People came from far and wide, in plenty of colour and had a wonderful time getting into the spirit and atmosphere of the 2024 Roam Rutherglen Winery Walkabout. Here are some of the photographs capturing the dress up of and enjoyment by walkabout attendees. Photos: Elizabeth Gourlay.
Australia’s longest-running wine festival returned on the King’s Birthday long weekend – the 51st Roam Rutherglen, was a roaring success with over 7,000 festival goers.
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Hosted by 16 member wineries of Winemakers of Rutherglen, the collective group certainly delivered this past weekend.
Iconic for its fun-loving spirit and exploration of Rutherglen wine, wine lovers far and wide flocked to the regional town of Rutherglen.
From its inception back in 1973 while the event is all about the wine, its delivery isn’t possible without the involvement of the wider Rutherglen community. The 2024 event, no different to 1973, involved the Rutherglen community with over 20 festival volunteers, community groups such as the Rutherglen Agriculture Society and local sporting and service clubs as well as support by local emergency services, local police and Indigo Shire Council.
Over 40 buses provided by the Dyson Group chartered 1,800 patrons from surrounding regional towns to Rutherglen and an additional 1,000 patrons staying locally to participating wineries throughout the weekend.
The region’s wineries hosted a range of special events that immersed those who are wine curious further into the tastes and history of Rutherglen wine. A Royal Tea Party at De Bortoli Rutherglen Estate and a Bubbles & Breakfast event at Cofield Wines opened the festival on Saturday, with the likes of Pfeiffer Wines, Stanton & Killeen Wines and Jones Winery & Vineyard hosting tours, tastings and special events throughout the day.
Morris Wines took the opportunity to open their newly renovated cellar door after a three-year hiatus from the festival due to the renovations and Lake Moodemere Estate extended the weekend by hosting a Friday evening four-course dinner prior to the festival opening on Saturday.
Annalee Nolan, Winemakers of Rutherglen Executive Officer commented about the evolving festival: “As a group, we are proud to have delivered this year’s festival. The event has a long and proud history of putting Rutherglen on the map across the country. Many have worked tirelessly before us, so we are all proud to keep that legacy alive.”
As many iconic Australian festivals have faced cancellations or significant restructures in the past three years, Roam Rutherglen Winery Walkabout undertook festival structure changes in 2023.
“Last year we introduced new VIP tickets, altered our festival bus service and introduced the new festival name. It’s important that while we ensure we can run the event for the next 50 years, we are also keeping up with the current environment,” Annalee said.
“The changes we implemented last year have been refined this year with positive feedback flooding in from wineries, patrons and our festival stakeholders.”
Winemakers of Rutherglen look forward to continuing to bring Roam Rutherglen back every year as the plans for 2025 will be underway in the next two months.
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