Discover The Hidden Cellar: A Wine Tasting Journey in Waverton this August. Explore historic tunnels, meet winemakers and savour Australian wines underground.
Sydney is a city that often rewards those willing to look beneath the surface. Beyond the familiar harbour, sandstone cliffs and busy streets lies another landscape—one shaped by industry, carved into rock and quietly reclaimed by time. This August, one of those hidden places will become the setting for The Hidden Cellar: A Wine Tasting Journey, an immersive event that invites visitors to experience Australian wine in surroundings unlike anywhere else in the city.
For three days, Tunnel One at the Coal Loader Centre for Sustainability in Waverton will open its historic sandstone chambers to wineries, producers and curious wine lovers. Instead of walking through rows of exhibition stands or polished tasting rooms, guests will wander slowly through a heritage tunnel where every chamber reveals another story, another vineyard and another opportunity to pause.
A Heritage Tunnel Reimagined
Long before it became an events venue, Tunnel One played a practical role in Sydney's industrial history. Built into the sandstone beneath the former coal loading facility overlooking Sydney Harbour, the tunnel now stands as one of the city's more intriguing heritage spaces. Cool, atmospheric and naturally sheltered, it offers a setting that feels surprisingly well suited to wine.
During The Hidden Cellar: A Wine Tasting Journey, the tunnel will transform into a series of intimate tasting spaces. More than 20 wineries and artisan vendors are expected to occupy chambers branching from the main passage, creating a route that encourages exploration rather than hurried tasting. Visitors will be free to move at their own pace, discovering producers as they progress deeper into the tunnel.
Unlike conventional wine festivals where large crowds often gather around a handful of popular labels, the layout naturally slows movement. The sandstone walls soften sound, conversations become more personal and each chamber offers its own distinct atmosphere.
Discovering Australian Wine One Chamber at a Time
Wine tasting is often as much about conversation as it is about flavour. Behind every bottle lies a season, a landscape and the decisions of the people who made it. The Hidden Cellar places those stories alongside the wines themselves.
Guests will have the opportunity to meet winemakers and producers representing both established wineries and emerging labels from across Australia. Tastings will include a broad selection of styles, from crisp whites and elegant sparkling wines to full-bodied reds, experimental blends and lesser-known regional varieties. All tastings will be included within each ticketed session, allowing visitors to focus less on individual purchases and more on discovering something unexpected.
Food will also be available throughout the event, providing opportunities to pause between tastings while exploring the tunnel's many chambers.
The Hidden Cellar: A Wine Tasting Journey Offers More Than Wine
Although wine provides the central focus, much of the appeal lies in the experience of the setting itself.
The Coal Loader's Tunnel One stretches approximately 150 metres, with numerous side chambers branching from the main passage. Each chamber becomes its own small destination, encouraging visitors to slow their pace and notice details that might otherwise pass unnoticed—the cool air against the sandstone, changing acoustics, filtered lighting and the quiet rhythm of conversation echoing through the tunnel.
Rather than presenting wine as something formal or intimidating, the event aims to make discovery feel natural. Visitors may arrive with a favourite grape variety in mind yet leave talking about a producer they had never encountered before.
The underground setting also creates a welcome contrast with the bustle of Sydney above. Once inside the tunnel, the city seems surprisingly distant, replaced by stone walls, carefully lit chambers and the steady pace of tasting and conversation.
Planning Your Visit
The Hidden Cellar will take place across three days, from Friday 28 August to Sunday 30 August 2026, at the Coal Loader Centre for Sustainability in Waverton on Sydney's Lower North Shore.
Each session will run for approximately two and a half hours, giving visitors ample time to explore the chambers without feeling rushed. Capacity for each session will remain limited to preserve the intimate atmosphere within the tunnel, making advance bookings advisable. The event is strictly for guests aged 18 years and over.
Comfortable footwear is recommended, as the heritage tunnel features uneven surfaces and visitors will be moving throughout the underground space. Water stations will be available, and purchases can be made directly from participating wineries for those wishing to continue enjoying their discoveries after the event.
An Underground Celebration of Place
Some wine events are remembered for a particular vintage. Others stay with visitors because of where they happened.
The Hidden Cellar promises to belong firmly in the latter category. By pairing Australian wine with one of Sydney's most distinctive heritage spaces, it offers an experience shaped as much by atmosphere as by flavour. The sandstone tunnel becomes more than a venue; it becomes part of the journey, inviting visitors to slow down, look around and discover how place can influence every glass.
As winter begins to give way to spring, the quiet chambers beneath Waverton will once again fill with conversation, curiosity and the shared pleasure of discovering something unexpected. In a city known for its spectacular views above ground, The Hidden Cellar: A Wine Tasting Journey will offer a rare invitation to explore what lies beneath.
Event Details
Event: The Hidden Cellar: A Wine Tasting Journey
Dates: Friday 28 August – Sunday 30 August 2026
Session Times: From 3:00 pm to 9:00 pm AEST (2.5-hour sessions)
Location: Tunnel One, Coal Loader Centre for Sustainability, 2 Balls Head Drive, Waverton NSW
Official Website: The Hidden Cellar
Tickets & Event Information: Humanitix Event Page