A game plan for good times at Rootstock

Plenty of organic, biodynamic and natural grape juice will be on the pour when Sydney's favourite not-for-profit wine festival returns to Carriageworks, Eveleigh, this weekend.

Now in its fifth year, Rootstock is also a chance to experience food from Australia's best chefs and have a chinwag with industry legends. Here's a game plan you can follow, adapt or completely ignore – the main thing is that you have a rollicking good time and try lots of wild, new things.

SATURDAY

11am Visit the sustainable kitchen, curated by Pasi Petanen (Cafe Paci), for cured meats and Iggy's bread.

11.30am Hit the festival tables and get tasting, beginning with the Georgian champions from Pheasant's Tears and Okro's Wine.

Noon Grab a seat for a talk and tasting with wine writer Nick Stock on New Zealand's burgeoning natural wine movement. $30.

2pm Knock back a Chinese pizzetta by Victor Liong (Lee Ho Fook, Melbourne) and sidle up to the Sake Bar for junmai.

3pm Join academic, conversationalist and farmer Bruce Pascoe for a talk about planting, harvesting and cooking native ingredients. $30.

4pm Taste new wines from Aussie heroes including Lucy Margaux, Ochota Barrels, Si Vintners, Brash Higgins, Patrick Sullivan, Manon, Shobbrook and Bill Downie.

6pm Dig into grilled Mark Eather Moreton Bay bug tails with XO cooked by Kylie Kwong.

8.30pm Have a cheeky bid at the Spit Brandy auction. (That's brandy from the distilled spittoon waste of last year's festival. True.)

11pm Zzzzzzzz.​

SUNDAY

Noon Put the Boot in with Italian drops from Arianna Occhipinti, La Stoppa, and Orsi San Vito.

2pm Lunch with Orana's Jock Zonfrillo over four delicious courses focused on native ingredients. Hosted by Good Food Guide co-editor Myffy Rigby. $95.

4pm Go nuts at a Ripponlea Riots session, the "anti-fine-dining" party brought to you by Ben Shewry and Attica. $25.

5pm Refresh with a skin-contact something-or-other at the world famous Orange Wine Bar.

6pm Carb-load with wood-fired pasta al forno courtesy of 10 William Street and Fratelli Paradiso.

7pm Mortadella Party! Boogie down with baloney from LP's Quality Meats and Monty Koludrovic (Icebergs, The Dolphin).

Phew. There's an absolute pallet-load more food, drinks and talks on the program, too. Visit rootstocksydney.com to buy tickets to all events and tastings and tailor your attack.

Rootstock 2017 FAQ

How much does it cost?

Think of Rootstock as one big not-for-profit food and wine theme park where it's free to walk around but a few of the rides cost money.

Entry to Rootstock Kitchens is free if you're keen for Pasi Petanen's spit-roasted lamb tacos, Adam Wolfers malawach or Victor Liong's Chinese pizzetta. Those blokes are rocking food until it sells out all weekend.

Rootstock Kitchens will also feature guest chefs cooking one-off dishes at various times. The line-up includes Palisa Anderson (Chat Thai) and Mat Lindsay (Ester) on the pans at 3pm and 5pm respectively on Saturday and at 1pm on Sunday, Alessandro Pavoni (Ormeggio at The Spit) will spin a slow-cooked spiedo bresciano of duck, quail, pork ribs and pork neck wrapped in pancetta and sage. Check out the full timetable - it is deadset delicious.

It's also free to pull up a milk crate at the Black Market Sake Bar, Orange Wine Bar, Two Metre Tall Farmhouse Beer Bar or Pet-Nat Bar (that's gently sparkling natural wine, petillant-naturel).

Tickets to the tasting room sessions will set you back $55. That's four hours of all-you-can-taste wine and chats with the legends who make it. It is bloody good value and there's four sessions across the weekend. Tickets and times are here.

What about the talks?

There's 10 expert talks across the weekend and each talk costs $30. Subjects include the majesty of mead, fermentation in food, ancient drinks of Aboriginal peoples and why natural wine is not a trend. You can find the full list here.

What the heck is Ben Shewry doing?

We're not really sure, but it probably shouldn't be missed. The owner-chef of Melbourne's Attica (Restaurant of the Year in the Good Food Guide 2018) is throwing an anti-fine-dining party "not for the easily offended". Its called the Ripponlea Riots and there's seven back-to-back sessions you can experience starting at 1pm on Sunday. Each session costs $25 and lasts 30 minutes. You'll want to pre-book tickets here.

Can you please explain to me again what natural wine is? This is the last time I'll ask, honestly.

All good! Wine writer Cathy Gowdie offers a beaut description in Good Food's article on 10 things you always wanted to know about wine (but were afraid to ask). Here's an excerpt:

"Natural winemaking is a broad church in which wines are generally (purists say must be) made from grapes grown without commercial chemicals. Processing takes place with minimal 'intervention' – so, for example, the wine may not be filtered to remove cloudiness. Additives, such as sulphur dioxide – used for centuries to keep wine tasting fresh – are shunned or kept to a minimum. It's a departure from the kind of large-scale industrial winemaking that values hygiene and consistency over quirks and imperfections. As with conventional wines, quality varies hugely.

"There's no regulation of what's called natural, so if you're going that way to avoid chemicals, look for certified organic or biodynamic wines – they're more likely to be what you're paying for. When made by winemakers of skill and integrity, the best natural wines celebrate quality, individuality and character – hallmarks of all great wines, regardless of whether they're pitched as natural."

November 25-26. Carriageworks, 245 Wilson Street, Eveleigh.