King Valley Love Part 4 - Lindenwarrah and Milawa Cheese Company

King Valley Love
M rating, 91 min, Drama, Thriller, Action, 8 Oct 2013 (AUS)

Plot
Undercover agent Thanh Do is a bright and capable agent and has been sent to infiltrate a group of food lover on a trip to the King Valley. There has been a tip off that a mafia run counterfeit ring has been set up in the King Valley to sell cheaper Prosecco in place of the quality product made in the area. The whistleblower has indicated that an upcoming trip with an group of food lovers touring the area is actually a scouting mission to find new locations to sell the fake goods. Agent Do has been tasked with flushing out the criminals and breaking up this crime syndicate. Agent Do must realistically embed himself into the world of food and wine in order to not be found out. As Agent Do gets closer to others in the group, the developing relationships start to impede his judgement, which may ultimately result in his demise.

Read part 1 of the King Valley Love saga about Brown Brothers Winery and Jessie's Creek B&B here.

Read part 2 of the King Valley Love saga about Pizzini Wines, King Valley Premium Beef and Mountain View Hotel here.

Read part 3 of the King Valley Love saga about Politini Wines, Gracebrook Vineyards and Dal Zotto Wines here.

We started to drive home when the rain really started to get harder. However, the short trip to our accommodations was easily achieved and we were safely tucked into our beds to sleep off our Prosecco indulgences.

Day 4

On the final day, it was time to pack up bags and go to our final destination for this trip, Lindenwarrah at Milawa. This was a short drive away from our accommodation and back towards where Brown Brothers was and where we had all parked our car. We arrived at the Brown Brothers car park and drove our cars over to Lindenwarrah for brunch. We sat down at the outdoors tables in the courtyard of the hotel and looked at the magnificent vineyards. It was such a welcoming place and I felt instantly relaxed, but knew that I still had to investigate Melissa, my final suspect.

We started the brunch with some freshly squeezed juice, porridge, yoghurt and pastries. Everything was delicious and I tried my best not to eat to much. I was watching Melissa the whole time during breakfast and noticed she was making a lot of phone calls all morning. I could overhear occasional words of "I'll see you soon", "yep I'm looking forward to the wines", "Let's find a way to make this happen".

We moved onto the main dishes and they all looked so enticing. I opted for the Big Breakfast, with an extra side of prosciutto. Everything on my plate was executed perfectly and tasted great. Others had varying dishes of pancakes, corn fritters and gluten free options even and it was all excellent.

When we finished brunch, everyone walked away from the table to take a tour of the gardens. I noticed that Melissa left her phone. I picked it up and quickly jotted down the last three numbers she had called. I then quickly ran to catch up with the rest of the group for the hotel tour. We went through the rooms and they were all really nice and big. The balconies on each room overlooking the vineyards were spectacular. The common lounge areas were so comfortable and you could just read your book there all day. Lastly the pool was an oasis of calm. Hopefully the next time will be on a nice relaxing holiday rather than this undercover work.

With the tour of the hotel completed, we all bid our farewells and got into our cars to drive home. It was a great trip but I had failed in my assignment. While I had ruled nearly all of the suspects out, I had not found the Prosecco counterfeiting criminal. My suspicion was still on Melissa and I would need to follow her movements when I got back to headquarters. While I was in Milawa, I decided to head to the Milawa Cheese Company with Ashley to obtain some cheese. I had tasted a number of their cheeses on this trip and been very impressed. When we got to the Cheese Company, we each bought a few cheese to take home. We bid each other farewell and off we went on our separate ways.

I got into my car and started to drive home. I looked at the three mobile numbers I got off Melissa's phone. I dialed the first number. A childcare administrator picked up the phone. She must have been ringing about her children. The next number I rang was answered by a staff at Dal Zotto Wines. She must have been going to pick up some Dal Zotto Prosecco afterwards. They are really good wines. The last number I rang, it continued to ring. I saw that there was a truck that seems to have broken down on the road and had blocked traffic. The driver was about to get out of the truck and I was about to get out of my car to help them get the truck up and running so I could drive home. Suddenly, someone answered the phone. It was Emma our Bus Driver/Farmer/Tourism Representative/ and the person I sat next to and talked to all night at the party at Dal Zotto Wines. Reacting quickly I decided to talk as I liked Emma. I sat back in my car and said

Thanh: "Hi Emma, how are you? I got your number from Melissa".
Emma: "I'm good thanks".
Thanh: "I just wanted to say thank you for driving us around and also have a safe trip on your way to your in-laws house up in the mountains".
Emma: "Thanks. We are already on our way and nearly there. I hope to see you soon".
Thanh: "Same. See you soon".

