Skip the 24-hour flight, the middle seat and the questionable airport jamon – this September, Spain is coming to you. Eat Spain Drink Spain, the international celebration of Spanish gastronomy organised by ICEX Spain Trade and Investment through its Foods & Wines from Spain brand, is landing in Australia for the very first time from 4 September to 4 October. It’s already done the rounds in the UK, US, Ireland, Japan, Mexico, Hong Kong, Singapore and Qatar – and now, delivered in partnership with the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Australia finally gets its turn. Consider it a month-long, 47-venue, 62-activation excuse to eat, drink and pretend you’re on a terrace in Barcelona.
A Month, Four Cities, One Very Good Excuse
Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and the Gold Coast are all getting the treatment, with Spanish-inspired menus, tastings, wine pairings, live cooking demos and plenty of good reasons to book a table.
Sydney’s leaning into the smart stuff. Wine inTuition is running two masterclasses with Master of Wine Andrea Pritzker and ICEX Spanish Wine Ambassador Markus Patz, taking guests well beyond Rioja and Tempranillo and into Spain’s more obscure (read: cooler) regions and grape varieties. Perfect if your Spanish wine knowledge currently peaks at “the one with the nice label.”
Melbourne, naturally, is doing it with a little more flair. MoVida Next Door has a $30 Menu de Tapas y Vermut on offer, pairing Bodegas Yzaguirre Vermouth with San Sebastian-style pintxos and chargrilled txistorra – proof that vermouth and a good sausage are an underrated combo.
Over in Perth, Meninas Grill is going all in with a Spanish sharing menu built around a Paella Asturiana loaded with hickory-smoked rump cap and saffron Calasparra rice. And on the Gold Coast, El Porton is offering 50 per cent off all paellas, plus regional Wine Nights spotlighting a different corner of Spain each evening.
You don’t need a masterclass or a menu overhaul to get in on it, either. A tapas night at your local, a bottle of Rioja from the bottle shop, a jar of good olives from the gourmet grocer – there’s a bit of Spain hiding nearby, no boarding pass required. Well, almost.
The Passport That Might Actually Get You One
Here’s the fun part: there’s a literal passport involved. Pick one up from any participating venue, collect a stamp with every eligible purchase (a sticker if you’re shopping online), and once you’ve got four, scan the QR code for your shot at the big prize – an actual return flight to Spain. The most direct route yet from “degustation menu” to “the real thing.”
Why Australia, Why Now
Australians have been quietly falling for Mediterranean flavours, better provenance and proper sourcing for a while now, and Spain – one of the most decorated food nations on the planet – is the obvious next stop. Eat Spain Drink Spain just makes it official: the jamon, the olive oil, the reds, the bone-dry cavas, all deserve a proper look, not just a passing holiday memory.
For one month, that look just got a lot easier to find. Four cities, 47 venues, and if the passport gods are feeling generous, one very good flight back to where it all started.
Eat Spain Drink Spain Australia 2026 runs 4 September – 4 October across Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and the Gold Coast.
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