Hunter Valley Wine Events and Festivals
Concerts in the vineyards, a month of long lunches in autumn and four million Christmas lights in the gardens. Here is what runs through the year, with the dates that are published and the official page to check before you book.
Dates move. Programmes are set by the venues and change without much notice. Every event below links to the source that publishes it, and if you are travelling for a specific date, confirm it there first. Tours run on event weekends and book out earliest — Hunter Valley Wine tours are the simplest way to reach a concert without driving.
Concerts in the vineyards
Red Hot Summer Tour at Roche Estate
The season's other big vineyard concert, 31 October 2026 at Roche Estate: Australian Crawl playing Australia for the first time in 40 years, alongside Men at Work, Birds of Tokyo, Vika and Linda, Eskimo Joe, Boom Crash Opera and Ella Hooper, gates from 12:30pm. The show has already sold out, so it is one to plan around rather than book — expect the roads through Pokolbin to be busiest from early afternoon. Details: rocheestate.com.au.
A Day on the Green at Bimbadgen
The long-running vineyard concert series, staged on the lawns at Bimbadgen in Pokolbin. 5 December 2026 brings Boyz II Men with Salt-N-Pepa and Bell Biv DeVoe, the latter playing Australia for the first time. Gates open in the afternoon and the site is licensed, so nobody in the group should be driving home. Tickets and the full line-up: adayonthegreen.com.au.
Christmas Lights Spectacular at Hunter Valley Gardens
Sixty acres of themed gardens lit with more than four million lights, running 30 October 2026 to 26 January 2027, nightly from about 5:30pm. Rides, food stalls and roaming entertainment run alongside it, with fireworks on New Year's Eve. It is the single busiest thing that happens in the valley, and accommodation prices follow. Programme and tickets: huntervalleygardens.com.au.
Wine and Food Month, and the Lovedale Long Lunch
Hunter Valley Wine and Food Month
A regional programme traditionally run in June: long-table lunches, blending workshops, cheese and wine masterclasses and opera among the vines. Individual events are ticketed by the estates hosting them, and the calendar is published at winecountry.com.au.
Lovedale Long Lunch — paused for 2026
After 31 years pairing each Lovedale-trail estate with a chef for a progressive lunch, organisers have paused the event for 2026 to redesign the format, and plan to bring it back — refreshed — in 2027. No 2027 date is published yet. If you are chasing that specific weekend on the Lovedale trail this year, it is not running; the region's other estates are open as usual.
Harvest, and the quiet months
Harvest runs from late January into March. Nothing is staged for visitors, and that is the appeal: the crush is happening while you taste, and the valley smells of it.
Winter is the quietest the cellar doors get. Between the end of the lights in late January and the start of Wine and Food Month in May there is no regional festival, which means the counters are unhurried and the winemaker has time to talk. If you are choosing a month for the wine rather than the programme, that gap is the answer.
Dates at a glance
| Event | Where | When | What it is |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Hot Summer Tour | Roche Estate, Pokolbin | 31 October 2026 | Australian Crawl, Men at Work and more — sold out |
| Christmas Lights Spectacular | Hunter Valley Gardens | 30 October 2026 – 26 January 2027 | Nightly from 5:30pm |
| A Day on the Green | Bimbadgen, Pokolbin | 5 December 2026 | Boyz II Men, Salt-N-Pepa, Bell Biv DeVoe |
| Hunter Valley Wine and Food Month | Across the region | June, annually | Long lunches, blending workshops, opera in the vines |
| Lovedale Long Lunch | Lovedale trail | Paused for 2026 — returning 2027 | 31 years running; back in a new format |
| Harvest | Every estate | Late January – March | Crush underway; cellar doors busy and smelling of fruit |
Sources and where to check for updates
- Hunter Valley Wine Country — what’s on, the regional tourism calendar.
- Hunter Valley Gardens events, for the lights and the garden programme.
- A Day on the Green at Bimbadgen, for concert dates and transport.
- Roche Estate, for the Red Hot Summer Tour and other concerts on that stage.
- Visit NSW — Hunter Valley, for the wider regional calendar.
Verify any date on its own official page before you travel for it.
Pokolbin: Hunter Valley Half-Day Tour with Cheese and Wine
On an event weekend the roads and the car parks fill early. A half-day tour with hotel pickup in Pokolbin or Cessnock puts you at three cellar doors and back before the crowds arrive.
From $91 per person · 4.6 from 507 reviews
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before you go.
Book the day itself, from group coaches to Hunter Valley private wine tours that set their own route, read when the cellar doors are open, or plan how to reach a concert without driving.