I hung up the phone and was again about to get out of the car when I started to feel a bit light headed. My vision was starting to blur and the pain in my head was increasing. I was starting to lose consciousness when I saw some bright yellow high heels get out of the truck. My mind was failing to comprehend what I was seeing. My vision was really blurred but I was 100% certain I had seen those high heels before. Suddenly all the pieces were falling into place. How had I been so dumb not to see it. It was the perfect setup. An inside person producing the goods and covering all the tracks at the origin of the product and another person to help with the distribution back in the city. Also I flashed back to the party when my drink was accidentally knocked over and someone went and got me a new drink, which had a slightly funny smell to it but I didn't think too much at the time. My cover had been blown and I have been drugged. The two criminals running out the Prosecco counterfeiting syndicate had got me. While I thought I had been watching them, they had been watching me the whole time. I clearly saw the yellow high heels now and the person was walking towards me. It had been them two working in conjunction all long. With my last grasp of air I yelled out "Melissa and Emmaaaaaaaaaaaaa".

THE END

I hope you all enjoyed my summary of the King Valley trip I had the pleasure of attending. Please note, while the facts about the location, wineries, restaurants and the people are real, the whole scenario is not (I sound like Judge Judy). I made up the whole story just to make it a fun read, which I hope it was. So no, Melissa and Emma do not run a Prosecco counterfeiting crime syndicate.

The trip, as you may have seen, was filled with so many wonderful place, people, food and wine. I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Much thanks to Melissa and Ewen who looked after all of us and drove us all around. It was the ultimate sacrifice as that meant they couldn't drink too much Prosecco and wines from the region. Also a massive thank you to all the wonderful people and places who hosted us during each day. I found people in the area to be so genuine and really have a passion for what they do. And luckily, what they do tastes freaking fantastic. I urge you to visit the area as I really fell in love with it and have planned a trip back in December already. It is a stunning place and will really help you to relax and unwind. Till the next adventures of Undercover Agent Do, I urge you to keep eating good and drinking good wine.

I attended this wonderful trip courtesy of Squawk Media and the hospitality of the numerous companies of the King Valley.

King Valley Love Part 3 - Politini Wines, Gracebrook Vineyards and Dal Zotto Wines

King Valley Love
M rating, 91 min, Drama, Thriller, Action, 8 Oct 2013 (AUS)

Plot
Undercover agent Thanh Do is a bright and capable agent and has been sent to infiltrate a group of food lover on a trip to the King Valley. There has been a tip off that a mafia run counterfeit ring has been set up in the King Valley to sell cheaper Prosecco in place of the quality product made in the area. The whistleblower has indicated that an upcoming trip with an group of food lovers touring the area is actually a scouting mission to find new locations to sell the fake goods. Agent Do has been tasked with flushing out the criminals and breaking up this crime syndicate. Agent Do must realistically embed himself into the world of food and wine in order to not be found out. As Agent Do gets closer to others in the group, the developing relationships start to impede his judgement, which may ultimately result in his demise.

Read part 1 of the King Valley Love saga about Brown Brothers Winery and Jessie's Creek B&B here.

Read part 2 of the King Valley Love saga about Pizzini Wines, King Valley Premium Beef and Mountain View Hotel here.

I had reached my room when I heard an animal run across the open grassland surround the Mountain View Hotel room. I entered my room and went to sleep, thinking of all the wonderful food and wine I had consumed today.

Day 3
Day 3 started with a rude shock. I heard something beeping and looked around everywhere for my alarm clock. I was completely disoriented and stumbled out of bed. Once my senses started to return to me, I realised that the beeping was actually the calling of birds outside. It's so nice and quiet in the King Valley that you actually hear birds and they wake you up, just like a Disney fairytale. I took a nice long shower under the wonderful high pressure water at the Mountain View Hotel and walked the 100 metres across the road to meet the others at Jessie's Creed B&B.

First stop for the day was at Politini Wines, another family run winery business. Salvatore (Sam) and Giuseppina (Josie) had prepared a wonderful assortment of goodies for us to try with the wines. Josie had made cannoli and cherry biscuits, while Sam had made salami. While I was initially super excited about the cannoli, which were wonderful, it was the amazing salami that caught my attention. I asked Sam if I could buy some but unfortunately due to health and safety reasons, he couldn't sell me any. However, you can attend the salami making classes he runs as it was seriously good stuff.

While son-in-law Luis explained the varied wines, we were serenaded by Sam on the piano accordion. He skillfully played 3-4 songs while we learnt about the terroir in the winery and how it affects the wine. The Rose Sangiovese was really a highlight, light, bright and refreshing.

