As a lover of good parties, good people and good wine, I’m always on the lookout for the next best wine festival—and luckily, here down under, we have a plethora of them right on our doorstep. From world famous wine galas to the more niche fetes—in this blog, I’m gonna let you in on some of my favourite wine festivities so that you, too, can indulge in the good times, great company, and exceptional wines.

Good Food and Wine Show

This one, you might’ve already heard of. The Good Food and Wine Show is just about as big as it gets in Australia—in fact, it is Australia’s largest consumer exhibition. The event, which takes place in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth, annually plays host to tens and even hundreds of thousands people across all venues each year. With the likes of celebrity chefs Gordon Ramsay, Ainsley Marriott and Manu Feildel—among many others—all making appearances in the past, the Good Food and Wine Show does a spectacular job of intertwining the wine and culinary worlds.

Wine Machine

If you have an appreciation for watching big artists live, and a desire to do so with the accompaniment of wine, then Wine Machine should be number one on your bucket list. Staged annually in Yarra Valley, VIC, Canberra, ACT, and Hunter Valley, NSW, the festival promises good wine and a star-studded Australian musical lineup each year, with the likes of Fisher, Benee, The Presets and San Cisco all having made appearances in the past.

Grampians Grape Escape

One of the longest running wine festivals in Australia, Grampians Grape Escape is the perfect place to sip on classic wines—produced by some of the oldest vines in the world—against the breathtaking backdrop of the Grampians National Park. Recommended in 2015 by Australian Traveller Magazine as one of Australia’s top 30 wine and beer festivals, it has grown to attract crowds of up to 10,000 wine lovers from across the world each year.

Sydney Gin Festival

While I’m very aware that Gin is not wine, I just could not help but to include this one. Held at the WINX Stand in Randwick, the popular gala is a gin lover’s heaven. With over 200 boutique gins, accompanied by a host of tonic mixers and sodas, the Sydney Gin Festival is the place to not only have some of your favourite gins, but to also pick the brains of the distillers themselves and find your new favourite G&T combinations.

Wine Island

Like the other festivals that make up this list, Wine Island isn’t just a wine festival. Selling out every year since 2015, Wine Island is a 3-day extravaganza that tastefully fuses wine with food and culture. But, here’s the twist; not only is it nestled amongst the palm trees of Watsons Bay with a glorious view of Sydney City, but it also offers a wide variety of unique activities like pottery, yoga, and even a silent disco for when all the wine you indulge starts to take effect.

By Jacob Casha