Best places to eat in the King Valley
Whether it’s a platter and prosecco, gourmet pub grub or Sicilian fare with soaring views, it’s easy to eat like a king around the King Valley.
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King Valley is now the fastest-growing region for wine tourism in Australia, with visitation up 141 per cent on last year with wine lovers drawn to both the natural beauty and the quality of the Italian varietals – spearheaded by prosecco – made in the region.
Known as Prosecco Road, many of the areas’s family owned wineries can be visited as part of a two-day itinerary of discovery with activities including yoga in the vines also on offer.
Hiring an e-bike for a day’s adventure is the perfect way to get to know the area and all that exploring will work up quite the hunger.
Here are the top spots to eat around the King Valley.
CHRISMONT
With its sweeping views across the King Valley, Christmont is the shining jewel of the region’s cellar doors where Arnie and Jo Pizzini pour tastes of their acclaimed wines and serve a menu that draws on Jo’s Sicilian background. The marinated octopus salad and pappardelle with three-day ragu topped with stracciatella are two highlights on the current spring menu.
DAL ZOTTO
Whether it’s an antipasto platter groaning with good stuff – frittata and salumi and polpetti and bruschetta – a terrific pizza topped with Otto’s porchetta or knockout gnocchi alla Romana, Dal Zotto’s humble trattoria offers fare with real flair.
SAM MIRANDA
Come for the prosecco, of course, but stay for the tiramisu that’s as good as you’ll find anywhere. Beforehand, a Prosecco Road platter of meats and cheese sourced from within 50 clicks is grazing done with style.
BROWN BROTHERS
Chef Bodee Price is serving elevated fare at acclaimed Patricia’s Restaurant. His artful Australian plates include wallaby tartare with black garlic, and kangaroo with beetroots and rhubarb that are executed with style and class. Three courses with matched wines for less than $100 a head tastes even sweeter.
A new prosecco brunch features the range of prosecco to taste alongside Milawa cheeses, terrines and freshly baked pastries offered out on the terrace.
POLITINI
Could the best cannoli this side of Sicily be found in the King Valley? At Politini Nonna Josie is happy to share her secrets to the best-ever cannoli you’re likely to try in DIY classes at the cellar door. Salumi and salsicce making is also offered most weekends in July and August each year.
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PIZZINI
Pastries and puds, pasta and gnocchi, pizza and porchetta and sausages and more. Join Katrina Pizzini at the A Tavola cooking school at Pizzini for hands-on how-to classes variously covering these classic dishes and techniques in the commercial kitchen. Sitting down to taste your handiwork with a glass or two makes for a great day.
MOUNTAIN VIEW HOTEL
With a knockout beer garden when the weather’s fine – and cosy rooms inside for when it’s not – the Mountain View puts the gourmet grub into pub. A terrific local steak and a bottle of something from the cellar has all the hallmarks of a great night out.