There’s a toe-tapping Italian tune playing as we sip prosecco and dine on homemade gnocchi, gazing out over the scenery of the King Valley, which is tucked away in north-eastern Victoria. It’s no surprise that Italian migrants made this area their home in the 1940s and ’50s, declaring this little patch of paradise reminded them of their beloved homeland.

The King Valley stretches 75 kilometres south from Wangaratta into the Alpine National Park and includes the towns of Oxley, Milawa, Moyhu, Whitfield, Cheshunt and Myrrhee. It has a rich history, having been home to bushranger Harry Power, lots of hardworking Chinese, who established market gardens during the gold rush days, and Italians, who planted tobacco. These days, however, the tobacco fields have been replaced by rows of manicured vineyards and award-winning wineries…