Coonawarra is toasting to a successful first weekend of Coonawarra Cellar Dwellers and many people made their way to the region to enjoy great food and wine.

Coonawarra Vignerons executive officer Ockert Le Roux said all featured events were fully attended with a ‘fantastic atmosphere’.

“It was very intimate, well attended, it was cold and that’s why we designed this program, to keep people warm,” Mr Le Roux said.

“Not only with the warmth of our hospitality, but the warmth of our drops of red and our good redgum fires that we have got going.”

Featured events included ‘Living without Fingerprints – A Point in Time’ at Bellwether Wines, ‘Christmas in July’ at Katnook Estate and the ‘16th Annual Symbiotic Siblings Degustation Dinner’ at Pipers of Penola.

The Christmas in July feast held in the historic Stables at Katnook Estate was filled with mid-year Christmas joy, food and wine.

Guests received a complimentary glass of wine before indulging in traditional Christmas food catered by St. Bees, including Yorkshire pudding, salmon, baked glazed ham, turkey and a dessert medley.

Katnook Estate senior winemaker Natalie Cleghorn also served beautiful aged wines.

“It smelled like Christmas, it felt like Christmas and it fended off the cold,” Mr Le Roux said.

Over at Pipers of Penola the ‘16th Annual Symbiotic Siblings Degustation Dinner’ was held, brought together by Bowen Estate winemaker Emma Bowen and her brother Simon, Pipers of Penola owner and chef.

The evening offered a special dining experience, with wines chosen by Ms Bowen from the Bowen Estate cellar which were paired seamlessly with delicious produce.

“There was a huge variety of 10 to 15 year old wines,” Mr Le Roux said.

At Bellwether, ‘Living without Fingerprints – A Point in Time’ was held, where burns survivor John Weeks delivered an inspirational talk.

Mr Le Roux said around half of those who attended were local winemakers, as many had worked with and knew Mr Weeks and everyone enjoyed a glass of wine with leek soup and platters.

“It was just a warm, cosy evening with a lot of inspiration from John and his talk,” Mr Le Roux said.

Mr Le Roux said Coonawarra was looking forward to this upcoming weekend, which he said was typically their busiest.

Featured events will include ‘Yoga in the Stables’ at Katnook Estate, a ‘Degustation Dinner with Mayura Station’ in the Wynn’s Coonawarra Cellar, ‘Rymill Coonawarra at the Commodore,’ and ‘Luxury Lamb and Vintage Wines- Cooking with Cindy Cross’ at Parker Coonawarra Estate.

Tickets are still available for some featured events so book online at www.coonawarra.org to avoid missing out.