Dal Zotto

The full story begins in 1948 with the birth of Otto Dal Zotto in Valdobbiadene, a cool-climate wine-producing village just below the alpine part of Italy’s Veneto region and the home of prosecco.

In 1967 he came to Australia, and like many northern Italians, was drawn to Victoria’s alpine region where the snow-capped peaks in the distance and sub-alpine climate felt a little like home.

Otto’s first step was to buy land in Cheshunt, ten minutes from Whitfield in the King Valley.

The land was used for tobacco farming for 20 years, and Otto believed his future was set. But things began to change in the 1980s, “The writing was on the wall for tobacco – there was already talk about banning it,” says Otto. “We were wondering what to grow, vineyards were starting to appear in the King Valley, so we decided to put grapes on it, an idea that had been in the back of my mind since leaving the Veneto where I’d grown up surrounded by vineyards.”

Having bought more neighbouring land soon after, the Dal Zottos began to plant the Italian varieties close to their hearts – barbera, sangiovese, pinot grigio and arneis. The scene was set for the greatest of them all – prosecco. “Like most good ideas, it came about sitting around the table with the family,” says Otto.

“In Australia you couldn’t get a decent prosecco, and I wanted something that reminded me of home. So, in 1999 we initiated the first serious planting of prosecco vines in Australia.

It was a long and painful journey – I was so scared you can’t even imagine, if it was a flop, all the time and money we invested would have gone down the drain.” Of course there was no need to worry.

“We’re seeing more and more people just love prosecco here in Australia – you give them a glass and it puts a smile on their face,” says Otto. “I never thought what we started could have become what it is now!”