Art Gallery of NSW responds to criticism over wine lists

Earlier this month, the Art Gallery of New South Wales and other state-owned institutions came under scrutiny for having more interstate wines on the menu than locally sourced wines. The controversy was brought to light when Orange-based wine advocate David Cumming visited the restaurant at the Art Galley of NSW and found only three NSW wines on the venue’s list. “It simply makes sense for institutions whose purpose is to tell the story of NSW to have wine lists that reflect it,” he told the Western Advocate. Cumming said on a post to LinkedIn that his research found other NSW government-owned venues serviced by Pearl Catering, such as The Mint, had “no apparent NSW representation”. His objective is for the government to build a clause into future lease agreements that publicly owned venues need to represent NSW wine producers, “even if only 50% of the lists”. A spokesperson for the Art Gallery of New South Wales clarified to Daily Wine News that the gallery is serviced by The Fresh Collective.