Tag: proseccotime

King Valley Proseccos : Dal Zotto, Chrismont, Pizzini @ MFWF

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DAL ZOTTO, PIZZINI, CHRISMONT

Prosecco Road Leads to Southgate

The city of Melbourne has many seasons, and ask anyone who visits and they'll say we get them all in one day.

In a lot of places, when the weather starts to cool down, so does the opportunity to go to great events. But in Melbourne, there's always something happening and Autumn is no exception.

Each year in March the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival brings us the delights of our amazing, world class culinary scene. And this year we went along to the event called "Prosecco Road Leads to Southgate" where an amazing collection of our most spectacular Victorian Prosecco makers transformed Southgate's promenade into a lively, vibrant scene of wine tasting accompanied by food, live music and hoards of people destined to appreciate the delights on offer.

Strolling on a glorious sunny Autumn day, meandering through the crowds and having a chat with many was nothing short of a divine way to spend a day. And so many options on offer it was almost impossible to know where to begin.

Dal Zotto's offering included Non-Vintage Pucino Prosecco, 2014 Vintage Pucino Prosecco and their amazing 2014 L'Immingrante Prosecco, all of which were stunning.

Pizzini had their Prosecco and also the low-alcohol Brachetto, which is perfect for late breakfast and brunch drinkers.

Chrismont had their incredible La Zona Prosecco, which I've already covered in a separate blog entry earlier this year.

Brown Brothers and Sam Miranda also had their sparkling on show but we didn't quite get to them and I look forward to trying them when I next visit the King Valley.

Lots of people, live music and bocce games amongst the wine tasting created a relaxed yet buzzing vibe.

Further along Southbank promenade was the River Graze, where there was a pop-up seafood festival, Crown Riverwalk hosted the Oakridge Urban Vineyard where members of the public were invited to take part in grape squashing and the more intricate nuances of winemaking. The AVPN Pizza Fest provided a space in which to meander through the many pizza makers with their staff furiously finishing dough by traditional hand kneading methods facing Melbourne's Yarra river with the relaxed crowds happily devouring their creations at the many tables on offer. Also nearby was a Veuve Clicquot Airstream bar with it's bright orange-yellow tables.

The Urban dairy at Queensbridge Square was also a great place to check out all things cheesy and creamy with of course, it's own bar as well. 

There was just seriously so much on offer at this year's MFWF that even with some serious planning you could not possibly attend every available event or event properly enjoy each section along Southbank and everything else happening along the Yarra. The superb weather made sure the masses were out in full force making for a vibrant, fun filled weekend no matter where you chose to be.

For next year, I've got the ticketed event, City Cellar on my MFWF 'must do' list.

Plan early for next year's MFWF by following them on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and their website: http://www.melbournefoodandwine.com.au

 

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Maschio Dei Cavallieri Prosecco

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Maschio Dei Cavallieri

So lately it seems I've been drinking more Prosecco than champagne. This hasn't been a deliberate thing, just something that's happened organically through people bringing me bottles to try and restaurants and bars having a Prosecco as the sparkling wine of choice on their menus.

A recent visit to a friend's place saw me greeted with a lovely cheese board and a bottle of Prosecco on offer. This one was another Italian DOC one, and was called Maschio Dei Cavallieri.

I can't say much about it that I haven't already said about other Proseccos I've had the pleasure of drinking of late, except that it was definitely drinkable by my standards. And in case this is the first post of mine you've read, what I mean by that is that I seem to sway towards the sparkling wines with the lighter coloured tones and more delicate flavours. 

So what I will say is that it went down well with the food on offer, worked well with the lovely crumbly strong cheddar and overall was a respectable experience.

At the end of the day, it's just such a subjective thing, and for me, the company I am in will always outweigh the quality of the wine or food.

