Inaugural Winter Bites festival to highlight Snowy Valley produce

The Winter Bites Festival will be a three-day event staggered throughout June, July, and August throughout the townships of Batlow, Tumbarumba and Adelong.

Each day will feature a "hero" element of each town and its respective specialty, including beef and lamb from Adelong, apples, hazelnuts and cider from Batlow, and cool climate wines, chestnuts and berries from Tumbarumba.

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Over 30 local businesses, community groups and producers will also play a part in the festivities, taking turns to host fringe events, food and wine tastings, workshops, farm tours and cooking demonstrations.

One of them is Wagga couple Jake and Tessa Eaglesham, who launched Riverina Gin in December last year.

Jake, who is a Scotsman, said he wanted to create a gin that highlighted the strengths of local produce from around the Riverina.

"We got married in Tumbarumba in 2019 and it reminds me a little piece of Scotland. When you go up the hills it's a little colder, especially in winter," Mr Eaglesham said.

"Every time we go up we're blown away by the strength of the community and the friendliness of the people. That's why we want to go up there and support them as much as we can."

Tessa's family lives in Tumbarumba, and they have seen first hand just how the bushfires devastated the local economy.

"My brother and dad were fighting fires with the local fire brigades on new years eve," Mrs Eaglesham said.

"The Winter Bites Festival is about revitalizing the area and bringing people back, because the community still lives on after the bushfires."

Paul Holton, from Snowy Valleys Council, hopes the festival will inject more than $700,000 into the local economy.

"In what has been a devastating year for regional tourism due to bushfires and COVID-19 restrictions, Winter Bites is a way to reboot our local food, hospitality and tourism sector," Mr Holton said.

"We know our produce is regarded as some of the best in the state and now we will have the opportunity to come together and celebrate what we do best."

The festival is partly funded by Destination Riverina Murray through the Regional Tourism Bushfire Recovery Grants.

Destination Riverina Murray's general manager, Yvette Myhill, sees the event as a unique opportunity to fill a gap in the region's seasonal event calendar.

"Winter Bites has the potential to become a significant annual event for the region over what is notoriously a quieter winter season and cement the Snowy Valleys region as a destination synonymous with gourmet produce, world-class cool-climate wines and pristine surroundings", Ms Myhill said.

A number of headline musical acts have already been announced including Australian country singer-songwriter an Kasey Chambers and two-time APRA award winning duo Busby Marou who will take to the stage at Courabyra Wines.

The first event will be held in Tumbarumba on June 5, and more information can be found at winterbites.com.au

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