DAL ZOTTO

Otto Dal Zotto was born in Valdobbiadene in Italy’s Veneto region, the home of prosecco, and his love of the sparkling wine led him to hunt for and plant then-rare prosecco vines in the 1990s. Dal Zotto is now considered one of the finest prosecco makers in the country and a pioneer of styles such as ultra-traditional, bottle-fermented Col Fondo; the vintage is celebrated at an annual prosecco festival in November. The trattoria next to the cellar door has a menu matched to Italian wine varieties and focuses on local produce, much of it – tomatoes in a Caprese salad, eggplant in cotolette di melanzane – grown on site by the matriarch, Elena. Dal Zotto, 4861 Wangaratta-Whitfield Rd, Whitfield, (03) 5729 8321, dalzotto.com.au; open daily 10am-5pm, dinner Fridays 6pm-9pm