The rise and rise of Prosecco in Australia

In the beautiful Prosecco region, in the hills of the Veneto overlooking Venice, they make sparkling wines that are even more popular than those of Champagne. 

Prosecco is all the rage right now because its wines are all about freshness and immediate drinkability. 

Prosecco is often enjoyed as a spritz (mixed with aperol or campari) or with peach juice, as part of the classic Bellini cocktail. It is usually made from the indigenous glera grape (itself sometimes known as prosecco), although other varieties are allowed. 

Prosecco is largely produced using the charmat method, in which secondary fermentation takes place in stainless steel tanks. This makes the wine cheaper to produce, and has resulted in a global explosion of interest.

There is a long history of winemaking in the Veneto, dating back to Roman times, while prosecco in Australia is a relative newcomer, albeit a very successful one - and a cause of much angst to Italian producers, 

Tucked away in a quiet corner in the high country of north-east Victoria, the King Valley is a little slice of Italy Down Under (you might have spotted it featured on Masterchef). 

The Dal Zotto family's prosecco vines

This region was once tobacco country, but over the past 40 years it has become renowned for producing wines made from alternative grape varieties, many of them crafted by Italian families who have lived in the region for generations and who welcome visitors to their rustic cellar doors.

The Dal Zotto family has a rich Italian heritage and pioneered prosecco in Australia.

Family patriarch Otto Dal Zotto was born in Valdobbiadene in the Veneto, home of Italy’s favourite sparkling wine. He migrated to Australia in 1967 and the Dal Zottos produced Australia’s first commercial prosecco. 

“Across our vineyards, the result for us is that it is the perfect place to grow and make not 
only the varieties that wine lovers are very familiar with (such as riesling, chardonnay, 
cabernet sauvignon, merlot and shiraz) but also indulge our passion for exploring 
innovation with Italian varieties,” he says.

A second generation of Dal Zottos has joined Otto and wife Elena with sons Michael as 
winemaker and Christian as marketing manager.

Otto Dal Zotto walks in his vineyard

Since the first plantings in 2000, other King Valley winemakers have followed suit - Brown Brothers, Chrismont, Pizzini (below), Ciccone and Sam Miranda.

In 2011, all six joined forces to create an exciting new food and wine trail especially for lovers of the sparkling Italian white. 

Intimate tastings with the makers, savouring rustic Italian cuisine and conversations over a game of bocce, are all part of a trip along the King Valley Prosecco Road. 

And there is not likely to be any change to the name any time soon. 

"Prosecco is a grape variety and Australian producers can use that name for wines sold in Australia and other non-EU markets, as long as the wine is made from those grapes,” says Steve Guy from the Australian Wine and Grape Authority.

"But any Australian producer looking to export prosecco to the EU must label their wine as glera."

For details visit www.kingvalleyproseccoroad.com.au.

Jacob's Creek, Yellowglen and other leading producers are also now making prosecco - bringing the total to 30 or more Australian producers. 

Learning how to cook in authentic Thai style

It is early in the morning and we are the only farang faces to be seen at Thalang fresh food market (or Talaad Sod), which is a riot of colour and movement. We are pushing and prodding at baby eggplants determining which will be best for the Thai green chicken curry we will later be creating from scratch. 

Chef Ann (Arunrat Chaipakdee to give her her full name) guides us through the same experience with string beans, bok choy and  papaya. Everything must be fresh, crisp and shiny, or it gets rejected out of hand. All the vegetables, fruits and spices are chosen for the day's menu after discussion with the stallholders. 

Ann says she loves the market because the produce on sale is usually fresher than in supermarkets and cheaper, too.

Later we head back to the purpose-built Moo's Kitchen cooking school at the Indigo Pearl resort in Phuket, blessed with all the latest high-tech equipment, where we create dishes including a spicy green papaya salad, green coconut curry chicken, stir-fried egg noodles with seafood and deep-fried banana Thai style. 

