Gisborne Wine & Food Festival 2026
- Jul 14
- 3 min read
Updated: Jul 14
Gisborne Wine & Food Festival 2026
Date: Sunday 25 October 2026
Time: 12pm to 6pm
Venue: Matawhero Winery
Official Website/Ticket Sales: www.gisbornewineandfood.co.nz
There are worse ways to spend a Sunday afternoon.
A glass of Gisborne wine in hand.
Live music playing somewhere nearby.
Good food arriving at exactly the point when another glass of wine starts to feel like an excellent idea.
And several hundred people collectively agreeing that Monday can wait.
The Gisborne Wine & Food Festival returns on Sunday 25 October 2026, bringing one of Gisborne’s best-known Labour Weekend events back to Matawhero Winery.
Held annually over Labour Weekend, the Gisborne Wine & Food Festival brings together local wine, food and live music for six hours among the vineyards.
TW Wines and Matawhero Winery host the festival together at Matawhero Winery, creating one of the biggest wine events on the Gisborne calendar.
And really, the formula is difficult to argue with.
Good wine.
Good food.
Live music.
A vineyard.
Six hours in which nobody should be making particularly ambitious plans for later that evening.
A Celebration of Gisborne Wine
Wine is naturally the main attraction.
Matawhero Winery has been part of Gisborne’s winemaking story for decades, while TW Wines has established its own strong reputation for producing distinctive wines from vineyards around Gisborne.
The festival brings the two wineries together in one location, giving visitors the opportunity to explore Gisborne wine without spending the afternoon travelling between vineyards.
It is also a chance to discover new favourites, revisit familiar bottles and confidently discuss wine characteristics you may or may not completely understand.
Because after the third tasting, everyone becomes slightly more knowledgeable about wine.
Or at least more willing to talk about it.
Food, Music and a Long Gisborne Afternoon
The festival is about considerably more than what is poured into the glass.
Food choices throughout the afternoon give visitors plenty of reasons to stay for the full six hours, while live music provides the soundtrack to one of Gisborne’s biggest Labour Weekend gatherings.
The vineyard setting is an important part of the experience.
Matawhero Winery sits among the vineyards outside central Gisborne, creating the sort of relaxed outdoor atmosphere that suits the Gisborne lifestyle particularly well.
There is time to settle in.
Catch up with friends.
Discover a new wine.
Listen to the music.
Eat something unnecessarily good.
And then repeat the process.
Why Go?
Because some events genuinely capture the Gisborne vibe.
The Gisborne Wine & Food Festival brings together several things the city does particularly well: local wine, good food, live music and the ability to turn a Sunday afternoon into something considerably more memorable.
For visitors, it is an opportunity to experience Gisborne’s wine culture in one relaxed location.
For locals, it is an annual excuse to gather a group of friends, organise a ride home and spend Labour Weekend Sunday exactly where you intended to be.
Getting to the Festival
Matawhero Winery is located a short drive from central Gisborne.
If you plan to drink, organise your transport before arriving.
Do not rely on someone in your group suddenly volunteering to become the designated driver at 5.45pm.
Book a taxi, arrange a sober driver or use any official festival transport options announced by the organisers.
Planning the journey home before the first glass is poured remains considerably easier than solving the problem six hours later.
Before You Go
The Gisborne Wine & Food Festival 2026 takes place on Sunday 25 October from 12pm to 6pm at Matawhero Winery.
Tickets are on sale now.
Popular Gisborne events can attract strong Labour Weekend crowds, so buying tickets and organising accommodation early is worth considering if you are visiting from outside Gisborne.
Check the official festival website before attending for current ticket information, entertainment announcements, food options, transport details and event conditions.
Make a Labour Weekend of It
Travelling to Gisborne for the festival?
Stay for longer than Sunday afternoon.
Labour Weekend is an excellent time to explore Gisborne’s beaches, cafés, wineries and other local attractions.
Spend the morning at the beach.
Explore Gisborne during the day.
Head to the festival on Sunday afternoon.
Recover over coffee and an unnecessarily large breakfast on Monday.
There are worse ways to spend a long weekend.
The GisborneNZ Verdict
The Gisborne Wine & Food Festival has become one of the standout events on Gisborne’s Labour Weekend calendar.
It is relaxed without being quiet.
Social without being complicated.
And unmistakably Gisborne.
If your idea of a good Sunday involves local wine, good food, live music and several hours among the vineyards, this is one Gisborne event worth putting in the calendar.
