TEN wineries across western Victoria in two hours? Sounds like a recipe to lose your driving licence.
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Instead The Best of the West on Wednesday evening offered 10 different food recipes to match 20 wines from those wineries, fortunately all at the one venue.
Mitchell Harris Wines hosted nine other wineries from the Pyrenees, Great Western, the Grampians and Ballarat for the event, giving 60 food and wine lovers in groups of half a dozen the chance to spend just 10 minutes each with those wineries. Then, with a tap of a wine glass, each group rotated on to the next winery and a different matching of food and wine.
Organiser John Harris from Mitchell Harris Wines described the event as "speed dating" for wine buffs.
"We were hoping to establish some good long-term relationships between the wineries and potential customers," he said.
"We left it up to each winery about which wines they wanted to promote. There was a danger in this part of the world everyone would bring a shiraz but they brought something different. We've got a good mix, with some pinot noir, sparkling wine, Riesling and we did a rosé which is perfect for this time of the year."
The tapas-style meals were prepared in Mitchell Harris Wines' kitchen, with the wines chosen to complement them.
The Best of the West is part of The Courier's Good Food Ballarat series. The format proved a winner with event being a sell-out.
"We could have sold another 15 tickets," Mr Harris said.
