Secret Victoria: Experience a slice of Italy right here in Australia

Following the King Valley's Prosecco Road - with scenic views and world-class wine - is a great way to experience a slice of Italy right here in Australia.

I am road-testing prosecco with the same guilty feeling you get when you switch hairdresser. Sorry, champagne, it's me not you. The King Valley, in north-eastern Victoria, is a compact, collegiate wine region celebrated for its Italian varieties. It's a destination that welcomes and nourishes like an Italian nonna.

We arrive at Dal Zotto on dusk. Bocce is set up on the lawn, the trattoria is rearranging itself after lunch service, the cellar door is taking a deep breath. Sulphur-crested cockatoos are giving a big shoutout to a massive river red gum. Arriving from Valdobbiadene in north-east Italy in 1967, Otto Dal Zotto established the winery that is now owned by his sons, Michael and Christian, in 1987. He planted prosecco vines in 1999 and produced his first prosecco in 2004. It was called L'Immigrante. We jag an al fresco seat under a milky blue sky and order a flute of the L'Immigrante, a bargain at $14. It's pale, dry, toasty and chalky, with lots of bubbles. The award-winning Pucino Prosecco ($10) is a swipe right, too.

The King Valley was settled by Europeans in the 1880s, tobacco being the main agricultural crop before the industry shrank and grape-growing became the way forward. Today, there are 1535 hectares of vines and 30 wineries. Everyone wants Valley varieties such as prosecco, merlot, pinot gris/grigio, and sangiovese. The Prosecco Road was established by a coterie of winemakers 15 years ago to showcase the namesake grape. It now boasts 19 cellar doors and 72 hectares of prosecco vines, accounting for more than 60 per cent of the grape's planting in Australia. Pit stops include Brown Brothers, Sam Miranda, Dal Zotto, Pizzini and Chrismont.

Prosecco Brunch ($65 per person) at Brown Brothers in Milawa masquerades as breakfast next day. It's in the pretty Prosecco Lounge, which accommodates two to 12. Brown Brothers launched its first prosecco in 2010. Today, there are five to taste. The first two, Prosecco Zero and Prosecco Zero Rosé, tap into the new push for no-alcohol wines. Between 2018 and 2023 the global market recorded average annual growth of the alcohol-free sector of more than 25 per cent. Even the 2024 Wine Paris trade show devoted exhibition space to these wines.

Prosecco is generally about 12 per cent alcohol, and I missed it in the Zero, as you'd miss the chocolate in a hot chocolate! I preferred the Prosecco Rosé NV, with its berry and citrus flavours, and even more, the Prosecco Premium Brut which, at $27 a bottle, is a good-value aperitif. With it we eat thinly sliced discs of capocollo and marinated zucchini, and sweet strawberries.

Prosecco is harvested from late February to mid March. In Italy, the grapes that make it these days are referred to as glera unless they come from the Prosecco region. Australian prosecco growers defeated a European Commission move to prohibit them from calling their wines prosecco, arguing it was a grape variety before it was a region.

At the Brown Brothers cellar door, Ernie Menichelli instructs us on the difference between prosecco and sparkling wine. Methode champenoise involves a traditional, labour-intensive bottle fermentation and is the slowest and most costly way to create champagne and sparkling wine. Most prosecco, however, is made using the Charmat process, or the "tank method", which involves a second fermentation in, and the addition of yeasts to, pressurised steel vats.

Prosecco is produced under less pressure than other sparklings, which results in bubbles being lighter and less persistent. Its mouthfeel tends to be foamy and full. Champagne, on the other hand, is produced in individual bottles, under immense pressure, the bubbles produced being fine, very persistent and sharp.

Pizzini is famous for its Italian vinos: sangiovese, barbera, nebbiolo and dolcetto, although pinot grigio is the label's biggest seller. In 1994, Alfredo and Katrina Pizzini began the Pizzini Wines label with a chardonnay. But it's prosecco we're after. In the Kiln Tasting Room, an original tobacco kiln transformed into a light-drenched space, Anthony Cullen explains the idiosyncrasies of Pizzini prosecco with a Pop & Fizz tasting ($75 per person).

The Pizzini Prosecco NV is yeasty with melon notes. The 2023 moscato-style Brachetto is palate-cleansing. Il Soffio Prosecco Rosé NV arrives elegant and full of flavour. The 2022 Il Soffio Prosecco is dry and textural. The latter two are named for the soft breeze that comes from the south around 9pm and slows ripening.

Says brand manager Natalie Pizzini, daughter of Pizzini founders Alfredo Pizzini and his wife, cooking school wiz, Katrina Pizzini, "I love serving the prosecco with limoncello! Limoncello spritz is my go-to now when friends come over - especially on a Friday arvo. I serve them with an antipasti plate laden with prosciutto, always a creamy soft cheese and fat green olives."

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Our last stop is Chrismont in Cheshunt, a great lunch spot with fabulous views. The Chrismont Cellar Door, Restaurant and Larder is an imposing, modern architectural space. The restaurant has built its reputation on traditional Sicilian dishes.

Arnie and Jo Pizzini are front and centre for the lunch service. Arnie's father Arnold Pizzini came to Australia in 1953, like so many gravitating to tobacco production and later grapes. In 1984, Arnie planted Australia's first commercial barbera vineyard.

Chrismont has two labels, La Zona, which is the more Mediterranean and the eponymous Chrismont, more classic European. The La Zona NV Prosecco is pale straw in colour with a pale green hue. It's apple-crisp, dry and effervescent. We share burrata with heirloom tomatoes, slow-cooked octopus, duck ravioli with brown butter marsala sauce, and baked barramundi.

It might just be time for a robust red.

Where: The King Valley is a three-hour drive from Melbourne.

Staying there: The writer stayed at one of the chic studios that comprise 3BlackSheds. The tariff for three nights in autumn was $640. 3blacksheds.com

Touring there: The Prosecco Brunch and Pop & Fizz are two inclusions in the Ultimate Winery Experiences portfolio of Australian sparkling wine adventures. ultimatewineryexperiences.com.au

Good to know: The Dal Zotto Prosecco Festival in 2024 is November 15-17.

The writer's visit to Brown Brothers and Pizzini was courtesy of Ultimate Winery Experiences.