A relaxed Sunday of food, wine, music and family activities arrives at Bella Vista Farm on 11 October, bringing local flavour to the Hills.
There is something fitting about holding a food and wine festival at Bella Vista Farm. Beyond the modern roads, apartment towers and growing commercial centres of Sydney's Hills District, the farm preserves a sense of the landscape that came before them. On Sunday 11 October, that setting becomes the backdrop for the Hills Food and Wine Festival, a day built around eating, drinking, music and the simple pleasure of spending time outdoors.
From 10am to 6pm, the farm fills with producers, food stalls, makers, demonstrations and live entertainment. The atmosphere is less about sitting down to a formal meal than wandering from one discovery to another. A glass in hand, something cooking nearby, music carrying across the grass, and the steady movement of families and friends between stalls give the day its rhythm.
The festival takes place at Bella Vista Farm, at the corner of Norwest Boulevard and Elizabeth MacArthur Drive. It is an unusually open setting for an event so close to the busy commercial heart of the Hills, and that contrast is part of its character.
Hills Food and Wine Festival In The Hills
The Hills Food and Wine Festival reflects a part of Sydney that is often described through its development rather than its produce. The Hills has grown rapidly, but pockets of rural character remain, particularly around historic properties and the western edges of the district.
Bella Vista Farm is one of those places. Its broad lawns and established trees provide room to slow down, while the surrounding suburban landscape is never far away. It creates an interesting setting for a festival centred on food and drink because the event feels connected to both versions of the Hills – the established rural landscape and the contemporary community that has grown around it.
The festival has been running for more than five years, with its organisers describing it as a community event created by locals for the Hills and the wider Sydney region. This year's program continues that approach, bringing together boutique wineries, distilleries, food producers, makers and family entertainment in one open-air setting.
For visitors, the appeal is partly in the variety. There is no single dish or drink around which the day revolves. Instead, the experience comes from moving through the different parts of the festival and deciding what catches the eye.
A Day Built Around Food And Drink
The food offering ranges from seafood and barbecue to dumplings, pizza, mushrooms, doughnuts, soft serve and sweets.
Cheeky Naked Oysters, Black Bear BBQ, Maido Okonomiyaki, Funguys Tempura Mushroom, Soph's Dumplings and Antico Pizza are among the food businesses listed for this year's festival. There are also dessert-focused stalls including OMG Donuts, THICC Cookies, Momento Tiramisu and Classic Soft Serve.
That mix gives the festival a distinctly Australian outdoor-food character. It is not a formal degustation, nor is it intended to be. Plates and snacks are carried across the grounds, shared between friends and eaten wherever there is a comfortable patch of grass.
For families, that informality can make a difference. One person can investigate the barbecue while another heads towards the sweets, and children can move between the food stalls and the dedicated entertainment areas without the day feeling overly structured.
The festival also makes room for dietary requirements, with vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options among the offerings. Visitors are encouraged to speak directly with individual stallholders about ingredients and suitable choices.
Hills Food and Wine Festival Pours The Local Flavours
Wine is naturally central to the day, and the festival brings together a sizeable collection of wineries and distilleries.
Names appearing on the current festival program include Peterson House Wines, Hungerford Hill Wines, First Ridge Wines, Cupitt's Estate, Iron Gate Estate, Esker, Horner Wines and De Beaurepaire Wines, alongside distilleries and other drinks producers. There are also non-alcoholic choices, including Grumpy's Ginger Beer and The Piaggio Bean.
For those interested in tasting rather than simply ordering a glass, the festival uses its own tasting cup. The official information notes that a branded reusable cup is required for tastings and purchases of wine by the glass, with cups available for purchase at the event.
The arrangement encourages a slower kind of drinking. Rather than choosing one bottle and settling in for the afternoon, visitors can sample different producers and styles, talk to stallholders and find something that suits the meal they have just picked up.
It is also worth remembering that the festival operates as a licensed event. Outside alcohol cannot be brought onto the grounds, and bottles cannot be opened and consumed on site. Free drinking water is available, with visitors encouraged to bring a refillable bottle.
Demonstrations And Things To Watch
Food festivals often reveal their personality through what happens between meals, and the Hills Food and Wine Festival has plenty planned beyond the stalls.
