Australia’s longest running wine festival, Roam Rutherglen Winery Walkabout, is set to return on June 10 and 11, 2023, with a reimagined format that celebrates the festival’s 50th birthday.
The festival will showcase the picturesque locations, creative winemakers, and progressive varietals of the Rutherglen region. The new iteration of the festival retains its fun-loving spirit while introducing some changes that allow festival-goers to linger longer and explore more of the small but mighty wine region.
The festival’s executive officer, Annalee Nolan, said, “I like to think it’s 50 years young! In that vein, we wanted to inject a more contemporary feel. Today’s wine explorers appreciate getting under the skin of a winery and its wines, so to speak. We wanted to slow the festival down and make sure that attendees have a chance to get to know us all and really discover what speaks to them. Stay longer, spend longer at each winery, roam our wonderful region.”
The program will feature premium tastings, live entertainment, and unique sensory cellar door experiences from 15 wineries in the region. Festival-goers can sip on Muscat cocktails, dance to live music, and connect with winemakers through new varietals and unexpected winemaking techniques. The new wave of Rutherglen vignerons, and the generations before them, serve the perfect blend of tradition and creativity.
The festival offers various ticket options, with the Festival Lovers ticket now providing access to both days of festivities for only $65 (early bird pricing), including a wine glass, 15 free tastings per day, a food voucher, and non-alcoholic offerings. The premium Wine Lovers ticket offers unlimited tastings and even more food and drink value.
Other new features include a continuous hop-on, hop-off bus loop taking in all participating wineries and regional bus services running from Corowa, Howlong, Yarrawonga, Wangaratta, Chiltern, Beechworth, Albury, and Wodonga. The festival also encourages responsible self-driving and offers free access for designated drivers with non-alcoholic options across all participating wineries.
Festival Currency entry wristbands are another innovation that allows pre-purchasing and preloading of Festival Currency onto the wristbands for a seamless, fun time with wallets essentially on the wrist. The new Rutherglen Winery Digital Passport offers festival-goers a chance to win travel vouchers worth up to $2,000 by purchasing a bottle of wine from a participating winery.
With tickets starting from $40, this festival is a must-visit for wine lovers looking to experience the best of Rutherglen. Don’t miss out on the fun and book your tickets now at explorerutherglen.com.au.
- When: Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 June
- Time: 10am to 4pm
- Tickets: Start from $40
- Purchase tickets from: explorerutherglen.com.au