We also wandered next door to the winery to look at the guest house. It was beautifully decorated and really cosy. The view out the deck and French doors was so calming, of the flowers and flaming red trees. It would be a nice place to stay for a short vacation. You can then roll next door to drink wines as well. Perfect.

From Politini Wines, next stop was Gracebrook Winery for more wine and lunch. Gracebrook Winery is probably the most beautiful winery visited on this trip. The expansive vineyard is anchored by the historic cellar door, which is constructed from a 150 year old barn. Inside, aged timber beautifully surrounds you as a wood fire warms you up. Outside, there is a beautiful deck to sit on and eat and a managerie of animals to look at in the farm area around the back where strays are saved and then kept as pets. The deer is definitely not a sight you see often.

We went and sampled wines, with Rob, Ashley and Jo being the constants while the rest of us drifted in and out of the tasting. Jo's dedication to trying out all the wines on this trip showed to me that she took her writing and wines seriously, so in my mind ruled her out as a criminal who wouldn't be interested in other wines beside Prosecco.

After the wine tasting, it was onto lunch. We sampled an assortment of foods, ranging from grilled quail to an antipasto platter, salads and breads. I love the way the antipasto was presented, on a huge plate that gave a generosity of spirit. The items were all good with the pumpkin salad a real highlight. The Milawa Cheese platter was again extremely popular among everyone.

For dessert, we samples donuts, tiramisu and pannacotta. I loved all the desserts, especially the tiramisu, which was a really classic, perfectly executed tiramisu.

After lunch, there was a mad dash to get into the party car with Ewen as the girls had heard of the legendary sunroof, or more accurately glassroof and the pumping music. Ashley and Veda managed to make it into the car first followed by myself and Rob. David got relegated to the other car. We went back to the accommodations to learn some more about photography. It was here that I noticed Sarah get onto her writing work, and I knew right then that someone who would bother to work on their other work during a trip like this wasn't the criminal Prosecco counterfeiter as they would been looking for more information about how to further grow their crime ring, not writing a piece about food.

After freshening up, some chose to walk to Dal Zotto Wines while other fatties such as myself chose to take the car. Upon arrival at Dal Zotto Wines, we were met by the wonderfully named Otto Dal Zotto and his wife Elena. We finally got to sample the original Prosecco. I have to say, while all the other Proseccos we had tried were really good, this one was clearly the best, for me. It distracted me from my main job of trying to work out who would go about counterfeiting this wonderful wine for profit. I pushed that thought aside as we walked through the vegetable garden that Elena had planted. I love the way all the wineries here are still family owned and that the owners still take such an active involvement in them.

We learned about the wines from chief winemaker Michael while everyone happily snapped photos. Below is not the new cyclops, but is instead Rob looking at the Dal Zotto slide show of the history of their winery. Master photographer Ewen was snapping the very camera friendly Ashley. While I was on the job, I still wanted a good photo of myself from this trip so convinced Ewen to capture one good photo of me.

While everyone was mingling, a series of antipasto and entrees circulated the room. The salami and prosciutto with cheese was already excellent. But when I got round to tasting the entrees, my mind was blown. The cheese ravioli were stunning. It was utter perfection. The sage leaf with anchovy and fried was also so good. The sausage was nice, but for me the piece de resistance was the meatballs. Oh wowee, those deserve to be on every Italian restaurant menu. So delicious.

Everyone had so much fun just mingling and eating and the party got larger and larger as more families from around the area all came along for the party. Emma, our bus driver/farmer/tourism board representative also turned up to be party goer #27. She turned up in bright pink high heels this time and sat down next to me at dinner. She told me all about her shoe fetish as well as her penchant for spreadsheets. I confessed to my own love of....spreadsheets. We bonded over how organised we like to keep everything, including our lives, with a good spreadsheet. We all enjoyed a great dinner of polenta mash with bolognaise, excuted perfectly unlike many restaurants in Melbourne where the polenta mash is all gluggy. The dessert was beautiful. A simple chocolate tart done so well, with great pastry and a very smooth, rich, but not sickening chocolate filling cut through with a raspberry coulis.

I let my guard down for the night as I felt I was starting to know the people and thoroughly enjoyed the night. I drank lots of wine and ate lots of food and just had a good time talking to everyone. Elena told me some great stories about meeting Otto and also starting the business and about her philosophy on food, wine and life. Jo and Sarah were having a great time talking to everyone in the room and Ashley was being her beautiful self and being snapped by Ewen. The one person left on my list as a suspect of counterfeiting Prosecco was Melissa. I had watched her all night but she seemed to be thoroughly enjoying herself and talking to all the winery families and drinking all the Prosecco. However, I still felt that she was hiding something. I would need to watch her especially closely tomorrow.