The demonstration program includes cake decorating, live barbecue demonstrations from Black Bear BBQ, and talks covering distilling and beer. The organisers are also continuing to add performers and demonstrations to the program as the event approaches.
These demonstrations offer a different way into the festival. Instead of simply eating the finished product, visitors get a glimpse of the techniques and decisions behind it. A barbecue demonstration can turn a familiar meal into a conversation about smoke, temperature and preparation, while a distillery or beer talk provides some context for what is being poured around the grounds.
Live music runs through the day, adding another layer to the setting. With the farm's open lawns providing space for people to sit, eat and listen, the music becomes part of the background rather than an interruption to the food.
That balance suits the nature of the event. People can pay attention when something interests them, then return to the broader rhythm of wandering, eating and talking.
A Festival For Families
Although wine gives the event its name, the Hills Food and Wine Festival is deliberately broader than a drinks festival.
Children under 18 enter free, and the dedicated Kids Zone includes activities and rides. The program also includes face painting, while unlimited ride passes are available for families who want to make the most of the amusement area.
That family focus changes the character of the day. It means a group does not need to divide itself between adults looking for food and wine and children looking for entertainment. Everyone has somewhere to go.
There is also something quintessentially Australian about a festival that allows the afternoon to unfold on a farm with food, rides, music and plenty of open space. The experience is not particularly complicated. Find something to eat, find somewhere to sit, watch the children disappear towards the rides, listen to the music and decide what to try next.
Dogs are also welcome, provided they are well socialised and kept on a leash.
Getting To Bella Vista Farm
Bella Vista Farm sits close to the Hills' major transport and road network, making it relatively straightforward to reach from across north-western Sydney.
The official festival information lists free parking at the farm, although visitors are encouraged to use the free shuttle bus operating between Bella Vista Metro and the festival site. The shuttle runs between 11am and 6pm.
For anyone driving, the festival location is Norwest Boulevard and Elizabeth MacArthur Drive, Bella Vista. Accessible parking is available in limited numbers close to the main entry.
The practical advice is simple: bring water, sunscreen and something comfortable to sit on. A picnic mat or camp chair makes sense if the plan is to spend several hours on the grounds rather than simply making a quick visit.
What To Expect On The Day
The Hills Food and Wine Festival runs from 10am to 6pm on Sunday 11 October. The official festival website currently lists the event at Bella Vista Farm, with tickets available through the festival's ticketing arrangements.
For adults, tickets are available with or without a tasting cup, while children under 18 enter free. The current ticketing information lists general release tickets at $25 with a tasting cup and $15 without one, with on-the-day prices rising to $30 and $20 respectively.
The festival is expected to become busier as the day progresses, particularly around the food and drinks areas. Arriving earlier gives visitors more time to explore before settling into the afternoon.
Because the event is outdoors, weather remains part of the equation. The organisers say the grounds will be assessed with Hills Shire Council if poor weather threatens the event, with updates provided through their social channels and email.
For the latest information and tickets, visit the official Hills Food and Wine Festival website.
Hills Food and Wine Festival And The Changing Hills
There is a particular pleasure in seeing an event like this take place in the Hills because the district has changed so quickly.
The roads around Bella Vista now carry commuters, shoppers and residents between increasingly dense neighbourhoods. Yet within the farm, the pace is different. The scale opens up again. There is grass beneath the feet rather than pavement, trees overhead rather than apartment balconies, and enough space for a festival to breathe.
Food has always been a useful way of understanding a place. At an event like this, the Hills is represented not through one defining cuisine but through a collection of people making, growing, cooking, pouring and selling things to their neighbours.
That makes the festival feel less like a destination imported into the Hills and more like a temporary gathering of the community itself.
As afternoon turns towards evening, the sounds of the day begin to blend. Music travels across the farm. Conversations continue around tables and picnic rugs. Children make another circuit of the rides while adults consider one final tasting or something sweet before heading home.
The city is still there beyond the farm gates, but for a few hours it feels distant.
That is perhaps the enduring appeal of the Hills Food and Wine Festival. It offers no great mystery about what to do. Come hungry, take your time, find something worth sharing and let the afternoon unfold. In a part of Sydney where the landscape is changing almost as quickly as the skyline, a day spent eating and drinking beneath the trees is a reminder that community can still gather around the simple things.