WHETHER it was rain, storms or shine across the weekend in the King Valley, an eccentric La Dolce Vita Food and Wine Festival has winemakers bubbling for the festive season.
An estimated 3000 patrons across the state swarmed to nine participating wineries spread between Oxley and Cheshunt throughout the weekend festival, which was kickstarted on Friday night.
Natalie Pizzini of Pizzini Wines said Saturday’s festival atmosphere was at levels she hadn’t seen since pre-COVID installments of the event.
“We felt were going to be quite busy leading into the weekend, but we were busier than expected on Saturday,” she said.
“By 12pm some of the operators had already ran out of their allocation of wine glasses and tickets, so we had to frantically go get them more.
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“The energy among all of the venues made operators feel really optimistic and happy.”
Wineries from Brown Brothers, John Gehrig Wines, King River Estate, La Cantina, Darling Estate, Dal Zotto, Pizzini, Politini and Sambar Hills welcomed festivalgoers to live entertainment and feasts and wine iconic to the valley.
Ms Pizzini said around 2000 people came through the King Valley on Saturday alone, which was at least 500 up on Saturday ticket sales last year.
“It was really exciting to see a lot of people from the region bringing their family and friends up, from Albury-Wodonga to Mansfield, there were a lot of locals taking advantage of what’s in their backyard,” she said.
While the Sunday morning storms threw a spanner in the works, Wines of the King Valley president Dean Cleave-Smith said wineries remained open and created their own unique twist to keep the atmosphere a buzz.
“Down at Brown Brothers they were giving out ponchos if you wanted to dance in the rain, it certainly added a bit of colour,” he said.
“All venues did a tremendous amount of work early in the morning to move things undercover or indoors when they can.
“A number of venues received quite a number of calls from people confirming if they would be open and have their lunch menus on, so I think there was still a lot of interest from guest and visitors to get out into the valley.”
Grace Darling of Darling Estate Wines said the winery’s setting made for a picture perfect scene to Saturday’s thirsty weather.
“Our very first Sangiovese launched this weekend and that was our best seller of the day, along with our new release rose’,” she said.
“I think we should have a few people cozy in for a homemade sausage and a glass of red wine today [Sunday].”
Mr Cleave-Smith echoed the excitement shown from all King Valley wineries on Saturday.
“It was absolutely perfect weather, all nine venues offered their unique take on the event, it was awesome,” he said.
Ms Pizzini said she has been filled with confidence on the back of the festival that King Valley wines would flourish into the festive season, building on the momentum of Saturday’s big turnover.
“At a time when everyone has been dealing with cost-of-living pressures, it was great for each of us to see so many people out and about,” she said.
“It has been really hard for the industry over the past six months or so… people have been pulling in their belts when it comes to discretionary spend and wine is a discretionary spend.
“But after seeing the energy that was felt yesterday, it’s made me feel really confident and excited we’ll have more visitors through the Christmas festive period because of the awareness the festival has built to wine in the region.”
