Southgate Fiesta to Appear at Melbourne Food & Wine Festival, 2/28-3/1

Southgate is opening the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival with a weekend of promenade wine tasting, mouth watering tasting plates from riverside restaurants, and live entertainment. Southgate Fiesta is on Saturday 28 February - Sunday 1 March and forms part of the festival's 'Open Kitchen' weekend.

Thousands of festival goers are tipped to appreciate the good things our city has to offer through the Open Kitchen weekend of the festival, along the banks of the majestic Yarra River.

At Southgate, foodies and wine lovers alike can sample a taste of restaurant menus for just $15, lounging on balconies of critically acclaimed new eateries such as Hophaus or Artusi and gaze over the tree-lined river, city skyline and historic Flinders St Station.

After savouring tasting platters, visitors can wander down to Southgate's promenade for a golden hour sampling of award-winning wines, presented by boutique winemakers from around Australia. Winemakers will unveil the unique processes and craftsmanship behind each varietal, such as Terramore Wine's gold-ranked Cabernet Sauvignon or Howlin' Gale's 4-star Reserve Shiraz.

Winemaker Gary Trist of Buttermans Track, a small family-owned boutique vineyard in the Yarra Valley's St Andrews, will be showcasing their Silver Medal Sangiovese at Southgate Feista.

"A Sangiovese needs more care and maintenance than something like a Shiraz. As a small vineyard, we're able to focus on quality over quantity, so we actually crop thin our Sangiovese - throw fruit away - to maintain the best ripening process. This allows for the intense fruity flavours to come out. Our Sangiovese is resultantly more true to the traditional chianti (Tuscan) style of wine," says Gary.

Gary and his son Joel manage the entire process from growth to fermentation of their Buttermans Track wines, producing around 6,000 litres of wine a year - small even by boutique standards.

Entry to the wine tasting area is free when you purchase a $15 entrée tasting platter from one of Southgate's participating restaurants.

Included on the menu are 'Tacos de Carnitas', five tacos with cinnamon orange spice and pisco sour salsa at BearBrass, Coffin Bay oysters with chef's special dressing at Waterfront Southgate, and a dessert platter of indulgent peanut butter semifreddo with caramel popcorn at Tutto Bene.

Other participating restaurants include Hophaus Bier Bar and Grill, Red Emperor,P.J.O'Brien's, Bluetrain, Miyako, La Camera, Artusi, Pure South, and Lindt Chocolate Cafe.

Southgate Fiesta will be held from 12pm - 6pm on Saturday 28 February and Sunday 1 March 2015 as part of the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival. Wine tasting vouchers are limited to one voucher per person per tasting plate. Patrons must be 18 years of age or older to enter the wine tasting area.

"That area (Southgate restaurant & shopping precinct) of Southbank has had a bit of a renaissance of late." - Sunday Herald Sun Confidential, 25 May 2014

"The most significant food shake up for 2014 has to be Southgate"
- Scott Viney, The Modern Con, 19 July 2014

"The entire precinct, perched overlooking the Yarra, seems to have undergone something of a transformation of late.?..a pleasing and appropriately cool injection of venues worth walking across the bridge from the city for,"?
- Rebecca, Venuemob, 12 June 2014

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