STOIC gatherings of locals and visitors to the King Valley made the most of what the weather gods served up for the annual Weekend Fit for a King festival.
Wines of the King Valley chair Dean Cleave-Smith said wineries didn’t get the numbers through due to the weather but there was still good patronage for those who wanted to sit by a heater and enjoy musical entertainment and the gourmet food and wine the valley is reknowned for.
He said all the venues were well prepared and catered well for the rain with marquees, undercover areas and heaters galore.
“A nice glass of sangiovese and a bowl of pasta was had by the fire and that didn’t sound to bad for those who braved the weather,” he said.
“Live entertainment, a DJ at least at all of the venues, including full live bands were on the bill."
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People love the King Valley so much and head along to the King's Birthday weekend event each year and Mr Cleave-Smith said it is genuinely a family orientated and an authentic food and wine event.
“We don’t ever claim to be anything more than that," he said.
“It’s come and join the winemaking families of the King Valley on their home turf - they’re all really proud and passionate about what they do.
“We are really fortunate to have a set of wine styles, still white and red table wines that are really on trend.
“Our reds are all really medium bodied, whether you want a nebbiolo, a sangiovese, gamay – there is a whole raft of varieties that people are just loving at the moment.
“There are great fiano, pinot grigio wines, or a nice glass of prosecco on a summer’s afternoon, or on a rainy June afternoon in the middle of winter,” he joked.
The June event is always more heavily weighted to a strong local audience, and we really cherish the locals, they’re great patrons of the King Valley.
Looking ahead to the La Dolce Vita Festival in November, patrons will be some of the first to taste some of the 2025 vintage.
It's expected to be one of the all-time great vintages to come out of the King Valley.
“It will be one of those really great King Valley vintages across the board," Mr Cleave-Smith said.
"You get a vintage that might be really great for pinot grigio or a great red vintage, but the long, dry summer and autumn allowed all the fruit to ripen in its own time.
“It took the pressure off wineries and allowed the fruit to really express itself.
“You’ll see bottled whites by La Dolce Vita in November and you might see a couple of early release reds, with others released in about March next year at the earliest.”
If you don’t want to wait until then, all the wineries will welcome you to their cellar doors throughout the year, so head out and taste some of their delicious offerings.
