Williamstown brings back the Wine & Cheese Fest for its third anniversary, but as they say, age doesn’t matter unless you are cheese or wine. It was the first time for this TPO writer, and I brought along my usual plus one sidekick, who won her ticket after proffering her firm belief that life is basically all the stuff you have to do to get from coffee to wine.
Hedging its bets on Melbourne spring, the festival takes place mostly inside the big warehouse that is the Seaworks, with an outdoor area too, to enjoy some sun and placid views of the sea. Or if you were there last Sunday, fortifying maritime gusts that brace you for a full-bodied Burgundy red. There was a kid’s area too, with arts & crafts and stuff we skipped, but it’s definitely a family-friendly venue if that is your thing.
Wine & Cheese is a bit of a misnomer, as while definitely mostly representing these two essential food groups, there was plenty more for me to blow my tasting tokens on. Italian salamis, coffee, chocolate, pretzels, cider, Belgian ales, home-made lemonade.
Raclette
There was so much to try that my more wine-weary companion reminded me that I had only had been there for 10 minutes and I was down to two lonely tasting tokens. Mind you, tasting tokens can be bought again, and most stands offered full servings of goods for a reasonable cash price.
Our tasty and/or curious sampling highlights were:
- A friendly bearded young man behind Chirping Bird‘s DIY wooden stall selling Rose wine lemonade, the lemons commandeered from his neighbour’s tree and hand squeezed. I came back for a second tasting and a tie-breaker opinion in the form of a full $10 cup.
- Lychee infused beer! A bit sweet to my taste, but my +1, who prays at the intoxicating altars of many gods beside Dionysus, gave full approval. Beaumonde Beer‘s drink goes best with fruits and sun in summer cocktail, which was also offered at the stall (sun not guaranteed).
- Wine in a can from Berokes, with four sparkling and two still varieties. Perfect for picnics, or hiding in your drawer at work (mine barely fits my whisky hipflask). The few varieties we tasted were all expertly blended, and indistinguishable from the wines served from a glass (or from the better cask wines, I can confidently affirm).
- Belgian Trappist Ale. I felt sorry for the little European francophone country, surrounded by so much things French. And I love big beers too.
- French Raclette from Frencheese – big wheels of cheese melted, scraped and heaped onto mounds of potato and cured meats. A perfect accompaniment to a chilly Melbourne afternoon. Who am I kidding? Offer me melted French cheese and I’d enjoy it just as much in a Finnish sauna as in a tropical rain forest. AAAA+++++ would return and eat again!
– Christian
Christian G. is an international man of mystery, lover of books, cats and the performing arts; moonlighting as a finance professional by day.
Keep up-to-date on all things Wine and Cheese Fest on www.wineandcheesefest.com.au and their Facebook page.