Along the way we will learn how to slice and dice in the correct way, and how proper preparation is the key to success in the kitchen. And once we have finished cooking our four-course feast we are able to enjoy eating it before being granted a certificate for “passing” the cooking test. 

I have “earned” similar certificates before, but after all I have learned over the past few hours I actually feel like I gained both knowledge and skills that I will be able to use in the future – including slicing a papaya without doing myself grievous bodily harm.

Ann has had over a decade cooking in the kitchens at Indigo Pearl and is funny as well as being a great teacher. She seems to take genuine pleasure in her pupils' progress.  

Across the water in Koh Lanta, the Crown Lanta resort offers a similarly instructive, although slightly more rustic, experience. 

Chef Boy is from Issan in the north-east of the country but he cooks largely southern Thai 
specialities “although not too spicy” - making him one of the few Thais I've met with an aversion to heat. 

The chef takes us to the local Saladan street markets, pointing out what is fresh – and what should be avoided (some of the chicken pieces look a little tired, he decides). 

We drop into the nearby village of Sang Ga U, home of the sea gypsy fishermen who provide the resort – and much of the island – with ultra-fresh fish and crustaceans (mainly squid, shrimp and crab) caught from their flimsy-looking one- or two-man wooden boats. 

“We have been doing this for generations,” one of the fishermen tells me.  

Back at the resort the cooking school experience is an al fresco one – on the deck next to the resort's The Peak restaurant. A mobile kitchen is quickly put together – ingredients assembled and we are off. 

On the menu here are king prawn spring rolls, poh tak (a spicy seafood soup with holy basil), and the ubiquitous pad Thai (fried noodles with seafood). 

Chef Boy encourages experimentation – if you want to divert away from the recipes by adding maybe a little more chilli, or less tamarind juice, that is up to you. You will be the one eating the finished dishes. 

Over the two days at these two schools I reacquainted myself with a mortar and pestle (sauces do not taste as good unless they have been hand ground, Moo insists), and learned how important it is to add the correct ingredients at exactly the right time.

It sounds basic but its a revelation for someone who cooks instinctively, if at all. Those recipe cards I was given at both cooking schools will come in handy. 

Virtually everywhere you go in Thailand you'll find great beaches, fabulous food and plenty of smiles - but these two resorts offer not only hands-on cooking classes, but a whole lot more gourmet and relaxation options.

Indigo Pearl, Nai Yang Beach, Phuket, Thailand. +66 76 327 006. www.indigo-pearl.com.

Crown Lanta Resort & Spa, 315 Moo 1, Saladan, Koh Lanta, Krabi, 81150 Thailand. +66 75 626 999. www.crownlanta.com. 

GETTING THERE 

AirAsia X, together with AirAsia, links 100 destinations across 23 countries including five flights daily to Phuket and three daily to Krabi from Sydney via Kuala Lumpur. The flights are at budget prices but travellers can choose from Premium and Quiet Zone seats and the airline recently introduced a very comfortable business class zone. www.airasia.com. 

# This is an abridged version of a story that appears in the current edition of Nourish magazine. www.naturalhealthmag.com.au/nourish

Cygnet on a Sunday: Market time

Cygnet is small town in Tasmania; around a 40-minute drive south of Hobart.

It holds a produce market on the first and third Sundays of each month (10am-2pm); centred on the Town Hall but also in the car park opposite and along the main street. 

You'll find everything from fresh fruit and vegetables to local mussels, fresh bread and cakes; preserves, arts and crafts and often goods made from local wood.

Cygnet is an arty community with several cafés where you can seek refreshments after enjoying the market.   

There is always live entertainment and a friendly atmosphere. I took my iPhone along this morning in an attempt to capture the vibe.

Alex sells organic vegetables

 

Busker Uncle Pete entertains 

Mr Abbott is not popular 

Donuts are a recent addition

Something for the ladies

Cam's sourdough breads are always popular

A nice little bed and breakfast in a small town in Tasmania

Port Sorell is a small holiday town on the north-west coast of Tasmania.  

