3 Must-eat Melbourne Food Festivals

Melburnians… no wait, Australians in general are quite fond of a festival. From the bogan Burning Man to the Tuna Toss World Championships and Shitbox Rally, there are festivals for everything. Especially food. And there are too many Melbourne food festivals in particular to count.

We’ve listed three Melbourne food festivals that every ravenous punter should add to belly-list. They’re not your bog standard food and wine festy. They’re very specific, totally niche and heroically unique. Just the way we like it.

Pinot Palooza

As you can probably guess, Pinot Palooza is a festival dedicated to the red wine made from the Vitis Vinifera grape, aka pinot noir.

Pinot Palooza is the culmination of 250 wines, over 100 wineries, 8 cities and 2 countries. This touring vino spectacular brings together the most delightful drops from Australia and New Zealand under the mantra – “wine that rocks”. We’re talking names like Curly Flat, Josef Chromy, Ata Rangi, Stefano Lubiana, Dog Point and Pegasus Bay.

There’ll be plenty of food and live tunes to keep the ship steady. And enough barrels of pinot noir to ensure hangovers are guaranteed with each ticket.

Pinot Palooza will take place October 7, 1pm – 6pm at the Royal Exhibition Building.

Tinny Pie Party

The Pie Shop and Young Henrys had a dream. A dream that involved pies, tins of beer and a group of boys, so good, that pats would be given out in record numbers. And they’ve made that dream come true. The Tinny Pie Party is a meat pie and beer festival that can be enjoyed by both canines and human beings.

Pie specials will include The Henry, a new beef and ale pie; and the Little Rex, a roo and veggie pie for your pooch.

The Tinny Pie Party will take place October 14, 3pm – 10pm at The Pie Shop.

The Victorian Salami Festival

As they so eloquently put it on their website, “for centuries, one question has plagued the people of the Mediterranean… Who makes the best salami?”

Hosted by Dal Zotto Wines and The Meat Room, the Victorian Salami Festival is here to get to the bottom of exactly that.

Local meat merchants will be entering their top shelf cold cuts and prime garage hangings in hope of taking out the title of Il Salame Perfetto (the Perfect Salami). In addition to the crowning of a Salam-champion, there’ll salami making workshops, live music and a grande smorgasbord of Italian grub.

There you have it. Three festivals for famished Melbourne folk. Three Melbourne food festivals that you simply must indulge. Embrace your inner pig and hit all three.

words by niall roeder