The Best Things to Do During Aussie Wine Month If You're Near Melbourne

If an indulgent Italian feast is on your agenda, look no further than the Three Italians lunch in the King Valley. As the name explicitly states, the event will be an Italian smorgasbord, a celebration of the big Italian three — wine, food and opera. The frivolities kick off with Prosecco and canapés on the lawn, and it only gets better from there. Held outside on at the Pizzini Wines estate in Whitfield, Adam Pizzini of Casa Cucina in Wangaratta will prepare a four-course lunch using local produce and Italian wines. All the while, operatic duo Catherine Pendelich and Céd Le Mélédo will fill the country air with sweet music. Have you ever heard of anything more enchanting?

If there’s a greater joy in life than strolling through gentle hills intermittently snacking on wine and cheese, we don’t want to know. The Morning Peninsula Winery Walk is a morning walk along a historic railway. First stop: Red Hill Epicurean for some sparkling wine and a bite to eat. Then you’ll be stopping in at Paringa Estate and Willow Creek Wines for a drop of Chardonnay and some canapés. Then push onto a private vineyard to try some Allie’s Wines Pinot and some Red Hill Cheese produce. If you can possibly fit more food and wine in, you’ll head down to Merricks General Wine Store and then jump on a bus back to Lindenberry, happy and full. At $25, this might be one of the best value events in the whole festival.

It may be a little bit gimmicky, but something about the combination of wine and 75-year-old steam locomotive is strangely enticing. Oh, the possibilities it represents! Taylors Wines are putting on this wacky little event in the Mornington Peninsula, in an effort to fundraise for Mornington Railway. After you jump aboard the old train, you’ll be treated to wine tastings and education, cheese platters and raffles. You know, all the things you would absolutely expect from a vintage train ride. Just so you know, the dress-up theme is steam punk.

As if the Grampians aren’t already the most beautiful corner of Victoria, the first weekend of May they’re also flooded with food and wine. The Grampians Grape Escape, Australia’s longest running food festival, is on from May 6 to 7. Over the weekend, see cooking demonstrations from ex-Masterchef contestant and thriving TV chef Adam Liaw, and Kate Ferguson, winner of Adriana Zumbo’s television show Just Desserts. There will be over 100 stalls dedicated to the best artisanal food and wine from the region for you to wander through while you’re serenaded by a lineup of local artists. Prepare for taste tests a-plenty amongst the glorious splendour of the Grampians sandstone ridges and rolling bushland.

There’s something so romantic about cooking food on a campfire. Something dreamy and primal about watching marshmallows blacken, and then walking away smelling like smoke for days. If smoky food and fire-starting is your jam, this class, part of the High Country Harvest program, is a must-do. You’ll learn to cook campfires basics (sorry ‘mallows — you don’t cut it anymore) and some more exotic dishes. Expect wine and local produce, and to be crowned king of the campsite every camping trip for the rest of your life. Once the learning is over, sit back and chow down on a hearty campfire lunch.

You may know Guy Grossi from his Italian cuisine empire (which includes Grossi Florentino), but if you’d like to get to know his food a little better, book a ticket to his Aussie Wine Month event on May 20. He’ll be teaming up with Yering Station‘s Maxime Croiset to curate and cook a completely unique, intimate five-course lunch. They’ll each be bringing their own style to the table as well as collaborating on a couple of dishes. Canapés and matching Yering Station wines will flow freely and, best of all, all proceeds will be donated to the Children’s Cancer Foundation. Charity has never been so delicious.

Yarra Valley winemakers Giant Steps are pairing up with French-inspired gastro pub L’Hotel Gitan to throw one of the fanciest dinners in the Aussie Wine Month rotation. Within the intimate and elegant Alfie’s Bar (a function space within the Prahan-based L’Hotel Gitan), chef Jacques Reymond will serve up a four-course French feast. Giant Steps will pair the meal with an immaculate wine list curated by their chief winemaker Steve Flamsteed, who will school you on wine tasting as you drink.

Follow @aussiewinemonth on Instagram and post a photo of your best Aussie Wine Month moment for your chance to win a food and wine holiday in Tasmania — visits to Mona and Moorilla included.