#proseccotime #iloveprosecco #italiansparkling #wine #champagne #ilovechampagne #sparklingobsession #cheese #wineandcheese #cheeseboard #friends

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RIALTO PROSECCO NV @ Arbory Bar Melbourne

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RIALTO PROSECCO NV @ Arbory Bar Melbourne + Australian Open Festival 2016

On a gloriously sunny Australia Day a walk around the stunning city of Melbourne is the perfect thing to do. Lots happening, people everywhere and plenty to see. And with the Australian Open tennis tournament in full swing, that means even more people flocking to the city from all over Australia and abroad to enjoy what the world’s elite tennis players have dubbed the “Happy Slam”.

My sparkling companion today is keen to get to one of the many pop up food stalls at the Australian Open Festival along Birrarung Marr – an area along Melbourne’s Yarra river that’s long and large, perfect for festivals and open air events of all kinds. 

Being Melbourne, the food capital of Australia (and a place that competes side-by-side with other global cities in the culinary arena) the pop up stalls were not what a tourist would expect. There was no predictable greasy junk food, but instead a selection from some of the best restaurants and bars this city has to offer. Feel like some Thai food? Sure. Some Mexican or French? Of course. Authentic, high quality gelato in a myriad of flavours? Definitely. Greek street food? Yep. Modern Australian, naturally. 

So we wandered through a well arranged space where we passed by Combi, Gelato Messina, Huxtable featuring Mr Claws, Huxtaburger, Lavazza, Mamasita, Uncle, Gazi, Organisc Avenue Juices, Cobb Lane, Canadian Club Racquet Club, Heineken & Jacob’s Creek Bar, Estelle and Mistress.

We were looking for a place to sit, chat, eat, drink and watch the tennis match de jour.

Of course it was super busy, but we managed to find a shady spot under a tree and park ourselves there for a couple of hours, enjoying the surrounds.

At one point, we decided to move from our space, and check out one of the other big screens at the Canadian Club Racquet Club. This was situated on one of the steep, sloping grassy areas. Great, we thought. No problem seeing the screen here, as impossible for anyone to block your view. So we bought some food and attempted to sit on the grassy slope, and soon discovered it was no easy feat. It was just too steep. I couldn’t even put my handbag down on the grass next to me – it had to go behind me so that it didn’t slide down the hill! And, the game just finished, so we had positioned ourselves pretty much to see nothing...oh well....

Deciding to move on from there, we were considering going across to the other side of the river, but something made us stick to the side we were on, and I mentioned to my companion that I had yet to visit The Arbory Bar – one of Melbourne’s newest, hippest places to be. It’s a cleverly designed area, in what was previously an unused space next to Flinders Street Station, right on the riverfront. 

Being a long, narrow space, there are amazing views of this beautiful city making no seat a bad one, plus sexy beats pumping out from the sound system that give the place it’s super cool, yet relaxed vibe. We were in a great spot. Right opposite one of the cocktail bars and under the canopy of trees, making us feel far away from it all and yet still right in the midst.

Ahhh....finally time for a proper drink! And on the list of sparkling wines is an Italian Prosecco! So far, I haven’t been as enamoured by the Italian originals, even though they are the genuine article, but being the eternal optimist, I will give this one a try. Called Rialto Prosecco NV, my sparkling companion treats me to a glass whilst they sip on a specially prepared mocktail, lovingly created by an extremely accommodating and creative barman. 

But back to the Rialto Prosecco. Pale in colour than most of the Italian DOC varieties I’ve tried so far, I am now excited to try this one, as I’ve gravitated towards sparkling wines that are less bright yellow. It was beautifully chilled and with that dry, but not too dry taste that I have come to adore. Sipping this cheery beverage on a warm summer’s late afternoon, watching the world on the other side of the Yarra go by, I am reminded what a wonderful city Melbourne is as those perfectly formed bubbles make their way through my body and bring me to a state of perfect relaxation and sheer contentment.

There was some irony, though....sipping Rialto Prosecco whilst looking at Eureka Tower, instead of Melbourne’s Rialto building. Still, it took nothing away from the pleasure of the afternoon and the pursuit of my Sparkling Obsession.

#RialtoProseccoNV #proseccotime #iloveprosecco #ItalianProsecco #ItalianSparkling #ArboryBarMelbourne #AusOpen2016 #sparklingobsession

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