As the party wound into the night, the love in the air was getting stronger, with everyone saying what a pleasure it was to meet each other. Otto was truly into the spirit of the party and acknowledged every guest. When it was finally time to leave, he bid us all farewell. Some had decided to walk back to the accommodation, in the dark of the night. This didn't seem like a good idea as it was especially dark that night and it was raining a little. We started to drive home when..........

TO BE CONTINUED

Read part 4 of the King Valley Love saga about Lindenwarrah and Milawa Chese Company here.

I attended this wonderful trip courtesy of Squawk Media and the hospitality of the numerous companies of the King Valley

King Valley Love Part 2 - Pizzini Wines, King Valley Premium Beef, Mountain View Hotel

King Valley Love
M rating, 91 min, Drama, Thriller, Action, 8 Oct 2013 (AUS)

Plot
Undercover agent Thanh Do is a bright and capable agent and has been sent to infiltrate a group of food lover on a trip to the King Valley. There has been a tip off that a mafia run counterfeit ring has been set up in the King Valley to sell cheaper Prosecco in place of the quality product made in the area. The whistleblower has indicated that an upcoming trip with an group of food lovers touring the area is actually a scouting mission to find new locations to sell the fake goods. Agent Do has been tasked with flushing out the criminals and breaking up this crime syndicate. Agent Do must realistically embed himself into the world of food and wine in order to not be found out. As Agent Do gets closer to others in the group, the developing relationships start to impede his judgement, which may ultimately result in his demise.

Read part 1 of the King Valley Love saga about Brown Brothers Winery and Jessie's Creek B&B here.

Suddenly, we saw the car rounding the bend and stopped to let it pass before crossing the road to our rooms at the Mountain View Hotel and having a peaceful night's rest.

Day 2
Day 2 started at the Mountain View Hotel for coffees and some sweets, in the form of rocky road. I must say I wasn't that excited about rocky road as it's usually so terrible. But this rocky road was absolutely amazing. Good quality chocolate covered homemade Turkish delight, homemade marshmallows, glace cherries and nuts. It turns out they were made by Katrina Pizzini, whom with Fred Pizzini run Pizzini Wines. They had come to greet us and take us to their winery to try out some wines and have lunch.

Pizzini Winery is a really beautiful place, having been converted from a tobacco farm to a winery as tobacco started to lose favour. Like the other wineries around the region, the focus on is on some rather unique grapes that aren't found in other wine regions around Australia.

We drank Prosecco while learning to take photos. I followed Ashley as she went to learn to take photos with Ewen. She was snapping like a professional paparazzi, snap snap snap. She was also happily posing for photos. I knew straight away that anyone so accustomed to being photographed can't be a criminal who would want to keep a low profile. After the photography lessons, Fred let us try all of the wines that he made. They were all so unique and really good.

After the wine tasting, we went to the Pizzini Winery kitchen to cook up lunch. Veda instantly rolled up her sleeves and showed us how it was done. Instantly, I struck her off my suspect list, given her enthusiasm to cook food. A criminal would hang back and not want to be the centre of attention. Veda rolled the gnocchi with such aplomb you'd think she had worked in the hospitality industry before. And as I later found that, that is indeed what she used to do.

When all the food was cooked, we sat down to a beautifully laid out table for lunch. The food is what is perfectly described as simple yet perfect. The gnocchi was the best I've ever tasted, paired with a simple bolognaise sauce, which I had never seen before. I've since been informed that's a common combination in Italy. I guess it seems too simple for restaurants so they tend to do some fancy sauce with the gnocchi. But the bolognaise is perfect with the gnocchi. A cheese ravioli with browned butter sage sauce was again so simple and perfect. The pastry and cheese just melted together. Simple salads really finished off an excellent meal that made me see how good simple foods can be. The wines accompanying the meal worked so well to bring out the flavours of the food.

After the great lunch, it was back into the party car with Ewen, Rob and David where sang our way to King Valley Premium Beef headquarters, which also served as the home of Emma. Of course Prosecco was drunk before anything commenced. It's like no one in the region did anything before drinking Prosecco. Not a bad policy I say.

