Bizzarro World's first stop is Sunny’s Pizza on Valentines Day, where unconventional pizza, experimental wine, Bizzarro Bitter Aperitivo and off-kilter music will reign supreme.

Wine world heavyweight Con-Greg Grigoriou, of Delinquente Wine Co, says his upcoming series of wine parties, called Bizzarro World, will fulfil his latent desire to live the life of a touring rock star, thankfully without the need to master an instrument.

“At the end of the day, I wasn’t really talented enough to be a rock star, so I may as well figure out my own way to go on tour,” Greg tells CityMag, laughing.

Bizzarro World is an immersive experience celebrating Bizzarro Bitter Aperitivo, the bitter aperitivo Greg made in collaboration with his sister, Kayla Grigoriou, the distiller behind Needle & Pin Spirits. The first instalment of the event is happening on Sunday, 14 February (Valentine’s Day) at Adelaide pizza institution, Sunny’s.

Future editions of Bizzarro World will happen in venues that stock Greg and Kayla’s South Australian answer to Campari.

Greg sees the Bizzarro parties travelling outside of SA once COVID-19 is a thing of the past. Bottles have already been shipped to Japan, Korea, Germany, the US and Canada.

“The US and Canada is a big opportunity for us because it’s got such a big cocktail culture,” Greg says.

There will be lots of *clinking*. This picture: Margie Moloney

“Restaurants have sommeliers but also have cocktail directors, and in some places their cocktail list is just as big as their wine list.”

The drink itself consists of vermentino wine steeped in rinds and peels from Riverland lemons and oranges, with hints of gentian and rhubarb root giving it a bitter kick.

Greg says those who attend Bizzarro World at Sunny’s should expect to be transported from Adelaide into a world where the strange is celebrated.

There will be bucketloads of Bizzarro cocktails, live performances by “strange” and “off-kilter” musicians – such as emerging jazz-soul group Nu Article, accompanied by Cazeaux O.S.L.O – deejays, and a forest of bright ferns arranged by local flower dealer Ivy House.

“Bizzarro Aperitivo is something that’s not a traditional aperitivo or traditional vermouth. It’s sort of somewhere in between,” Greg says.

“And obviously the branding and everything around that is tongue-in-cheek and weird and fun, so the idea was to link up with musicians and with creative influences that are also not from the mainstream.”

Sunny’s has free rein over the food offering, but Greg hints the kitchen team could be making use of Bizzarro Aperitivo as an ingredient, or using its contents as a springboard for flavour inspiration.

Taking a peek. This picture: Supplied

The party will also be a celebration of Delinquente’s four new Hell Wine drops. The Hell Wine sub-label allows Greg to experiment with his winemaking techniques and blending varieties.

Hell Wine’s new drops. This picture: Josie Withers

The label’s new vinos include an “intense” white wine made from the Italian malvasia variety, called Hell Malvasia; while another is an “energetic” orange called the Hell Arintino. A third is called Hell Rose, a “mish-mash of parcels”, which touts pink and fun flavours. And the final cab off the rank is the Hell Red Blend.

“That [Hell Red] wine uses touriga nacional and prieto picudio varieties, so we’re bringing in different elements there. And again, there’s no reason to ever blend those varieties,” Greg says.

“They wouldn’t have ever been done, particularly in Portugal or in Italy, but in Australia, we’ve got the ability to have them literally growing side by side. So we might as well put them together in a wine and see what happens.”

This also sums up the Bizzarro World ethos – smash a bunch of eclectic things together with ambition and see what happens.

Find more information on the event here.