn’t feel guilty about opening up on a Tuesday night,” she said.
It’s an easy-drinking go-to wine for people who want to grab a bottle without having to read complex tasting notes.
There is a Y Series variety to match any food style, she said, beginning with a low-alcohol sparkling cuvee, a rose a regular and low-alcohol chardonnay and a shiraz and pinot noir. Pinot Gris 2025 with pear and nectarine flavours is the best seller.
I could say the same about the Y Series Shiraz which is juicy and fruit forward with little or no oak.
Y Series pinot noir was fruity and aromatic and surprisingly good for the price. Look for strawberry, cranberry and rhubarb notes.
Hill-Smith Family Estates next move is to release its 2026 “Rare and Fine Wine Collection” under its Yalumba label.
This year’s set includes six exceptional wines from four outstanding vintages, including The Caley Cabernet Sauvignon & Shiraz 2021, The Octavius Old Vine Shiraz 2021, The Signature Cabernet Sauvignon & Shiraz 2023, The Tri-Centenary Grenache 2024, The Menzies Cabernet Sauvignon 2022 and The Steeple Shiraz 2022.
Chief winemaker Sam Wigan and sixth generation vintner Jessica Hill-Smith are showing the collection newt week at dinners at top restaurants around the country.
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