Emma raised cattle for meat, with the tiny cows being of a breed known as Square Meater. They are really small, for a cow, and are so cute. Emma showed us around her farm and the cattle, also giving away the secret to her meat's flavours, Prosecco. You heard it here first. The farm is a beautiful place, with the ubiquitous rolling hills that you see in promotional posters but you doubt are true in most cases. Well in this case, the cows roam the beautiful countryside and sitting up at the outdoor table eating cheese and drinking wine, I think I could graze those beautiful lands all day too.

After visiting Emma at the farm, it was back to the Mountain View Hotel for dinner. Fred and Katrina Pizzini brought along the wines, including a magnum of 2004 Sangiovese from their own cellar. Dinner was really good. Entrees of cured ocean trout and soy chicken wings were done so well. I was once again surprised as I thought the food was going to be cliche pub food. Choices of mains between slow cooked lamb, steak or crispy skin fish was all really good. My lamb was so tender and had good flavour. During the meal, I focused my attention on David who was sitting next to me. It turns out David had quite a large knowledge of wines and seemed to really enjoy it. I struck him off my list of suspect as a criminal wouldn't put time into learning about wines and enjoying them.

Day 2 has gone and I've struck off 6 people from the list of criminal suspects for the Prosecco counterfeit crimes. So far Ewen, Rob, Emma, Ashley, Veda and David are no longer suspects in my eyes. That left Jo, Sarah and Melissa as the prime suspects. It's getting harder and harder to do my job as I'm thoroughly enjoying the King Valley hospitality, scenery and overall atmosphere. With those thoughts, I bid farewell to everyone and walked to my room to go to bed. I had reached my room when I heard.............

TO BE CONTINUED

Read part 3 of the King Valley Love saga about Politini Wines, Gracebrook Vineyards and Dal Zotto Wines here.

Read part 4 of the King Valley Love saga about Lindenwarrah and Milawa Chese Company here.

I attended this wonderful trip courtesy of Squawk Media and the hospitality of the numerous companies of the King Valley

King Valley Love Part 1 - Brown Brothers Winery and Jessie's Creek B&B

King Valley Love
M rating, 91 min, Drama, Thriller, Action, 8 Oct 2013 (AUS)

Plot
Undercover agent Thanh Do is a bright and capable agent and has been sent to infiltrate a group of food lover on a trip to the King Valley. There has been a tip off that a mafia run counterfeit ring has been set up in the King Valley to sell cheaper Prosecco in place of the quality product made in the area. The whistleblower has indicated that an upcoming trip with an group of food lovers touring the area is actually a scouting mission to find new locations to sell the fake goods. Agent Do has been tasked with flushing out the criminals and breaking up this crime syndicate. Agent Do must realistically embed himself into the world of food and wine in order to not be found out. As Agent Do gets closer to others in the group, the developing relationships start to impede his judgement, which may ultimately result in his demise.

Director: Melissa Bauer, also plays Melissa aka Prosecco Queen in the movie.
Cinematoprapher: Ewen Bell, also plays Ewen aka The Photographer in the movie.
Location: King Valley

Cast
David - David aka The Flasher
Ashley - Ashley aka Blue Hair
Rob - Rob aka The Brit
Veda - Veda aka The Laugh
Sarah - Sarah aka Meow Meow
Jo - Jo aka High Heels
Emma Keith - Emma aka Bus Driver/Farmer/Tourism Representative/Party Goer #27

Day 1
I drove out from the police headquarters to meet the food lovers group at the Brown Brothers Epicurean Centre. I had been informed by my superior that one of the group was the prime suspect for a mafia cartel that were counterfeiting Prosecco wines that was made famous by the King Valley wineries. The mafia group were selling these counterfeits to unsuspecting customers and passing them off as the real deal. The crime syndicated needed to be stopped, and my task was to infiltrate this group and flush out the criminal. Everyone was under suspicion and to be observed.

The trip started with a meeting with Caroline Brown, of the Brown Brothers family. She is working as the company's public relations manager, while her father Ross Brown is the current CEO. He also joined the group for a lunch. I made my way around and met the group, starting with Melissa, the organiser, Ewen, the photographer and the food lovers David, Ashley, Rob, Veda, Sarah and Jo. From first meetings, they all seemed to be enthusiastic food lovers, but I wouldn't let their front lull me into a false sense of security.

We learned about the great history of Brown Brothers, being one of the first wineries in the King Valley region. They pretty much started the wine industry in the area. As with many other wineries in the area, Brown Brothers specialise in a number of unique Italian varietals and as well as the famous Prosecco. I had always thought Prosecco was a cheap unrefined drink but having that first sip, I could see why the mafia were trying to counterfeit it as it grew in popularity in Australia.

