There’s nothing really new about Australia’s newest wine lover’s destination in the Victorian highlands. In fact, King Valley vintners have been established there for generations and their wines are amongst Australia’s most popular and highly acclaimed. What is new is the concerted effort the wine makers have made to put their wineries on the map. Move over Barossa Valley and the Hunter Valley: there’s a new contender for best wine touring region in Australia.
In 2000, King Valley vintner Otto Dal Zotto, inspired by nostalgic memories of his youth spent in the beautiful Valdobbiadene wine growing area of northern Italy, decided to plant the vines that put his home on the map. The climate and soil in King Valley were ideal for prosecco and Zotto’s neighbors soon added prosecco to their already extensive list of fine wines.
Australian prosecco became an immediate hit in Australia and so the winemakers got together and created the King Valley Prosecco Road in 2011. Some 385 miles from Sydney and only a little over 150 miles from Melbourne, that doesn’t stop equal numbers of wine lovers from pouring in to explore the wineries of King Valley and its magnificent surrounding countryside.
The Hume Highway is the main artery between Sydney and Melbourne. The small town of Wangaratta (pop. 17,000) is the regional centre of the rich surrounding agricultural regions and marks the turn-off point for the Prosecco Road. It’s not as if this area was off the tourist radar before the recent establishment of the Prosecco Road, though. As the gateway to some of the best ski country in Australia and home of the popular Wangaratta Jazz Festival, Wangaratta is well-known to Australian travelers.
Roughly 8 miles south of Wangaratta, your tour of the Prosecco Road may begin at the Brown Bros. winery in Milawa. You can do this casually or make a real occasion of it by joining in on a helicopter ride to Brown Bros. Banksdale winery, where you will sample prosecco infused canapés and, of course, a glass or two of prosecco.
From Milawa, you can move on to the Sam Miranda vineyard in Oxley and from there to Dal Zotto’s vineyard in Whitfield for a game of bocce and, of course, another wine tasting. So far, you’ve only had a taste (or two) of what’s on offer in King Valley, so it’s probably time to retire to your Wangaratta or King Valley accommodation and rest up for another hard day of sightseeing, eating and wine tasting.
The next day, you may want to visit the Chrismont Winery and go for a tour of the vineyards and facilities with the resident winemaker or go to the Ciccone Estate and have a chauffeur driven tour. Then again, you may want to give wine tasting a break for awhile and rent a mountain bike and take one of the many wonderful bike routes that crisscross King Valley.
If you’ve ever longed to visit northern Italy or wish you could make a return visit, do as Italian migrants did in the 19th century and go to the vineyards of King Valley. Everyone comments on how remarkably similar the areas are and some of the locals still speak their native language. For that matter, visit King Valley for its own sake: it’s a beautiful part of the world and the gateway to even more wonderful Australian scenic attractions in the Victorian Alps.
Bed and Breakfasts are amongst the most popular type of accommodation available in the wine touring regions of Australia. If you live around the Sydney area there is some great Hunter Valley Bed and Breakfast options to choose from for a romantic weekend away.
As far as weekend trips are concerned, the beautiful Hunter Valley in New South Wales, Australia, has everything it takes for a perfect getaway. Plus, it’s only 2 hours north by car from Sydney, making it accessible to tourists from all over the world. In fact, every year, 2.5 million people visit the area to take advantage of the winery tours, hot air balloon, and many other attractions the Hunter Valley has to offer.