Organisers of the 13th Clyde Wine and Food Harvest Festival are keeping their fingers crossed the event can go ahead on Easter Sunday, after running into some hurdles under the new alcohol laws.
Community group Promote Dunstan hosts the event, which attracts up to 4000 people, and needed a special liquor licence from the Central Otago District Licensing Committee.
It was the first special licence considered by the newly-formed committee, which reserved its decision after the hearing in Alexandra yesterday.
Promote Dunstan sought a licence on behalf of stallholders to sell alcohol on site (wine tastings) in Clyde's historic precinct and off-site (bottles of wine for festival patrons to take home).
Off-site sales were opposed by police, the Ministry of Health, and Central Otago District Council's licensing inspector Ray Applegarth.
Senior Constable Gordon Pay, of Alexandra, and Mr Applegarth said they had no objection to on-site alcohol sales, but vineyard stallholders should apply individually for special licences for off-site sales. In past years, the Liquor Licensing Authority issued one licence, to cover on and off-sales. The application was heard by committee chairman Bob McNeil and members Neil Gillespie and Michael MacAvoy.
Mr McNeil apologised to the group for delays in hearing the application. The committee would make a decision quickly and it was likely to follow the recommendation of police and Mr Applegarth, he said.
Festival convener Louise Joyce said the event was a major fundraiser and proceeds were spent in the community.
''It attracts people to Central Otago ... is embraced by residents and puts Clyde on the map,'' she said. So far, 22 vineyards had registered, along with a similar number of food stalls and more than 40 other stalls.
''I sincerely hope that this can be sorted out to allow the festival to go ahead,'' Ms Joyce said. Mr McNeil said if the decision required wineries to apply individually to sell alcohol off-site at the festival, those applications could be ''fast-tracked''.