We sat down to a shared lunch, and the food was excellent, far exceeding my expectations. Being a city boy all my life and having experienced some rather ordinary fare in country locations when on assignment, I was very happy that the food was so good. The cuisine contained traditional Italian flavours but with a modern twist. Simple items like great salamis, olives and white anchovies went beautifully with the bread and matching wines. A tasting platter of duck, prawns, cheese croquettes and pork belly was excellent, something you'd be happy with at any top metropolitan restaurant. There was also a tripe bake that was beautiful and something you would not often see.

I thought I would start my investigation with the person who I felt was most likely to be the criminal, the photographer Ewen. He was constantly taking photos of everyone just keeping an overall eye on the group. Under the guise of wanting to learn more about how to take photos, I went and spoke to Ewen. It turned out Ewen shoots photos for travel and food magazine and has gone to many parts around the world. He showed me how to take a few different shots of the pork belly dish and immediately I could see an improvement in my photos. I automatically removed him from my list of suspects. No criminal would have so much time to perfect such an artistic skill.

After lunch, we went and did some wine testing. I should have been spitting to keep a clear head but I let myself enjoy the beautiful wines of Brown Brothers. The Patricia range was a real highlight, as were the semi-sweet whites. Another treat was to visit the personal wine cellars of the Brown family, laden with every single vintage of wine that made. Can you imagine how great dinner gatherings in that family would be, "let me go pick out a 40 year old wine from the cellar". While down in the cellar, we also tried some Milawa Cheese Company cheeses. I loved a number of them and we ate through it all, despite professing how full we were. Lastly, while down in the cellar, we tasted the Noble Riesling, which was just stunning and a must buy.

After the cheese tasting, we headed back upstairs to chill on the bean bags in the garden. I then focused my attention on Emma, our driver who arrived in yellow high heels and her blonde flowing hair cascading around her beautiful face. My years of experience in the field was telling me something was not right. I asked Emma many questions, from what she did, to what her passions were and why she was a bus driver. As it turned out, Emma was also the King Valley Tourism representative and King Valley Premium Beef owner. When she told me about the struggles of being a small producer, I ruled her out as a suspect. Anyone who knew the struggles of being a farmer had to have worked the land.

Emma the bus driver drove us, in high heels and all, to our accommodation. I was staying at Mountain View Hotel with Rob and David. I made sure I got the unit by myself as I needed to lay out my surveillance equipment and files. The room was very large with a king sized bed and while simple, had all the necessities. There was digital TV, a split system air conditioner and a beautiful large shower with good water pressure and free flowing hot water. I was rather impressed given many country hotels are terrible.

When I walked over to Jessie's Creek B&B where the others were staying, I was rather jealous. They had use of two beautiful cottages that were so well furnished and had big rooms, a spa, a large dining/rumpus area, and a wonderful backyard patio. We all convened at the patio and drank Prosecco while nibbling on some food from the local catering company. I went onto my next suspect, the Brit, Rob. I talked to him about what he did, and he told me he was a publisher. We chatted some more about books and I found him to be a very personable guy, but I couldn't rule him out as a suspect yet.

For dinner, we were eating at the cottage, with food cooked by the local catering company. We were also having wines by King River Estate, with the owner Trevor joining us. The food was simple fare but very good. We had roast lamb and potatoes, with various vegetable dishes, finishing off with an utterly fantastic tiramisu.

Throughout the night, we continued to sample more of the King River Estate wines, which are biodynamically made. We tried numerous wines, with the Saperavi being the ultimate, described by one wine writer that it will "suck all the water out of your eyes, suck all the light from the room and then start sucking the volts outa your wires". It did indeed pack a punch.

As we drank more and more wines, the participants got louder and louder. Even Ewen, who was previously a bit more in the shadows was starting to laugh and talk loudly and acting silly. I knew I was right in ruling him out as a suspect. I was sitting next to Rob again by chance and when I heard all his views about different restaurants he liked and naming all the dishes they had, I knew he was not the criminal. Again, any person who could develop so much information on a topic could not have time to run a crime syndication. That narrowed down my list of suspects to David, Ashley, Veda, Jo, Sarah and Melissa. It was not a bad days work to eliminate 3 suspects. I now had 3 more days to determine the criminal.

As the night wounded towards midnight, I knew it was time to go when the dance moves started to come out and there were threats of twerking. Therefore, me and the two guys started to make our way back to our hotel on foot. Little did we know that a car was rounding the bend on the road at a very fast speed, just as we were about to cross it. Suddenly....................


TO BE CONTINUED

Read part 2 of the King Valley Love saga about Pizzini Wines, King Valley Premium Beef and Mountain View Hotel here.

