Winter food and wine events increase in Victorias regions
The outstanding food and wine on offer in Victoria’s regions will be showcased at festivals throughout the cooler months including events at Port Fairy on the Great Ocean Road, to the cosmopolitan regional city of Bendigo and the Dinner Plain/Mt Hotham and Rutherglen areas in the Alpine High Country.
Port Fairy, located on the Great Ocean Road’s Shipwreck Coast 20 minutes’ drive from Warrnambool, will present ‘A Celebration of Food and Wine’ (4-6 July). The second Port Fairy Winter Weekends event for 2008, ‘A Celebration of Food and Wine’ is set dazzle visitors and locals alike with a gastronomic array of exhibitions, markets, celebrity chefs, cooking classes and sumptuous winemaker dinners.
Bendigo and its surrounds will be abuzz with heart-warming food and wine experiences taking place from July through to October. Highlights include: the ninth annual Deep Winter Wine Dinner (Saturday 19 July) at Emeu Inn Restaurant in Heathcote, an area famous for its premium Shiraz: and Rare Reds Unearthed (Saturday 30 August) which brings together wineries in the Bendigo region that don’t currently have a cellar door outlet. Then in October, the region hosts two of its biggest food and wine events: the Heathcote Wine and Food Festival (4-5 October) followed by Bendigo Heritage Uncorked (11-12 October), an annual festival that showcases Bendigo’s wine, quality restaurants and grand gold rush architecture.
Durif, a rare French grape variety, will be celebrated at the Durif of Rutherglen centenary weekend (2-3 August) in Rutherglen in Victoria’s pristine alpine High Country. Included among the weekend highlights will include a sumptuous seven-course degustation black tie dinner featuring nine sparkling, table and fortified Durif wines which will take place in the great hall of All Saints Estate (2 August) and a Muscat Masterclass (3 August).
Delicious food and wine from the Alpine Valleys will also be on offer at the 2008 Mountain Fresh Festival taking place at Dinner Plain and Mount Hotham (18 - 23 July). Take some time to taste your way around the Alpine Valleys as the region’s winemakers and food producers gather to showcase their wares at Hotham Central for the Taste Alpine event (Saturday 19 July). Alternately, take part in the ‘Home Spa Remedies with Alpine Valleys Produce’ Master Class (Monday 21 July), where you can learn how to make your own home spa recipes to use for body care and pampering.
For further information:
Port Fairy Winter Weekends: www.visitportfairy.com
Bendigo's Feast of Food and Wine: visit www.bendigotourism.com
Rutherglen Centenary of Durif Weekend: www.rutherglenvic.com
Hotham and Dinner Plain 2008 Mountain Fresh Festival: www.mountainfresh.com.au
Media contacts:
Port Fairy Winter Weekends: Kate Alexander, Tyrrell Publicity and Promotions on (03) 9629 7000 or Kate@tyrrellpr.com.au
Bendigo’s Feast of Food and Wine: John Rossi at Bendigo Tourism on (03) 5434 6123 or Aileen Walsh on 0407 706769
2008 Mountain Fresh Festival: Jessica Rose, Mt Hotham on (03) 5759 4036 or jessicarose@mthotham.com.au