Maiden Gully Autumn Festival 2023

Overview

If your ideal autumn weekender involves escaping the city for top-notch regional eats and lots of wine, we know exactly where you need to be on Sunday, April 30. And that's around two hours north of Melbourne, at Bendigo's renowned Balgownie Estate.

The award-winning winery is celebrating the season of changing colours and crunchy leaves with another edition of its Maiden Gully Autumn Festival. Head along from 10am and spend the day wining, dining, patting cute animals and soaking up a live entertainment program.

Popping up here at Bendigo's oldest working vineyard, you'll find a stack of local food trucks, including Not Just Pizza, Bullwinkle Burgers, Bloom Espresso and Maiden Gully Marong Lions Club. The winery restaurant will also be open for brekkie, lunch and coffee, while the cellar door is your go-to if you fancy sampling some of the estate's hand-harvested wines — and stocking up on a few bottles for home, discounted by up to 50-percent off.

Elsewhere, there'll be an animal farm filled with cute critters, a lineup of live, local tunes, and a market brimming with everything from fashion and foliage, to fresh produce and crafts. Entry to the day's festivities is by gold coin donation.

And of course, if you're keen for a sleepover, you can spend the night under the stars with a stay in the winery's glamping retreat.