DATE NIGHT AT ZONZO ESTATE

16/3/2017

Date night at Zonzo Estate. I re-visted this beautiful winery in the Yarra Valley and boy has a lot changed. In just over a year they've built the Chapel, a new private dining space 'The Stables' and they released Zonzo Estate wines..

My favourite dish of the night came out first, a combination of my two favourite foods. Olives & cheese. They were Gorgonzola stuffed olives and I would have been content if the meal finished there (I even stole Rhys' share of the olives).. It paired well with the Estate Chardonnay.

Rhys loved the crumbed artichoke hearts, drizzled with vincotto. The sweetness of the sauce combined with the crunchy crumb worked. Rhys paired his with the Reserve Chardonnay.

For mains we received the Bianca Con Patate pizza, Bufala E Pomodorini salad & the Handmade Gnocchi with burnt butter & sage. The gnocchi was a standout! Burnt butter & fried sage.. I've never appreciated sage this much, my new favourite herb. The Reserve Pinot Noir came out for this one, you would not know it is early days for these wines. I wish we arrived early enough to stop by the cellar door.

Dessert was a strawberry & chocolate Calzone, which I hadn't heard of before. Rhys said he was full so I was happy to try it by myself. It arrived with ice-cream on the side and after one bite Rhys all of a sudden changed his mind and found room for dessert.. at that stage I didn't want to share (I'd strongly suggest getting two). I may have shared my dessert but I did not share any of my Estate Rosé.

As always the staff were an absolute delight and really made the evening. Rod has an amazing team, some of whom have been there from the very start. It's so nice to see the growth of this beautiful team, venue & winery. It is always a pleasure to visit.

There's a lot of love at this place, it's no wonder they are so in demand for weddings.