WellingtonNZ.com,
New Zealand 

READY, SET, SERVE: L-R Terry Lowe (Black Barn Restaurant & Vineyard), Shaun Clouston (Logan Brown), Jacob Brown (The Larder), Rex Morgan (Boulcott Street Bistro) and Tom Hutchison (Capitol) prep for the second course of the WLG pop-up restaurant, which will be at Melbourne’s service in November.

The coolest little capital in the world will be turning on the marketing heat in Melbourne next month, with the second serve of the WLG pop up restaurant.
 

The inaugural WLG in Sydney last year saw almost 1,500 tickets snapped up within five hours of the restaurant’s announcement, served an estimated 3000 Sydneysiders and broke timeoutsydney.com.au booking records. Visitor arrivals into Wellington from New South Wales increased 10% in the six months following the initiative, when compared to the same period the year before.
 

Positively Wellington Tourism (PWT) Chief Executive David Perks says Australians called for seconds after last year’s event, so WLG will open in Melbourne’s popular Fitzroy area on Tuesday 15 November.
 

“As Wellington is believed to have more bars and restaurants per capita than New York, we felt we could spare one for Melbourne – although admittedly, they have a couple of their own.”
 

Named after Wellington’s airport code, WLG promotes the Wellington region by transporting Australians to the city through taste, personality and experience. The Melbourne course follows the extension of the There’s No Place Like Wellington campaign to Australia’s culinary capital earlier this year.
 

The Rue de Fleurus Salon & Bar in Fitzroy – the heart of Melbourne’s cultural hub – will be transformed into a pop up that reflects and showcases the capital of cool by Wellington interior designer Kerryn Dunshea. Some 25 restaurant staff will be flown across the Tasman, where they’ll serve regionally-focused shared plates designed especially for WLG by Shaun Clouston (Logan Brown), Jacob Brown (The Larder), Rex Morgan (Boulcott Street Bistro), Tom Hutchison (Capitol) and Terry Lowe (Black Barn Restaurant & Vineyard). Meals will be washed down by brews from Tuatara and Moa, and wines from some 20 vineyards from throughout Marlborough, Wairarapa and new regional partner Hawke’s Bay.
 

“Our joint venture marketing in Australia now incorporates the full menu of Classic New Zealand Wine Trail destinations, giving us more stories to tell and more reasons for our neighbours to visit.”

NOTES TO EDITORS

WLG Pop-up Details

Dates: Tuesday 15 November – Sunday 27 November
Opening hours: 6pm til late (closed Mondays)
Location: WLG Pop-up (at site of Rue de Fleurus Salon & Bar) 153 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy, Melbourne
Prices: $35 AUD per person; wine $30 AUD a bottle or $7AUD a glass. Tickets will go on sale next week via au.timeout.com/Melbourne.
For more information visit: WellingtonNZ.com/wlg and follow @dineinWLG on Twitter.
 
 

The Chefs
 
:: Rex Morgan, head chef at Boulcott Street Bistro, and one of the select few chefs to have won all of New Zealand’s culinary awards.
:: Shaun Clouston, head chef at Cuisine Magazine’s Restaurant of the Year 2009, Logan Brown, one of the signature venues on Wellington’s eclectic Cuba Street. Shaun spent five years in Sydney in the early 2000s, cooking at La Grillade, and Wildfire.
:: Jacob Brown, owner of one of the hottest new restaurants on the Wellington menu, The Larder, located in the heart of the city’s film studios in Miramar. Jacob previously worked at Sydney restaurants Tabou, Hyde Park Café and Fuel Bistro.
:: Tom Hutchison, head chef and owner of Capitol, one of the Wellington’s most successful restaurants.
:: Terry Lowe, head chef at Black Barn Restaurant and Vineyard, Hawke’s Bay voted by Cuisine Magazine as New Zealand’s best winery restaurant in 2011 will be representing Hawke's Bay who have joined the regional campaign.

The Menu
 
The chefs are collaborating to design shared plates featuring local products, including Regal King Salmon, Mojo Coffee, Lavender’s Green, Whittaker’s Chocolate and more.

The Wines

Wither Hills Wairau Valley Sauvignon Blanc 2011 Hunter's 2011 Sauvignon Blanc
Forrest Wines Pinot Noir 2008 Lawson’s Dry Hills 2011 Sauvignon Blanc
Allan Scott Pinot Gris Stoneleigh Pinot Gris
Twin Islands Brut NV sparkling Clearview Estate Reserve Chardonnay 2009
Hunter's 2009 Pinot Noir Wither Hills Wairau Valley Pinot Noir 2009
Declaration Cabernet Merlot Malbec 2005 Craggy Range Gimblett Gravels Vineyards Merlot 2009
Villa Maria Private Bin Merlot 2010   Crossroads Merlot 2008
Mission Estate Syrah 2010 Villa Maria Private Bin Syrah 2009
Giesen The Brothers Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2010 Giesen Estate Marlborough Pinot Noir 2009
Spy Valley Pinot Gris Spy Valley Envoy Pinot Gris
Gladstone Vineyard 12,000 Miles Pinot Gris 2011 Nautilus Sauvignon Blanc 2010

Positively Wellington Tourism (PWT)

PWT is the regional tourism organisation for Wellington. It is a council-controlled organisation primarily funded by Wellington City Council through the Downtown Levy, a targeted rate paid by commercial ratepayers in downtown Wellington.

Wellington Tourism statistics

• Visitors spend over $2200 in the Wellington region per minute - $1.2 billion every year. (Source: Ministry of Economic Development Regional Tourism Data)
• Over four million visits are made to Wellington every year: 750,000 international and over 3.4 million domestic. (Source: Ministry of Economic Development Regional Tourism Data)
• Australia is Wellington’s largest international visitor market, with over 220,000 Australians visiting each year. Australians spend approximately $327 million in Wellington each year. (Source: IVS, YE June 2011)
• Direct arrivals by Australians into Wellington has increased 10.21% in the year to the end of September 2011, when compared to the year prior. (Source: International Visitor Arrivals)