The Cider and Pork Festival Loves Melbourne

Written by Tabitha Russell on 26 January 2016.

What better way to spend the Australia Day long weekend than at the Inaugural Victorian Cider and Pork festival at Rochford Wines in the Yarra Valley.

The World Loves Melbourne was very kindly invited to experience the first ever festival celebrating all things apple and pig at Rochford’s picturesque vineyard.

Held over two days - Saturday 23 January and Sunday 24 January – the festival showcased more than 75 international and Australian ciders, as well as 15 different food trucks and pop-up restaurant, and hosted daily master classes.

We tried our best to sample as many as possible but it was a tough feat, even for the biggest of cider fans. Particular highlights though were from St Ronan’s Cider, Aspall Suffolk Cider and Napoleone Cider & Brewery, all available to try in sample sizes and as full pints.

There were over 60 pork dishes on offer from 15 different stalls including; Fancy Hanks, Blue Bonnet BBQ, Pulled Kitchen and The Rib Joint to name a few.

The ribs from Blue Bonnet were incredibly good, as was the classic BBQ pulled pork burger from Pulled Kitchen…

We wandered amongst the stalls trying a variety of ciders and succulent pork tasters, whilst a live band played on the main stage and the sun attempted to come out from behind the clouds. What better way to spend a Sunday!

The festival is only an hours drive from Melbourne, or a short 15mins bus ride from Lilydale Station (only 50mins to Melbourne CBD).

General Admission tickets to Cider & Pork Fesitval were $40 per person, per day. There was also the option of a VIP ticket priced at $175, which included lunch in the Rochford Restaurant, free drink tokens, one cider masterclass and access to the VIP area.

The festival was open on both days from 11am to 7pm.