To call it sleepy would be fair and accurate. 

It is on the waterway of the same name, just off Bass Strait, 20 kilometres east of Devonport and close to Shearwater and Hawley Beach. It is popular with bird watchers because of the large numbers of wading birds, particularly pied oystercatchers.

It was not birds that drew me to Port Sorell, however, but the launch of the new Hundred Acres cooking school and tasting room at the hugely impressive Ghost Rock winery complex just a couple of clicks down the road. 

Port Sorell is close to several gourmet destinations including Anvers Chocolates at Latrobe, Seven Sheds Brewery at Railton, Ashgrove Cheese and Christmas Hills Raspberry Farm at Elizabeth Town and Forty One Degrees South Salmon & Ginseng Farm.  

In addition to Ghost Rock (about which more in a later blog) there are also the Barringwood and Blue Penguin wineries. 

Port Sorell is also a good base for those catching the the Spirit of Tasmania ferry to or from the mainland from Devonport and for those doing the Cradle to Coast Gourmet Trail. 

It is also well within "day trip distance" of Leven Canyon, Gunns Plains, Penguin, Burnie, Boat Harbour, the "Nut" at Stanley, Cradle Mountain and the Tamar Valley. 

With Ghost Rock and the Tamar Valley Wine Route on my agenda, I found myself at Sails on Port Sorell, a lovely little bed and breakfast with well equipped apartments in a suburban street just a short stroll from the water. 

Travelling solo, I booked the colourfully-decorated Dolphin Suite, which ticked all my boxes when it comes to affordable accommodation.

There was a comfortable bed with electric blanket (necessary in Tasmania in winter), an effective heater, TV, free wifi, complimentary breakfast provisions, a kitchenette with hotplates, microwave and toaster, plunger coffee and chocolates, a DVD player and CD player (with a movie library at reception) and a barbecue area. 

The bathroom had plenty of hot water and big, if not huge, towels. 

Sails offers a choice between self-contained studio apartments such as the one I was in, and two-bedroom family villas. The owners are extremely friendly and very knowledgeable about local attractions. The off-street parking is also a plus.  

I paid an internet rate of $125 per night which I felt extremely reasonable for quiet and comfortable lodgings.

Sails on Port Sorell, 54 Rice Street, Port Sorell, Tasmania. 
03 6248 7580. www.sailsonportsorell.com.au 

Brian Freeman: a vigneron who enjoys a challenge

Dr Brian Freeman likes to do things differently.

For a start, his vineyards are in the Hilltops region outside the town of Young in rural New South Wales. “A lot of people have never heard of he Hilltops,” he says with a smile.

Secondly his flagship Secco wine is made from rondinella and corvina grapes, virtually unknown outside of Valpolicella, classically used to make Amarone wines in the Veneto, and the only mature plantings in Australia.

He also likes to dry a portion of the grapes to concentrate flavours, as per the Italian ripasso method, to produce reds of intensity, structure and elegance.

Freeman, the former professor of wine science at Charles Sturt University, has an eclectic range. 

The Secco is the star but there is is also an outstanding creamy and textural 2014 Prosecco ($25), the first release, the pale and savoury 2013 Rondo rosé ($22), also made from rondinella grapes, and a delicious botrytised sweet wine called Dolcino ($25, 375ml), made from viognier grapes.

The Freeman portfolio also includes a cabernet sauvignon and a shiraz (both varieties thrive in the cool Hilltops), as well as a tempranillo (all around $25) and an intriguing, dry, savoury white wine labelled Fortuna Pinot Gris Plus, a blend of gris, riesling, chardonnay, sauvignon blanc and Italian variety aleatico. The style is inspired by the field blends of Italy's Alto Adige region.

Freeman, whose motto is “dare to be different”, dries some of his grapes for Secco in an old prune dehydrator, eliminating any risk of unwanted botrytis.

