Event: Australia

King Valley La Dolce Vita

When:	Nov 2008 (annual)
Where:	Whitfield
Costs:	A$10 tasting fee (includes souvenir wine glass)

The King Valley La Dolce Vita celebrates the produce for which the valley has become famous for over the last 30 years.

One of the highlights of the festival is the Shed Wine Show. Members of the public can vote in a series of wine categories after copious tasting opportunities. There are also food and wine stalls, live music, craft stalls, an art prize, craft competitions, a flower show and a children's art display.

In the 1970s King Valley was given over to tobacco plantations that ran from the Whitlands in the highest part down to the plains of the wine area, Wangaratta. Brown Brothers' Milawa Vineyard and John Gehrig Wines' Oxley are just two of the many wineries that source their fruit from this area. Brown Brothers spearheaded the planting of the vines as early as the 1970s. There are now as many as 30 wine companies operating in the area. The vines are mostly Rhine Riesling.

The landowners are for the most part Sicilians and they see the festival as a prime opportunity to share their delicious Sicilian cuisine. It is hard not to be tempted by the vast array of wines and Italian treats on offer.