Prepare your palates, the southwest is about to score a fresh food and wine festival with Pair’d Margaret River Region. Smack bang in the middle of November, the four-day feast from Tourism Western Australia will spring to life from Thursday 14 November, making its debut in our much-loved Margaret River region—just over three hours away from the city.
Some of the country’s best winemakers and chefs will be pouring, playing, popping and cooking throughout the long weekend, with several international names joining the star-studded lineup.
Here are six of our favourite Pair’d events to get you excited, so snap up tickets while you still can—and kick off festival season with a chilled vino or two.
Margaret's Beach Club
Toes in the sand, sea breeze a-blowin’, beachside beats, bites and booze—does it get any better? Throughout Pair’d, the seriously stunning Castle Bay will transform into Margaret’s Beach Club, a day and night event bringing the world's beach clubs to Meelup Regional Park.
In addition to a rotation of local drops, tuck into dishes crafted by hospo heavyweights Dave Pynt (Burnt Ends, Singapore), Aaron Carr (Yarri), Ben Jacob (Lagoon), and Ben Ing (Alberta’s). Your ears will be blessed with tunes from Ibiza’s Cafe Del Mar DJ Ken Fan from 12pm to 4pm each weekend, with Blur bassist-turned-winemaker Alex James taking over the decks into the evening.
New Wave Gathering
The long-established wine producers of the Margaret River region will always hold a special place in our hearts, but it’s the adventurous newcomers and boundary-pushing rebel winemakers that will hero New Wave Gathering at Pair’d this year.
Taste a diverse lineup of radical wines from LS Merchants, South by South West and more, with Chef Andy Hearnden of TikTok fame (aka Andy Cooks) behind the pass. Attica’s Ben Shewry and Hearth’s Brian Cole will be trading their pans for decks, supporting legendary house music DJ and producer Grant Smillie.
Nature's Table
Under the shade of the karri, marri and jarrah trees of the Tanah Marah Forest, enjoy a carefully curated four-course forest feast at Nature’s Table. Hosted by renowned food and drink journalist Max Veenhuyzen and local Wadandi custodian Zac Webb, locally sourced ingredients have been forged and fermented by Noma alumni David Zilber, Ben Ing and Paul Iskov. Tickets are $269 a pop and include a local and lauded drop with each course.
Grand Tasting
Some people drink wine purely for pleasure, but if you want to learn about local drops from the best in the biz, nab a ticket to the Grand Tasting. Presented by Singapore Airlines, you’ll taste the Margaret River region’s crème de la crème of wines including Howard Park Wines—to a soundtrack of live opera from Silvia Colloca. Between sips, refuel with bottomless bites from the food stations and grazing tables.
Night Hawker
Kicking off on Saturday, Night Hawker is a collaboration celebrating Australia’s rich cultural history, vibrancy and influences. Culinary legends Dan Hong, Rosheen Kaul and Mal Chow will be dishing up Asian street eats—think piping hot, ginger-spiked dumplings, fragrant, char-grilled skewers and more—with drinks courtesy of award-winning House of Cards wine and locals Eagle Bay Brewing Co.
Meet & Greet Packages
If you really want to push the boat out and get the most out of your weekend, go big with a Pair’d Meet & Greet package. The VIP Tasting Package includes a four-course feast on Saturday at Margaret’s Beach Club, a ticket to the Grand Tasting on Sunday, and an exclusive Meet & Greet with rockstar winemaker Alex James.
Tickets are selling fast, so now’s the time to fire up the group chat and get booking. If you're flying from interstate, nab direct flights from Sydney and Melbourne to Perth or Busselton Margaret River airports—and we'll catch you in the southwest.
THE DETAILS
What: Pair’d
When: Thursday 14 to Sunday 17 November
Where: Margaret River Region
More information here.
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Images: Supplied.