Orange Wine Festival 2026 runs from Friday 16 October to Sunday 25 October, giving visitors a full 10 days to explore one of regional NSW’s most anticipated food-and-wine events. The program spans more than 40 experiences across the Orange region, from intimate cellar-door tastings and winery lunches through to large-scale public events in the heart of town.

You do not need to attend every day to get the most from it. Most visitors choose one or two weekends, pick a signature event as their centrepiece, and build the rest of the stay around that.

The key to a smooth festival trip is treating tickets, transport and accommodation as one connected plan rather than three separate tasks. Leave any of them too late and the weekend becomes harder than it needs to be.

2026 festival snapshot:

• Dates: Friday 16 October to Sunday 25 October 2026
• Program size: 40-plus food-and-wine events
• Location: Orange, NSW, and surrounds
• Official program: orange360.com.au

The 2026 program has more than 40 events to choose from, but three stand out as natural anchors because they are large, ticketed and likely to sell out first. Decide which one suits your group before you confirm anything else.

Robertson Park Night Markets — Friday 16 October

The festival opens with an evening market in the centre of Orange, bringing together local producers, food vendors and Orange region wines in a relaxed outdoor setting. This is the most social and accessible of the signature events: no tasting notes required, no dress code, no fixed schedule. You arrive, explore and stay as long as you like.

Best for: First-time festival visitors, groups who want a low-key opening night, anyone arriving Friday afternoon.

Sip & Savour — Friday 23 October

Held at Orange Showground, Sip & Savour is the festival’s flagship tasting event, pouring more than 300 wines from across the Orange wine region. It is the best single opportunity to taste widely and compare styles in one session.

Best for: Serious wine lovers, visitors who want to cover a lot of ground in a single afternoon or evening.

Trophy Masterclass — Friday 23 October

Running alongside Sip & Savour, the Trophy Masterclass is a guided tasting of the 2026 Wine Show trophy winners, led by an Orange winemaker. Seats are limited and this one fills quickly.

Best for: Visitors who want a structured, expert-led experience and are happy to pay a premium for it.

The full program includes many smaller winery events, restaurant dinners and food-and-wine pairings beyond these three. Check the official Orange360 program for current listings, prices and availability before booking.

Once you have your anchor event, the rest of the weekend falls into place more easily. Here are two planning frameworks depending on which end of the festival you choose. These are starting points, not fixed schedules: always confirm tickets, times and venues directly with Orange360 before finalising your itinerary.

Opening weekend: 16 to 19 October

1. Arrive Friday afternoon and head to Robertson Park Night Markets in the evening.
2. Pre-book a Saturday winery experience or cellar-door tasting along the Cargo Road Wine Trail or another region route that appeals.
3. Keep Sunday relaxed: a long lunch at a local restaurant or a single cellar-door visit is plenty. Trying to squeeze in four or five stops in one day is the fastest way to enjoy none of them.

Book first for this weekend: Night Markets tickets (if required), Saturday winery or tour booking, accommodation for Friday and Saturday nights.

Closing weekend: 23 to 25 October

1. Arrive Thursday evening or Friday morning to settle in before the main events.
2. Centre the stay on Sip & Savour or the Trophy Masterclass on Friday 23 October. Both are at Orange Showground and both require pre-purchased tickets.
3. Use Saturday for a booked tasting experience or a restaurant dinner, then allow Sunday for a slower morning before heading home.

Book first for this weekend: Sip & Savour or Trophy Masterclass tickets, Saturday restaurant reservation, accommodation for Thursday or Friday through Sunday nights.

Whichever weekend you choose, resist the urge to overplan. Two or three confirmed experiences per day is a full festival itinerary. More than that and the logistics start to work against you.

If you are visiting cellar doors, decide how you are getting there and back before you book a single tasting. Driving between wineries is not a responsible or practical plan for a wine festival, and it puts your entire weekend at risk. Sort the transport first.

The confirmed option for the opening weekend is the hop-on hop-off wine bus on Saturday 17 October, running from Orange Visitor Centre along the Cargo Road Wine Trail. Key details:

• Departure point: Orange Visitor Centre
• Operating hours: 10.30am to 5.30pm
• Fare: $25 per person
• How it works: Hop on and off at participating cellar doors along the route
• Bookings: Essential — seats are limited and this service does sell out
• Book via: Orange360 transport listings

For other dates across the festival, check the official program for any additional transport options as they are confirmed. If no organised transport is running on your preferred day, a designated driver arrangement or a pre-booked private transfer is the sensible fallback.

Before locking in any cellar-door itinerary, confirm that each venue is on or near the bus route, or that you have a separate plan for getting there. Some of the region’s wineries are spread across different roads and directions from town, so a little map-checking before you go saves a lot of confusion on the day.

Accommodation in Orange during the Wine Festival fills up quickly, particularly for Friday and Saturday nights across both weekends. Once you have chosen your anchor event, locking in a place to stay is the next decision to make.

A central Orange base makes the festival considerably easier to navigate. Town-based events like the Night Markets and any restaurant bookings are accessible without a car. The bus departure point at Orange Visitor Centre is in town. And after a long day of tastings, being able to walk back to your room rather than coordinate a return trip matters more than it sounds.

We have a small number of self-contained suites and apartments at de Russie Boutique Hotel, located in the Orange CBD. Here is what that means practically for a festival stay:

• Self-contained suites and apartments with kitchen or kitchenette facilities, so you can keep breakfast simple and save your appetite for the day’s events
• Early Riser breakfast snack included, so you are not starting a winery day on an empty stomach
• Four complimentary 22kW EV charging stations available for guests on a first-come, first-served basis
• Central CBD-adjacent location, which keeps town-based festival events and Orange’s restaurant strip within reach

We are not the only option in Orange, but if a central, self-contained boutique stay suits your group, it is worth checking availability sooner rather than later. Festival weekends book out well ahead of October.

The planning process for a festival weekend like this one is straightforward when you do it in the right order:

1. Choose your anchor event from the 2026 program and buy tickets as soon as they are available.
2. Confirm your transport for any day involving cellar doors, and book the hop-on hop-off wine bus early if Saturday 17 October is part of your plan.
3. Reserve your accommodation for the nights that matter, before the festival date gets close and central options disappear.

For the full and current program, orange360.com.au is the source of truth. Event details, ticket links and transport bookings are all updated there as they are confirmed.

If you are looking for a central Orange base for the festival, check rates and availability at de Russie Boutique Hotel for your preferred dates. Festival weekends fill quickly, and October is one of the most popular times of year to visit the region.