Cheesefest

Oh festival, you deceive me once again. A few stalls are good, but after a while you realise the cheese is far from mind-​blowing status. Heck, you know smelly cheese can take the whole festival in a jiffy, without breaking a sweat.
The difference is that you pay $ 25 to get in the festival.
We ended up doing a $ 25 «special» package that included a small yet average pizza and a drink. Lovely service but just not worth the money.
Been fooled twice, and will not fall for it again.

Worth going on the Friday evening (I believe the entry fee is cheaper)
It doesn’t take long to sample everything (wine and cheese) and then you might be onto paying for things (which is when the festival attacks your wallet).
Still a great outing, but be prepared to pay a bit if you want to eat or drink anything not on a toothpick.

OH GOD… CHEESE, CHEESE… ERRYWHERE!
I heart cheesefest with all my cheesy heart! There were plenty of samples (once you got to the front of a line…) of all different kinds of cheese — and wine! After only five or so stands of cheese I needed a break from all the tastings — but after a glass of rose on the shady lawn, I was ready to bounce back into it — and there were many stands to keep me going.
The vibe was awesome with a band playing all afternoon and a number of free and interesting activities to keep the masses entertained!
Defs recommend for next year — keep up the great work cheesy peeps!

I was lucky enough to win tickets to Cheesefest, thanks to Unilocal — so off I tottled with my husband & another couple to Rymill Park on Saturday, where the beautiful weather beckoned us.
The stalls (mainly consisting of cheese makers & wineries) created a large circle around the perimeter of the event. Much like a delicious wheel of cheese, if you will. We thought we were being smart & getting there just after opening time (12pm on Saturday) to beat the crowds but alas everyone else had the same idea. That is probably my only gripe for the day — most of the stands had crowds of people lining up to taste their delicious cheesy goodness that you had to wait 5 – 10 minutes to get to the front & once you did, you felt a bit like you had to rush through the tastings or only try a couple or varieties so you weren’t holding up the next lot. I’m not sure what the answer to this issue would be — perhaps each stall having a wider frontage? Woodside Cheese had it right — they allocated staff to rove through their waiting customers with cheese samples on a platter.
We were full on cheese after an hour or so, so we didn’t buy any lunch there, but SA was well represented with the selection of meals on offer — Grace The Establishment, The Kings Head & The Elbow Room, just to name a few had setup stalls with curries, paella, burgers, salads, desserts & more.
I was impressed that the winery stands were happy to take us through full tastings of the wines they had on offer — so many of these types of events these days don’t allow tastings, only purchases, so it was nice to be able to ‘try before you buy’. There were also several beer & cider companies, which kept the boys happy.
Our day finished with a picnic rug & cheeseboard (thanks to the Tucker’s Natual Picnic Trail), several types of cheese & wine, under a tree listening to a band — perfection!
This is the type of event where you could easily spend a full weekend or only a few hours & still have a great time.

How much do I love Cheesefest? Let me count the ways…
1. Never ending samples! Eat cheese until you go cheese blind.
2. Cheap but good quality wine — only $ 5 a glass and $ 20 a bottle at most stalls and great variety.
3. Variety — over 60 stalls of cheese and cheese related awesomeness.
4. Local — cheesefest is a celebration of Australian specialty cheeses.
5. The cheese
6. Specials! If you have eaten so much cheese you look like a bloated mouse from a Looney Toons cartoon, you can purchase excellent specials to take home with you.
7. Meet the makers — while you’re sampling you can talk to the cheese makers and share their passion.
8. Inspirational — Kris Lloyd, the founder and director of cheesefest, is an inspiration to all business minded women.
9. Fun in the sun — It’s a great place to catch up with friends and spend an afternoon in the sun eating good food and drinking nice wine in the beautiful surroundings of Rymil Park.
10. Oh and did I mention THE CHEESE!!!

Went to the cheesefest on the Sunday. Was a great day out. Lots of cheese tasting’s on offer, aswell as wine tastings. You can purchase cheese’s and glasses or bottles of wine. Lots of place’s to eat. Can get busy.
It is great when the weather is good which means you can sit and relax with cheese and wine and makes a very good day out. Suitable for all ages.

Cheese, cheese, cheese, cheese and cheese. Yes i guess this is what you are expecting from a cheese festival. So I really only suggest heading here if you like cheese. I love cheese so I was in heaven the moment I walked through the doors.
The place was packed so you had to line up for every stall, especially the popular ones. This was slightly annoying, but if you walked around a bit you could get to all the stalls eventually. The festival was a great opportunity to taste new and different, local cheeses. I found some new favourites that I have been addicted to ever since.
WIne! Yes the festival also sold wine. Making it a billion times better, of course. They had some great Adelaide wineries there, selling bottles and glasses for a very reasonable price.
My friend and I enjoyed the festival so much that we spent the entire day there. Lying on the grass, drinking wine and getting quite intoxicated!
The festival goes for two days, generally in October!