Read part 3 of the King Valley Love saga about Politini Wines, Gracebrook Vineyards and Dal Zotto Wines here.

Read part 4 of the King Valley Love saga about Lindenwarrah and Milawa Chese Company here.

I attended this wonderful trip courtesy of Squawk Media and the hospitality of the numerous companies of the King Valley.

Good Food Month - Bistro Guillaume Dinner Nov 25th

If you know me, you know I a) love French food, b) am a bit of a chef groupie and c) like a drink of the alcoholic variety. So when I got an invite to attend this upcoming event, of course I said yes. I'm excited about the meal as I love Guillaume, ummmm, I mean I love Guillaume's food. He definitely does great French food, as everyone will know from his long time stint at one of Australia's best French restaurant, Guillaume at Bennelong, which sadly is closing soon. However, you can still sample some of Guillaume's food at this upcoming Good Food Month event, Dinner with Guillaume Brahimi and Chris Morrison. Chris has worked with a number of high end restaurants in Australia and overseas and resumes his association with Guillaume (he has worked two tenures at Guillaume at Bennelong) by matching the wines for this meal.

The meal at Bistro Guillaume will be a champagne-focused event showcasing the skill of Guillaume, with French classics and paired with the finest champagnes. I can't wait to sink my teeth into the food and try the champagne. My knowledge of French champagnes doesn't go past Moet and Veuve Clicquot so I'm interested to see how the other champagnes are.

Dinner at Bistro Guillaume Nov 25th
What: Four course meal by Guillaume Brahimi with matched champagne by Chris Morrison.
When: Monday November 25th, 6:30pm
Where: Bistro Guillaume
Cost: $195 which includes matched champagnes. Tickets can be purchased here

If this meal sounds of interest to you, the details are below. Come and join me for this meal and we can have a good chat about the food and champagnes. Look out for the person with one hand holding a champagne and the other holding....another champagne haha.

Is Fine Dining Finished? @The Point Albert Park Nov 26th Preview Dinner

Fine dining. When I say those words, what do you think of? Pressed tablecloth? Waiters in suits? Beautiful glassware? It may encompass all of those, or possibly only some. There's not actual definition. For me personally, I think it is when the experience transcends just the food. The meal leaves a lasting impression due to the atmosphere, service and the overall experience. The food at a fine dining establishment also demonstrates skill in execution and combine flavours that excite and elicit discussion. The food may also push the boundaries of cooking and creative culinary expression.

In the current climate of food trends in Melbourne, the scene is trending towards more casual dining, with emphasis on simplicity and sharing. The alarm bells are being sounded that fine dining is finished. I think, like most trends, things come and go, and regardless of the trends, those businesses that provide a service/product that that is desired by customers will still survive. Cupcakes for example are supposed to have gone past being trendy, but a good cupcake will still be enjoyed by people indefinitely. I think fine dining fits into the same category. If a restaurant provides something that no one else can provide, it will survive. For me, I still love fine dining. I will say that I used to go out to fine dining establishments a lot when I first got a job. That has slowed down as financially it is just not possible, but for me, I still want to visit fine dining places for special occasions and experiences. Long after I've forgotten many other good casual meals, the truly transcendent fine dining experience still lives long in my memory. So while the fine dining sphere in Melbourne may be reported as dying, I believe that those restaurants who can provide memorable experiences will still survive. It is still an aspirational event.

If you're interested in both discussing this topic and eating some amazing food, an upcoming Good Food Month event known as Is Fine Dining Finished? will be held at The Point Albert Park. It will feature food from Justin Wise of The Point Albert Park and Luke Croston of Gazi and hosted by Dani Valent.

What: Four course meal comparing street food to fine dining.
Justin Wise from The Point and Luke Croston from Gazi will both cook the meal.
When: November 26th, 6:30pm
Where: The Point Albert Park
Cost: $145 which includes matched wines and cocktails. Tickets can be purchased here.

I was fortunate enough to attend a preview dinner with some fellow bloggers and George Calombaris. For the dinner, we tried:

Soft shell crab souvlakakia
Beef brisket souvlakakia
Karpouzi Kup

Pan seared foie gras and pear
2007 Max Ferd Richter Braunberger Juffer Sonnenuhr Auslese, Mosel Germany

Macleay Valley rabbit, guanciale, pithivier and broad beans
2010 Domaine Geantet Pansiot Bourgogne Rouge, Cote d'Or France

Mastic musk stick, loukoumi, loukamades, hone and sunflower.

