What Are the Grenache & Gourmet Festival Offerings in McLaren Vale?
Grenache & Gourmet runs 18 September–05 October 2026 across the McLaren Vale wine region, and its programme is organised into three offering categories: Sip & Savour, Learn & Explore, and Relax & Unwind. Which one suits you depends on whether you want a seated, chef-led experience, a hands-on session with winemakers and growers, or a casual event built around wine, food and music. All three sit around the same centrepiece — McLaren Vale Grenache — and full details and booking sit with the festival rather than the region's main visitor site.
The three offering categories
Sip & Savour
This is the food-and-wine pairing strand. McLaren Vale's culinary and winemaking people come together for matched experiences — long lunches and intimate tastings among them. The framing is seasonal menus, local chefs and cellar door pairings, all built around how Grenache works with food.
Choose this if you want to sit down, eat well and have someone else make the pairing decisions for you.
Learn & Explore
This strand moves you past the cellar door into hands-on, immersive sessions: vineyard tours, blending sessions, and encounters with the winemakers and growers themselves. The emphasis is on the land, the craft and the people behind each bottle.
Choose this if you are curious about how Grenache is grown and made, and you would rather do something than simply taste something.
Relax & Unwind
The most casual of the three. These are laid-back, flavour-filled events that blend wine, food and music — the region's easygoing side, described as warm, welcoming and unhurried.
Choose this if you are travelling with people who are not wine specialists, or you want an event that does not require a fixed tasting agenda.
Matching an offering to your travel style
| If you want… | Look at | Typical shape of the event |
|---|---|---|
| A seated, chef-driven meal with matched wines | Sip & Savour | Long lunches, intimate tastings |
| To get your hands dirty and meet makers | Learn & Explore | Vineyard tours, blending sessions |
| A low-key afternoon with music and food | Relax & Unwind | Casual wine, food and music events |
Two practical notes. First, the categories describe the style of event, not the price or the level of expertise required — the festival's own listings are where you confirm what a specific event involves. Second, the 18 days are spread across the wider McLaren Vale region, so events are not all in one place; plan travel between venues into your day.
Why Grenache is the through-line
Grenache is the festival's anchor: described as vibrant, fruitful and unmistakably of McLaren Vale. It appears solo, in blends, and alongside the region's other premium fine wines. That matters for choosing offerings — if you already know you like Grenache, a blending session or a varietal-focused tasting will tell you more than a general event. If you do not, a Sip & Savour pairing is the gentler introduction, because the food does some of the explaining.
Before you book
- Check the festival programme for the specific dates, venues and event formats within each category.
- Confirm what is included in an individual event — the category names describe style, not inclusions.
- The region's visitor site offers a mailing list sign-up if you want updates; pricing and booking terms are not stated there, so treat the festival site as the source for those.
The festival site, grenacheandgourmet.com.au, is where the offerings are listed in full and where you go for booking or more detail.