With winter really settling in these last few days it always gets me excited for three things, hearty winter food, fashion and lots of red wine. Bringing all those three things together and we have the Melbourne Food & Wine Show.
Friday I was lucky to be one of the first in to experience this three-day annual festival, which is probably one of my highlights of the year!
What more could you ask for then literally hundreds of the finest food and wine outlets coming together to present you with there best of the best. My usual plan of attack is to go easy for the first hour or two, sampling all of the food, then ease slowly into the wine, but it never works out that way! As soon as I entered I was offered a tasting glass of limoncello from Cello Liqueurs and then I knew what path I was taking. Next up, some beautiful Shiraz from the Barossa and a Mornington Chardonnay. Then I could feel my stomach begging to sample the cheeses!
The best thing about these events is you don’t have to be shy with the sampling (which I am not anyway). I always haunt my favourite stalls, repeatedly heading back to my favourite for that one last taste just to be sure I have captured all the flavours — or just because it’s so god damn delicious! For those that want to be pampered a bit more, there are some VIP pass options that include all the bells and whistles.
After two laps of all the offerings the legs need a bit of a rest. There are some bar options where you can take a load off and try a larger dish from a variety of vendors. I was already quite full from all the taste testing so I opted for a glass of Shiraz Cab and a seat to work on settling down my food baby before another lap of the show.
The festival will be running until Sunday, so make sure you get down and spoil yourself to some winter soul food and fun!
-Brenton
Brenton Spink is a social Melburnian who loves a good feed, drink, dance, and other related shenanigans. Find him on Twitter at @SoSpinky.
The Good Food and Wine Show runs 3-5 June 2016 at the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre. Purchase tickets now.
