The High Country’s vibrant culinary culture will flourish next March, with a program of 18
events celebrating the region’s bountiful food and wine as part of the 20th Melbourne Food
and Wine Festival (2 – 21 March 2012), on sale from 2 December.
Over three key weekends, food and wine lovers are invited to experience the culinary
adventure, warm hospitality and local insights that go hand-in-hand with the region’s food
and wine and the characters who craft it. Held from Mansfield to Milawa and the King
Valley to Beechworth and Rutherglen, events range from hands-on cooking classes to
special alfresco lunches and dinners, from a horse-riding and gourmet adventure to intimate
food and wine tours combined with luxury accommodation.
Long, leisurely lunches showcasing seasonal and regional produce herald the start of the
Festival on Friday 2 March, with the Regional World’s Longest Lunch – High Country
celebrating five wine regions and their chefs (Pizzini Wines, Whitfield).
In celebration of the Festival’s 20th anniversary, celebrated winemaker Rick Kinzbrunner will
host 20 Years of Giaconda, offering wine lovers an unprecedented tasting of the last 20
vintages of Giaconda wines over a five-course dinner featuring local and foraged produce
(Gigi’s of Beechworth, Beechworth).
BYO tomatoes to join in cooking authentic pomodora sugo, adding chillies, basil, onions and
garlic from the Villa garden, at the Villa Gusto Sugo Festa (Villa Gusto, Buckland). Get handson
elsewhere with the Three Nonnas in King Valley (King Valley Cucina, Whitfield), or try
your hand at making artisan cheese or bread at the new Centre for Culinary Excellence
(Milawa Cheese Factory, Milawa).
Those with an appetite for adventure can join the Cattleman’s Culinary Adventure to horseride
through legendary Mansfield High Country then indulge in a picnic of local produce and
wine (Watson’s Mountain Country Trail Rides, Mansfield). Or, Hike, Tour and Taste in the
picturesque King Valley before joining the Dal Zotto family for a leisurely lunch (Dal Zotto
Winery, Whitfield).
For the ultimate meet-the-maker experience, join one of two intimate, behind-the-scenes
weekend tours. Book Provenance’s Origins event to stay at the luxury suites behind the
two-hatted restaurant in Beechworth, visit local producers and winemakers, and enjoy a
private dinner created by Michael Ryan. Or, join the High Country Food & Wine Tour, which
includes the Regional World’s Longest Lunch at Pizzini Wines, private tastings with gourmet
producers and winemakers, dining at Provenance and Simone’s of Bright, and local insights
from special guest tour guide Patrizia Simone.
With March being the perfect time to dine alfresco, the High Country program includes a
progressive lunch with wines sourced from the surrounding vines, Taste of Two Vineyards
(Brown Brothers Milawa Vineyard, Milawa); an intimate dinner for 12 on the terrace at
Boynton’s Feathertop Winery prepared by head chef Eddie Huynh, Degustation at Dusk
(Porepunkah); and the large-scale celebration of Rutherglen’s winemakers and local
producers, Tastes of Rutherglen.
The ultimate food and wine experience awaits your arrival in the High Country during the
20th Melbourne Food and Wine Festival – plan your weekend away and book now.
The full program of High Country events can be found at: www.melbournefoodandwine.com.au
20th Melbourne Food and Wine Festival
High Country program 2 – 18 March 2012
On sale 2 December
Approximate drive times:
From Melbourne: 1.5hr – 3 hrs
From Canberra: 3.5hrs– 5hrs
From Sydney: 6.5hrs – 8hrs
By train:
VLine train services runs from Melbourne to Albury/Wodonga, stopping at Benalla,
Wangaratta and Chiltern. www.vline.com.au or 136 196
By air:
Direct flights operate from Canberra, Sydney and Melbourne to Albury Airport (approx. 30
mins drive from Rutherglen)
Media contact:
Sally Brown
Public Relations Manager
North East Victoria Tourism Board Inc
Ph 03 5728 2773 | Mob 0410 635 680 | sally.brown@nevtb.com.au