King Valley Preview

Disclosure: I was invited to explore the King Valley by Squawk Media and the local wineries

A couple of weeks ago, I was invited to explore the King Valley's wine region with a gaggle (using this term because I can, and it sounds more fun than 'group') of other bloggers, Ewen, a well established photographer and the ever lively Melissa of Squawk Media, which I accepted with great vigour and excitement. 

Over four days and three nights, we learnt a lot about this beautiful wine region, which is the home to prosecco in Victoria and many, many other beautiful Italian varietals, we also ate magnificently with the families that owned many of these wineries. 

Did I fall in love? Definitely. 

Whilst I'm still (very slowly) working through the photos of the trip, I thought I would just pick a couple of my favourite things from the trip to share with you, just to give you a slice of what's coming up in future posts. 

Drinking beautiful reds from Brown Brothers in their family cellar, which is definitely not accessible to the general public was a real honour. We were guided by Ernie, who has been with Brown Brothers for over 20 years, who gave us the history of the cellar and the many wines that could be found within. 

Prosecco was a highlight. Definitely. It was a constant, everywhere, we couldn't even escape it first thing in the morning! Drinking it in the fields of prosecco grapes at Pizzini was even more special, when the sky was just showing off and the sun graced us with it's warmth. Magic.

I loved that Rob was getting along so well with Storm, the bull from King Valley Premium Beef. Look, Storm's licking him!

I got my macro lens out for the first time in a long time and got lost in the gardens and fields of King Valley, chasing bees and marvelling at flowers.

Having freshly made gluten free biscuits with a sour cherry in the middle, by nonna at Politini wines is so special. And so delicious.

Singing 'Something Stupid' (or trying to) with Thanh as Sam from Pollitini wines plays the piano accordion brought nothing but smiles to my face and a light skip of joy in my being. 

Waking up Wednesday and Thursday morning to go running before our day started was another highlight for me. The sky was magnificent both days, brilliantly bright and sunny on one and slightly overcast with rays of sunlight peeping through on another. There's also nothing like running past endless green paddocks with cows in them. 

Also discovering that the locals recognise you before you meet them because they've seen you jogging around is kind of hilarious. I guess Whitfield doesn't often see girls with green hair?

Bay leaves and anchovies that are battered and fried are ridiculous. Ridiculous. Dal Zotto we love you guys, but we really needed more of those.

Speaking of Dal Zotto, as I bid farewell to Otto Dal Zotto (the big papa), he verbally adopted me (and everyone else). I'm very okay with this! 

And goodness, I could go on and on about the wines we had. From the many sangiovese's at Pizzini to the saperavi from King River Estate Wines, to the brachetto we had with brunch on Friday at Lindenwarrah. But I'll go into more details in separate posts. 

Finally, let's not forget the friends we made, or got to know better. I don't think I had laughed so much in 4 days in such a long time. Ewen who was constantly taking pictures, always had pictures of me with my mouth open. ALWAYS. It's mildly embarrassing, but pretty awesome at the same time. 

Since returning to Melbourne, I've been racking my brains as to when I can visit again (maybe a weekend getaway with Brad for our anniversary..?), and in the meantime, figure out where I can buy more of the prosecco in town! I can't wait to do more detailed write ups and share the magic that is the King Valley with the rest of you.