Why Horizontal Festival in the Southern Highlands belongs on your October calendar

The NSW Southern Highlands has become one of the country's most exciting food and wine destinations. This October, Horizontal Festival will return to showcase why.

Held over the long weekend, from 2–4 October, 2026, at Centennial Vineyards in Bowral, the festival brings together more than 80 of the state's wine, food and beverage producers over a three-day program of tastings, live music, including vinyl DJs and bands rounding out each Festival Hub session, plus art and immersive dining experiences.

The Maldon Salt Culinary Stage is a new addition to the festival, featuring world-class chefs, including Francis Mallmann, Mark Best, Simon Evans, Mindy Woods, plus Lyndey Milan and makers sharing their craft. Wine & Conversation is another new inclusion, offering festival goers the chance to taste and learn from Nick Ryan, senior wine writer for The Australian and contributor to Halliday magazine.

The festival features more than 80 wine, food and beverage producers from across NSW.

Among the headline attractions is internationally acclaimed Argentine chef Francis Mallmann, who will make his first visit to Australia's east coast in 15 years. Best known for his mastery of live-fire cooking (he's been called the 'Godfather of Fire'), Francis will lead intimate experiences as part of the festival's Our Food Stories program, where guests will gather around the fire as dishes are prepared over wood and embers.

"I would like to say thank you for letting us come to the Highlands," Francis says. "We shall share every fragment of our knowledge that is rooted in the climate and mountains of my Patagonia."

Festival creator and director Amanda Fry says his appearance marks an exciting milestone for the event. "To host him in the Southern Highlands, after 15 years away from the east coast, brings an opportunity to shine an international spotlight on the produce of NSW."

This year, the festival is also expanding beyong the vineyard with a series of satellite events throughout the Southern Highlands, offering visitors even more reasons to make a long weekend of it.

Australian chef Matt Moran presents Bites & Barrels on Thursday 1 October. Hosted inside the Centennial Vineyards cellar door, the one-night event pairs six seasonal bites with the estate's cool-climate wines in an intimate setting. Matt says: "Horizontal Festival is a fantastic showcase... bringing together great food, wine and community in one of the country's most beautiful regions. I'm excited to be a part of it."

Horizontal Festival includes live demonstrations as part of the Our Food Stories program.

Across the festival itself, visitors can explore wines, craft spirits, beers and ciders poured by the producers themselves, alongside artisan cheeses, charcuterie and seasonal food from pop-up kitchens. Live music, art installations, a connection tent designed for solo travellers, plus relaxed conversation spaces encourage guests to slow down and enjoy the experience throughout the weekend.

"The idea behind Horizontal Festival has always been simple," says Amanda Fry. "We want people to taste wines they've never tried, meet producers they've never heard of and sit around tables where conversations happen naturally."

This year's expanded program also includes new community events celebrating regional produce. The Battle of the Banger (competition for the best sausage for those not in-the-know) returns to Berrima after a 14-year hiatus, while Jam Exchange invites home preservers, growers and makers to swap homemade jams and browse a marketplace dedicated to small-batch preserves.

Festival tickets are on sale now, with General Admission $59 + booking fee and Platinum Passes at $149 + BF, offering additional benefits including exclusive tastings, lounge access and return transfers from Bowral Railway Station.

For view the full festival program and purchase tickets, visit horizontalfestival.com.au.