MACEDON RANGES’ BUDBURST WINE FESTIVAL RETURNS THIS SPRING WITH EXPANDED PROGRAM & NEW BUS ROUTE

Discover the cool wines and warm hearts of Macedon Ranges winemakers at their annual wine festival, Budburst, this spring: Friday 18 to Sunday 20 November 2022.

Returning for the first time since 2019, Budburst is a once-a-year opportunity to come behind the vines and meet the family owned and small batch makers that shape mainland Australia’s coolest wine region.

Across the weekend, more than 25 Macedon Ranges winemakers will open their wineries and cellar doors to wine enthusiasts between 10:00am and 5:00pm for wine tastings along with curated food menus championing local produce, art shows, sculptor walks and live music.

For the first time, Budburst will roll out over three days with an expanded program kicking off on Friday 18 November with the inaugural Budburst Blooms. Between 5:30pm and 7:30pm, celebrate the festival opening as Budburst Blooms brings pop-up cellar doors from wineries off the beaten path to three hubs across the region.

Budburst Blooms offers wine lovers the chance to speak directly with some of Macedon Ranges’ more artisanal winemakers while sipping on local top drops and grazing on a selection of small bites. The three Budburst Blooms hubs are:

• Lancefield Lodge in Lancefield
• Victoria Hotel in Woodend
• Piper Street Wine Co. in Kyneton

Come the weekend, festival-goers can choose to travel independently around Macedon Ranges’ winding country roads and picturesque mountain ranges or aboard a Budburst Hoppa bus and visit up to five wineries on two dedicated hop-on/hop-off routes.

New for Budburst 2022 is the Daylesford to Kyneton Drive. This Hoppa bus route shuttles wine lovers between Cliffy’s Emporium in Daylesford and The Kyneton Hotel in Kyneton, visiting event hubs in Trentham and Kyneton as well as Hunter Gatherer Winery. The other Hoppa route is the Lancefield Loop – a Budburst cornerstone that departs Woodend Train Station before weaving its way around wineries in Romsey, Hesket, Newham and Lancefield.

Across the weekend, two festival hubs will be set up at The Cosmopolitan Hotel in Trentham and The Kyneton Hotel in Kyneton featuring a line-up of wineries who don’t have physical cellar doors. Explore nearby villages as they too come alive with vibrant activities featuring the region’s finest food, wines and warm local hospitality.

Budburst festival tickets start from $30 (Budburst Blooms only) with packages for across the weekend:

• Budburst Sampler: $59 (1 day festival ticket, plus complimentary access to Budburst Blooms)
• Budburst Weekend Wanderer: $95 (2 day festival ticket, plus complimentary access to Budburst Blooms)

Each ticket includes a tasting glass to keep, festival passport and $20 voucher to be spent at participating cellar doors and a Budburst food and wine deal that can be redeemed at participating venues throughout the region. A Hoppa bus ticket is $50 per person per day and is only available to purchase online prior to the festival.

Festival tickets are available now with Hoppa bus tickets on sale from 1 October. For more information and to book tickets, visit budburst.com.