Petit Fours
Coffee


The souvlakakia from Gazi were really good. I absolutely loved the flavours of the soft shell crab one, with the secret sauce containing the identifiable honey, but also surprisingly fish sauce. According to chef George Calombaris, Greeks used to use fish sauce a lot in their cooking. The already famous pita bread was soft and the soft shell crab had really good flavour. The beef brisket souvlakakia also was tasty but not as exciting in flavour.

Next up, a luxurious pan fried foie gras with pear from The Point was pure indulgence. The soft butteryness of the foie gras was so good. If this is what fine dining is about, I'd happily eat it any day.

The rabbit mains from The Point showcased not only the skill of the chef in the cooking method, but in pairing the flavours. There were many contrasts of textures and flavours all brought together with a beautiful sauce. The pithivier may seem old skool but when executed perfectly, it was melt in my mouth stuff.

Lastly we finished with desserts of loukamades served with a mastic musk stick from Gazi. I felt these loukamades were a bit doughy for my liking, compared to my favourite ones from Oakleigh. The mastic musk stick (there's a tongue twister for you, trying saying it 10 times while eating one) was rather powerful by itself but paired nicely with the loukamades.

Petit fours of chocolates, pate de fruits and shortbread biscuits were served with tea or coffee.

The meal was really delicious and I think the topic is very interesting. I'd recommend attending the event and trying the food for yourself and getting involved in the discussion on whether fine dining is finished.

Thanks to the quiche Tink PR for inviting me and to The Point Albert Park for hosting me.

Nigella Lawson's Chocolate Fudge Cake - Indulgent, Rich and So Good

I first tried Nigella's Chocolate Fudge Cake at a party held by Sarah. She had made the cake as a birthday cake. I do like chocolate cake but usually don't like too thick a layer of icing as it's so sickly sweet. I'll normally just use a simple chocolate ganache. However, this cake was so good, and the part that made it good was the chocolate fudge icing. It was such a thick layer on the cake but somehow the soft texture and sweetness combined perfectly with the cake.

The actual chocolate cake itself is between a light chocolate buttermilk cake and a heavy chocolate mud cake. It has a good crumb and is actually not too sweet, despite the amount of sugar in the cake. It keeps a good structure and is a useful cake for a base to which other frostings can be applied as it holds up under the weight of the frosting.

The cake, while quite simple in looks, is quite a crowd pleaser I find as most people love chocolate and the look of it has you salivating at the thought of biting into the frosting. It's great for a party and any celebration. You could bling it up by piping the frosting and using some simple decorations, or even something as simple as making it in a square tin. I like it as a round cake with the frosting roughly (but still strategically) applied.

Tips:

* I find the cake tastes better a day after being made as the icing melds into the cake. So if possible, make the cake a day ahead of when you want to eat it.

* The recipe makes a huge round two layer cake or a big square cake.

* Musovado sugar can be found in most supermarkets. If not, substitute with raw sugar or light brown sugar.

* Vegetable oil can be substituted for corn oil if needed.

* For the fudge, definitely use a good quality 70% cocoa chocolate.

* Keep beating the fudge icing until it is smooth and fluffy. Icing sugar must be sieved or you'll get lumps.

Recipe
Nigella Lawson Recipe
Serves 10
Total Time about 1hr 30min

INGREDIENTS

For the cake
400 grams plain flour
250 grams golden caster sugar
100 grams light brown muscovado sugar
50 grams best-quality cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
142 ml sour cream
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
175 grams unsalted butter (melted and cooled)
125 ml corn oil
300 ml chilled water

For the fudge icing
175 grams dark chocolate (minimum 70% cocoa solids)
250 grams unsalted butter (softened)
275 grams icing sugar (sifted)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Butter and line the bottom of two 20cm round tins.

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugars, cocoa, baking powder, bicarb and salt.

In another bowl whisk together the eggs, sour cream and vanilla until blended.

Beat together the melted butter and corn oil until just blended, then beat in the water. Add the dry ingredients all at once and mix together on a slow speed. Add the egg mixture, and mix again until everything is blended and then pour into the prepared tins.

Bake the cakes for 50-55 minutes, or until a wooden skewer comes out clean. Cool the cakes in their tins on a wire rack for 15 minutes, and then turn the cakes out onto the rack to cool completely.

To make the icing, melt the chocolate in the microwave (2-3 minutes on medium) and let cool slightly.

In another bowl beat the butter until it's soft and creamy and then add the sieved icing sugar and beat again until everything's light and fluffy. Then gently add the vanilla and chocolate and mix together until everything is glossy and smooth.

Sandwich the middle of the cake with about a quarter of the icing, and then ice the top and sides too, spreading and smoothing with a rubber spatula.