Overall, he has 103 hectares of vines but sells most of his fruit, much of it to Hunter Valley wineries for blending. He first planted rondinella and corvina in 1998 and released his first Secco in 2002.

Freeman describes himself as having “a small winery and a large vineyard” and the Hilltops is a region with immense potential sitting at 500-600 metres above sea level with very cool nights. 

He is snapping up more vineyards such is his belief in the district's future, although he only currently only uses 5 per cent of the fruit for his own label. 

Freeman 2010 Secco Rondinella Corvina $36

A very different style; but extremely rewarding for those willing to take the plunge into the unknown. Dark and inky with 14.5 per cent alcohol; it is no shrinking violet but this Amarone-inspired blend – from fruit harvested in May – is more about structure than power and is medium-bodied and flavoursome with savoury sous bois notes along with the dark fruit, soft oak and relaxed tannins. A wine that blossoms with food, so pair it with a game ragu and pasta.   

1. Freeman Vineyards
2. Prunevale, NSW 2587 
3. (02) 6384 4299
4. www.freemanvineyards.com.au 

A three-star Michelin restaurant that is well worth the journey

Under the Michelin star rating system three stars (***) means: "Exceptional cuisine and worth the journey." 

There are only two three-star Michelin establishments in Macau, remarkably both of them under the same roof: at the plush Grand Lisboa Hotel. 

Robuchon au Dome, is the Macau outpost of legendary French chef Joel Robuchon, while The Eight is a modern Chinese eatery that has had three Michelin stars for the past two years. 

It is a dramatic space. Think silk and wood and multiple uses of fish symbols and the number eight, considered the luckiest number in Chinese culture. 

The Food at The Eight is both beautiful and fascinating - and considered among the finest in Asia. This beautifully decorated room serves Cantonese cuisine and over fifty different types of dim sum.

The one dish you must sample is the goldfish. Not really a goldfish, although it looks disturbingly lifelike, but a delicate and delicious dumpling containing Crystal Blue shrimp. 

Other starters we enjoyed included puff pastry with river shrimp, a beautiful baked tartlet with crab meat, a shrimp spring roll, a porcupine-shaped pork bun with preserved vegetables and some mouth-watering barbecued pork. 

This was followed by a standout dish of shredded chicken with crisp skin and pomelo in a honey and lime sauce. 

Sweet and sour spare ribs came next, then steamed bean curd pockets and finally (although I was too full to partake and disapprove of the use of shark fin), a steamed whole crab and shrimps with stewed rice and shark fine serve in a Lotus leaf - one of the signature dishes of chef Au Kwok Keung.

There is a degustation menu featuring dishes like pan-fried sliced A5 Kagoshima Beef Rolled with Watercress paired with Château Sociando-Mallet, and stir-fried lobster with egg, minced pork and black bean sauce with Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese from Joh. Jos. Prüm in the Mosel, 

Alternatively choose from al a carte dishes like chilled marinated jelly fish head with vintage black vinegar, or maybe poached pigeon in homemade soya sauce. Or maybe roasted goose stuffed with wild mushrooms. There's even a whole suckling pig, should you have a large and hungry group of diners. 

And the cost? Well, if you have lunch with green tea, rather than wine, you can probably escape for around $100 per head. You'd struggle to find many three-star Michelin eateries that affordable. But, of course, you can pay a lot more. 

But what about the wine, I hear you ask? Well The Eight shares a wine cellar with over 14,900 labels with the 13 other restaurants in the hotel complex, including two others, The Kitchen and Don Alfonso 1890, with Michelin stars.

There is even a whole suckling pig, should you have a particularly large and hungry group of diners. 

The Eight, 2nd floor, Grand Lisboa Building, Avenida de Lisboa, Macau. 
+853 2828 3838. www.grandlisboa.com

# The writer was a guest of the Macau Government Tourist Office and travelled to Hong Kong with Cathay Pacific, which has over 70 flights a week from six major Australian cities. www.cathaypacific.com.au.