Pair'd Margaret River 2026: The Complete Guide to the Region's Biggest Festival

Matt Moran is cooking. So is Dave Pynt, whose Singapore restaurant Burnt Ends holds a Michelin star. Rodney Scott — the American pitmaster who won a James Beard Award for barbecue — is flying in from South Carolina. Kruder & Dorfmeister are playing a set. All of it happens across four days in a wine region at the bottom-left corner of Australia, population around 10,000, and 98% of the people who bought tickets last year travelled from somewhere else to be there.

That is Pair'd Margaret River: 19 to 22 November 2026, though the program actually opens with a preview event on the Wednesday night. It is not a wine festival with some food on the side, or a food festival that happens to be near vineyards. It is a genuine crossover event — international chefs cooking alongside Margaret River winemakers, in the wineries themselves — and it has grown quickly into one of the most significant destination food-and-wine events in the country.

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This guide is part of our complete guide to Margaret River wine tours.

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What Pair'd Actually Is

Pair'd Margaret River Region returns in 2026 for its third consecutive year, and the format has settled into something distinctive: rather than one central festival site, individual wineries and restaurants across the region each host their own ticketed event, often built around a specific chef collaboration. A Sydney chef might cook a one-night-only menu at a Margaret River winery; a touring DJ might play a sunset set at a cellar door; a long lunch might pair six courses against six wines from the host estate.

The 2026 program runs across five days once the Wednesday preview is counted: one event on the Wednesday, five on the Thursday, thirteen on the Friday, eleven on the Saturday, and three closing out the Sunday — over 30 individual ticketed experiences in total. The full 2026 program and line-up is live now at pairdmargaretriver.com, and tickets are already on sale.

The Western Australian Government confirmed the festival's return in February 2026, citing its economic contribution to the region and the role it plays in cementing Margaret River's reputation as a premium food and wine destination — state-government-backed confirmation that this isn't a one-off, but a fixture on the calendar.

The 2026 Line-Up

The confirmed 2026 talent list reads like a survey of Australia's best culinary exports and a handful of major international names. Among the chefs: Matt Moran, one of Australia's most recognisable restaurateurs; Dave Pynt of Burnt Ends in Singapore, holder of a Michelin star; Rodney Scott, the James Beard Award-winning South Carolina barbecue pitmaster; Mindy Woods, chef and proud Bundjalung woman known for modern Indigenous Australian cooking; Paul Iskov of Fervor, built around Australian native ingredients; alongside Erin Larkin, Cam Jones, Ben Jacob, Evan Hayter, Nick Ryan, Matt Abé, Matt Abergel, Cyndal Petty, Josh Whiteland, Gus Stieffenhofer-Brandson, Aaron Carr and Zac Webb.

On the music side, Austrian downtempo duo Kruder & Dorfmeister headline, with The Preatures' Isabella Manfredi and Boo Seeka also on the bill. Full talent bios are on the official site.

The Marquee Wine Dinners

A handful of events sit above the rest of the program — ticketed, intimate, and built around a specific chef-and-winery pairing. Presented by Lexus for 2026:

Wayfinder x St JOHN — 20 November, at Wayfinder Winery & Farm. St JOHN is the London restaurant that reshaped how the world thinks about nose-to-tail cooking; this is a rare chance to eat that philosophy applied to Margaret River produce.

de'sendent x Sushi m — 18 to 22 November, running across the whole festival window. A sustained collaboration rather than a single sitting.

Vasse Felix x Bonheur — 21 November, at Vasse Felix, one of the region's founding wineries.

These are the events that sell out first. If one of these three is the reason you're planning a trip, book the moment you decide — don't wait for the rest of your itinerary to firm up.

Tickets: What to Know Before You Book

Pair'd sells tickets through Universe, part of the Ticketmaster family. For 2026, Early Access opened 28 June for interstate and international guests (to accommodate time zones), with General Public sales opening 1 July 2026 at 10:00am AWST. As of writing, several events have already sold out — a genuine signal to book early rather than assume availability closer to November.

A few practicalities worth knowing before you start: every event has its own group-size cap, typically 4, 10 or 20 guests depending on the format, so a booking that works for a couple won't necessarily stretch to a group of eight — check each event page before you count on it. All sales are final; there are no refunds or exchanges, though tickets can be passed on to someone else if your plans change. If an event you want shows as sold out, joining its waitlist is worth doing — additional allocations are sometimes released.

Travelling from further afield, the official Travel Packages: The Destination Edit (19–23 November) bundle accommodation with hard-to-get tickets, aimed squarely at exactly the kind of interstate and international visitor the 98% travel-from-outside figure describes.

Getting There and Getting Around

Margaret River is remote enough that the getting-there question matters as much as the festival program itself. The closest airport is Busselton Margaret River Airport, with direct Jetstar flights from Sydney and Melbourne — genuinely the easiest way in if you're flying from the east coast for the festival. Perth Airport is the alternative, a three-hour drive from the region, with the full spread of international and domestic connections.

Once you're in the region, some Pair'd events include their own return bus service — check the festival bus map and timetable and each event's individual page, since bus availability varies event to event rather than running as a single festival-wide loop. Beyond that, South West Taxis operates across the region, private charter and limousine companies handle airport transfers and can be booked for the festival period, and self-drive with a designated driver remains an option — though with venues spread across the whole Margaret River wine region and several events running into the evening, most visitors either book with a wine tour operator who knows the festival program or arrange a private driver for the duration.

Planning Your Trip

Book accommodation now. The roundup guide to Margaret River's 2026 events calendar puts it plainly: the region fills up completely for these dates, and three to four months out is the realistic minimum lead time — which, if you're reading this in winter or early spring, means the clock is already running.

Decide your anchor event first. With over 30 experiences across five days, trying to attend everything is how people end up exhausted and having attended nothing properly. Pick one or two marquee dinners or a chef collaboration that genuinely excites you, then build cellar-door visits and casual tastings around it rather than the reverse.

Pair the festival with a guided tour. A wine tour operator who already knows the 2026 program can build your daytime cellar-door itinerary around your evening festival bookings — arriving relaxed rather than having just driven yourself between vineyards. Browse Margaret River wine tour operators.

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Frequently Asked Questions

When is Pair'd Margaret River in 2026? The main festival runs from Thursday 19 to Sunday 22 November 2026, with a preview event on Wednesday 18 November. It's the third consecutive year of the festival.

How do I get tickets to Pair'd? Tickets are sold through Universe (part of the Ticketmaster family) via pairdmargaretriver.com. General Public sales opened 1 July 2026; several events have already sold out, so check availability and join waitlists where needed rather than waiting until closer to the date.

Who is cooking at Pair'd 2026? Confirmed 2026 talent includes Matt Moran, Dave Pynt (Burnt Ends, Singapore), Rodney Scott, Mindy Woods, Paul Iskov and a wider lineup of Australian and international chefs, alongside music acts including Kruder & Dorfmeister. Full details are on the official talent page.

Is there an official festival bus? Some events include return bus transport — check the bus map and timetable and each event's own page, since it varies by event rather than running as one region-wide loop. A private wine tour operator is the more flexible option if you want to combine daytime cellar-door visits with evening festival events.

How far in advance should I book accommodation? Three to four months minimum. The region books out completely for the festival weekend, and it only gets tighter as the marquee dinner dates approach.

Do I need a car? Not necessarily. Between select event bus services, taxis, private charter, and wine tour operators running festival-specific itineraries, most visitors get by without self-driving between venues — genuinely useful given several events run into the evening.

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Plan Your Pair'd Visit

Browse wine tour operators who can build a Margaret River itinerary around your festival bookings.

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