Elina Gareffa is passing around a platter of home-made ‘antipasti’ to the camera crew.  They’re taking a break during the filming of a TV series for the Lifestyle Channel, starring well-known Mildura chef Stefano De Pieri. She’s put together a tempting array of thinly sliced home cured prosciutto and salami, freshly plucked figs stuffed with gorgonzola, sun-dried cherry tomatoes, herb-infused olives and giardiniera (mixed pickled vegetables).  The smell of freshly baked bread from the wood-fired oven drifts across the terrace. Under the heavily laden vines, a large round table is set with a red and white check tablecloth where Elina’s husband, Gino, is pouring some of his house-made red wine. It looks like a scene from the Italian countryside, but we are at the Gareffas’ property on the outskirts of Mildura in north-west Victoria, surrounded by a sea of leafy autumnal vines.  They’ve lived here for 22 years with their six children, during which time their company, Tabletop Grapes, has become one of the region’s best-known producers of table grapes and chemical-free dried fruits. The magnificent clusters of red globe grapes hanging from the pergola were planted when they first moved in. “People used to ask why we planted grapes around the terrace when we already had so many on the farm,” says Elina laughing. “As a young child, I loved the look of them hanging from a pergola and always wanted one near my house.” Originally from the village of Benestare in Calabria, Elina’s parents were part of the post-WW2 wave of migrants from southern Italy.  She was only two when the family came to Mildura, yet she has kept alive many of its rustic traditions as can be seen in the adjacent outdoor ‘cantina’, built for her by Gino, where De Pieri will film his cooking scenes.  Here she produces and stores all her preserves and makes the dough in a wooden vat for her much-loved ‘casa di pane’ (home-made bread). “My biggest shock when I arrived here 40 years ago was to see all the wheat in a big pile,” says Gino. “But I couldn’t find one loaf of good bread anywhere.” The Gareffas embody the philosophy of Slow Food, a non-profit organisation which originated in Italy in the 1980s dedicated to counteracting fast food, the fast life and the disappearance of local food traditions. You can meet them and attend one of Elina’s cooking classes by joining Alison Stone’s “Discover Mildura” tours, which she can tailor to suit individual tastes. The Gareffas are just one of a number of successful Italian families around Mildura. Not far away is Oak Valley Estate where Fred and Joanne De Blasio make a range of traditional hand-crafted wine, the methods for which have been handed down from father to son.  Their new Pink Contessa, a light fruity moscato, is popular with the ladies and their ‘Vinocotto’ is a taste sensation  _  it’s fabulous drizzled over soft fruit and cheese, ice cream, or over duck.  Joanne also makes a delightful range of jams, preserves, dried fruits, pickled olives and olive oils, available at the cellar door and has become famous for her raisin slice and elderflower cornbread. “Sustainability is nothing new to us,” says De Blasio. “There were no shops in our hamlet in Calabria.  When we came to Mildura, my parents grew everything, just as they had back home.  My mother even used to make soap from our olive oil.” Today, olive oil soap has become very fashionable and you’ll find it in all shapes and sizes, including cupcakes, hearts and flowers, at Varapodio Estate.  Here, Joe and Donna Scopelliti grow seven varieties of olives which they hand harvest and press straight from the tree. “We made the decision to install our own processing plant and lab so that we can control the production of our olive oil from woe to go,” explains Joe, lamenting the never ending drought. “The best oil is in the olives hanging on the tree, so as soon as they’re picked, we start pressing  them.” Like many farmers, the Scopellitis were fed up with the way they are treated by supermarket chains and big wineries.  Chronic problems with water allocation along the Murray haven’t helped either.  They plant, grow, harvest and process all their own olives and sell their award-winning oil at the cellar door and the Sunraysia Farmers Market. “There are so many around here just walking off the land,” says Joe, lamenting the never-ending drought. “We risk losing a whole generation of quality growers who are passionate about what they do.” You can’t leave Mildura with visiting some of the boutique wineries, including Chateau Mildura, Wooden Eye and Trentham Estate.  Nor without visiting Stefano’s bakery, gallery and wine bar in Deakin Street, just around the corner from Langtree Avenue.  This vibrant precinct, which pulsates with music, is home to many terrific restaurants including Seasons, The Rustic Olive and Stefano’s Restaurant.  It’s also home to The Grand Hotel where Don Carrazza, Stefano’s father-in-law, got his first job as a bellboy. Today the Carrazzas own the whole block – but that’s another long success story. Mildura is 1000km southwest of Sydney along the Hume and Sturt Highways, approx. 12 hours by car. Mildura Discovery Tours Bookings: Alison and Phill Stone (03) 5024 7448 or 0419 127 995 Email: info@milduratours.com.au https://www.milduratours.com.au/ Sunraysia Farmers Market  – held on the first and third Saturdays of the month Australian Inland Botanic Gardens, River Road, Mourquong 8am – 12 noon Ph. (03) 5025 2342 Email: farmers.market@bigpond.com Stefano’s www.stefano.com.au (A DVD of Stefano’s latest cooking show is now available). www.visitmildura.com.au www.visitnsw.com.au