Marnong Estate winemaker Alex Beckett has a real talent with creating lively sparkling wines, and this Kings Reach release is more very good stuff. It's every bit the crisp and lively aperitif style, with a crisp citrussy energy and life, with an extra layer of yeasty creamy interest with some time in French oak to give even more flavour.

Marnong Estate is nothing if not convenient - just 15 minutes from Melbourne airport in the Sunbury region just outside the city, you basically fly over the vineyards as your plane touches down. But this part of Victoria is more than just a handy place to stash your car for Tullamarine trips. Marnong boasts a history that dates back to the 1840s and has two Italian restaurants on site. Two! Vineyards, however, are a relatively recent addition to this 1200-acre property, as Marnong is better known as one of Victoria's first wagyu beef cattle farms. Nowadays, the cows share the land with extensive plantings of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio and Fiano, with stylish sparkling wine one of the shining lights from Marnong, alongside bright light reds and finely textured whites. The name Marnong is an adaptation of murnong, or yam daisies, a local plant with edible roots that was the staple food of this land's original inhabitants, the Woiworung people.