One of the most hotly-anticipated events on the country race meeting calendar – the 2018 Coonawarra Vignerons Cup – was launched at Balnaves of Coonawarra on Friday night.

Boasting a full day of racing, fabulous food, fundraising and fantastic Coonawarra wines, the event attracts around 3000 visitors to the Penola Racecourse each year.

On a balmy spring night, at the picturesque cellar door, wine flowed and toasts were made to sponsors and volunteers as the 2018 Cup was unveiled.

Coonawarra Grape and Wine Incorporated (CGWI) president Pete Balnaves welcomed around 30 invited guests.  He acknowledged it had been a difficult week for many locals following the passing of long-serving winemaker Wayne Stehbens and prominent artist Robert Miles.

“This has been a difficult week in a lot of ways and I know many of us are dealing with that, but it is a pleasure to have you all here this afternoon and be in your company”, Pete said.

“This will be the 36th running of the Coonawarra Vignerons Cup and we are lucky to have an active membership. The Cup committee works very hard and without their volunteer commitments, this event would never get off the ground.”

“We started out in a very small tent with sandwiches melting in the heat- we have come a long way.”

Coonawarra Vignerons Cup Committee chair Tim Bailey said tickets for the 2018 event were selling fast.  “Tickets went on sale today and we can advise that 250 members tickets have already been sold to 13 members,” he announced.

“Our 2018 sponsors have been confirmed and we thank each one of those organizations for their partnership.”  He said the cellar door cup schedule will be released online this week.

“The cup will be on rotation this year and will visit every cellar door in Coonawarra in the lead up to the event, to allow everybody the opportunity to see it up close.” “We encourage locals and visitors alike to check it out!”.

The 36th annual Coonawarra Vignerons Cup will be run at the Penola Racecourse on January 18th.