Livin' La Dolce Vita - Day 2

After enjoying an energy packed plate of bacon and eggs on the sunny Sunday morning, we headed south down the King Valley Hwy to pick up where we left off.

La Cantina
It was shaping up to be another hot day and I got to ride shotgun next to Andrea for the first leg. Our first stop was the stunning cellar door of La Cantina made of Glenrowan granite. The range of preservative-free wines was very popular and I took home no less than 10 bottles (my rule is now to buy at least 2 bottles of a wine I like, this way I'll be less reluctant to drink it!) A market meandered through the garden and I picked up a cute white trilby for the princely sum of $13. One thing that has struck me about each winery we visited is just how lush and green the grass is everywhere, I guess their water restrictions aren't as restrictive as ours in Melbourne.

Gracebrook
This place is simply amazing. The main building takes it's cue from the 110 year old stables on the site, and large doors spill out onto a vast raised wooden deck, tables and the band were up here for the festival. Descending the stairs onto the lawn, the tasting table was set up in a shady spot under an old tree, we selected a bottle of their Savingin and ordered a couple of scrumptios platters, enjoying morning tea under the shade of a marquee.

Beautiful spot for a wedding don't you think?

After a splash under the sprinklers, we swapped shotguns and were on our way...

Too pretty to eat? Nope.

Dal Zotto

EVERYONE was looking forward to this stop. Once again there was a fabulous shaded area to put our feet up after tasting was done and selections were made. This is where our Captain got really lucky!

There were helicopter joy flights running which offered great views through the valley and everyone put in for his ride as a thank you for driving us all around. When I raced over to book him in I ended up joining him - just check out these views...

Overlooking the King Valley

The gang at Dal Zotto

Pizzini

Dal Zotto had on offer gorgeous little Prosecco 'Bambino's' and everyone enjoyed a couple of cocktails while waiting for us to return to earth...

Pizzini
Saving the best for last? Well I couldn't possibly choose my favourite stop on this road trip but Pizzini was where we ended the adventure. I found myself in the tasting room for an hour and a half - and I even got to experience the $110 Rubacouri Sangiovese - a rare treat. Well because I lingered, I missed out on lunch but found everyone shading themselves under umbrellas - enjoying the live music by Maurice Milani. Before long we were all up, shoes off dancing the afternoon away on that soft lawn. Well, all but one. The Captain was pretty comfortable minding the seats and tucking into custard-filled profiteroles.

 

Salute!

Things were a bit quiet on the way home - always the sign of a good weekend. Even though I missed the Gnocchi rolling competition I just absolutely had a BALL this weekend, what a great bunch of people to go away with! Plans are now in motion for a Brewery Road Trip for our Captain - let's give him the weekend off!

A BIG thank you to Kat and Matt for taking all these fine pictures of the weekend x