A Melbourne Food & Wine Festival Round Up of all things Vinous ...

With literally days to go, this years Melbourne Food & Wine Festival will be quickly upon us. As always, you can be guaranteed there will be an event to cater to all your hedonistic gastronomic wants, needs and desires especially in terms of all things vinous. With Ben's appointment to the Festival as 'Creative Director � Wine' last year, a real push and emphasis has been placed upon the wine program this year. With so much on, its sometime difficult to choose exactly what events you should go to, so we thought we'd give you a little round up of what to look for and some of our favourite events.


Sommeliers Australia Events
Yes our bias is showing, but we have to start with the Sommeliers Australia events. This passion and knowledge driven association is again hosting a bunch of fun events aimed not just at wine professional but for everyone who cares about wine. It kicks off with the United Wines of the America's ($35, Saturday, 13th March). This will be an incredible chance to try a whole bunch of wines from both North and South of the American continent in a relaxed, informal, almost 'cocktail' type environment. Rarely seen in Australia, there will be wines from Canada's famous British Columbia, Uruguay, Brazil (yes, Brazil!), Chile, Argentina and the US of A plus the odd little bite thanks to the guys at Entre Tapas e Vinos.

They follow it up the next day with the infamous Appropriately Long Sommelier Lunch (last year topped 14 hours!) where this year the focus will be all about Regional Victoria's Top Chefs and Melbourne's up and coming Sommeliers matching wine to their food. With Michael Ryan from 'Provenance' leading the pack, the 5 course lunch with 2 wines per course (1 Victorian, 1 imported) is an absolute bargain at $135 a head. Also expect to see Aaron Turner from Loam Drysdale, Yarra Valley Dairy and Stefano di Pieri on deck. Starting at 12.30pm at Ormond Hall, they'll take you through a long and leisurely lunch; those lucky enough to get a ticket better not make dinner plans.

Hard to believe but easy to swallow, the legendary How Not to Drink Wine Like a Wanker hosted by Dan and joined by Lincoln 'Rocco' Riley (now Gordon Ramsay's Maze) and the delectable Ms Pearls (Madame Brussels) enters its third year. This is by far one of the most fun events we've been involved in and is all about taking the piss out of wine pomposity, and ourselves for that matter. Hoorah for that.

The boys and girls of Sommeliers Australia then finish off with the Little Champagne House of RA for some fizzy sustenance. If you like Grande Marques Champagne, then this is for you. Lets just say they will see to it that you are thoroughly socially lubricated for the night ahead.


A Special Lunch
Our good mates at Collins Quarter have put together an all star Victorian food and wine event to tickle almost everyone's fancy. Chef Michael Nunn has put together a gastronomic tour of Victorian regional produce. The delightfully gorgeous Carly Haren has managed to match a wine from the region where the produce is sourced. At $120 per person, this has got to be one of the best value lunches going around. Email Enrique to book, info@collinsquarter.com. Download the menu below.


The Master Class Weekend
The Master Class weekend is held over the weekend of March 21st & 22nd and Team Wine Guide will be there hosting the both the Global Wine Experience (Ben) and for the first time this year, The Wine Retreat (Dan). Perhaps a little explanation?

The 'Global Wine Experience' (GWE) is for wine obsessed, fanatical and those who are keen to delve further into the vinous world and hear from some of the Super Stars of the industry. The Wine Retreat is a tad more relaxed, a little less formal and more about the conversation rather than the lecture. Both have exceptional tastings throughout the weekend so you won't go thirsty, in fact, you might actually learn something (if you can remember it).

If you're as Piedmont obsessed as us, you'll be able to join some of the 'Babes of Barolo & Barbaresco', Gaia Gaja (Gaja), Chiara Boschis (E.Pira) and Giuseppe Vaira (Vajra), as they guide you through the regions classic and most revered grape varieties. Lets just say there is something here for both sexes (ahem!).

If you're Piedmont obsessed, then you're more than likely Burgundy obsessed, so thankfully Ben will take you for a tour of the 2007 vintage in this Chardonnay and Pinot Noir Mecca. But the one event that is a little bit of a dark horse is the First Families of Australian Wine. With all the negative press flying around in the UK & USA about Australian wine being boring and one dimensional, this group of 12 historic wineries celebrates not just the history and heritage of Australian wine, but regional diversity within. With such names as Henschke, Tyrrell's, Yalumba, Howard Park, Tahbilk and De Bortoli (to name only a few) you can be sure to expect a few buried treasures from their cellars in which will be a wonderful celebration of Australian wine.

Though who could refuse a chance to be Seduced by Style with Stock (Nick Stock that is) who will take you through an ever so stylish range of wines from his Penguin Good Wine Guide.

Also, here are a few others worth checking out �
Dessert & Wine Matches, and beyond
A Biodynamic Wine Day
Chianina & Chianti
Great Wines of the World. Expensive, yes but an unbelievable line up of wines! Click here for the line up.

Hmmm ... spoilt for choice. Get involved!


» Seasonal Regional Victoria Lunch Menu - Collins Quarter (251Kb)

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