As I push open the door of La Piccola Grosseria, the soft tinkle of a bell announces my entrance into a perfect little pocket of Italy. The store’s owner Sam Trimboli flashes me a huge welcoming smile as he packages some sliced ham for a lady happily laden with a basket of cheeses, pastas and nougat.
Then there’s kisses on both of my cheeks, a bear hug, and Sam and his sister Maria welcome me into their world – a place where every spare centimetre is meticulously packed with all things gloriously Italian.
Thick chilli and garlic braids hang from the ceiling above perfect rows of crispy wafers, and behind me the fridges are stocked with olives, hams, cacciatore, salamis, trays of juicy sundried tomatoes, gnocchi and a mouthwatering array of cheeses. The shelves next to them are neatly stacked with handmade pastas, pastries, chocolates, sauces, pickled vegetables and jars of sweet treats.
“Everything you see is everything I love!” Sam says, waving a hand with Italian gusto. “I’ve been running this business for 22 years and I wouldn’t change a thing. I love the produce and the people. It’s an amazing life here!” he says, beaming.
Sam hands my partner and I two of his famous paninis packed with ham, cheese, prosciutto, pickled veggies and olives. “Fit them in later!” he says.
We tuck them into our bag, as we know how much food lies ahead of us. After bear hugs goodbye, we hit the food trail in our stretchy pants.
From humble Italian beginnings
Attracted by the prospect of land ownership in the newly developed Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area of
the Riverina, Italian settlers started arriving in Griffith around 1913.
Pioneering many agricultural sectors, such as viticulture and citrus farming, immigrants worked hard to set up homes for their families back in Italy, and after the Second World War, more than 2,300 Italians arrived between 1947 and 1950, leading to Griffith having one of the highest concentrations of Italians in Australia. Today, Griffith has the highest population of Italian ancestry of any government area in the country.
To gain an understanding of how Griffith has evolved over the past century, we step back in time at the open-air Griffith Pioneer Park Museum, which is a fantastic replica of the shanty town that it was during the 1910s. Back then it was called ‘Bagtown’ because canal workers and early settlers used hessian cement bags salvaged from irrigation construction sites to build makeshift shanty huts and tents.
Astounding collections of well-preserved memorabilia, antiques and fascinating records are housed in each recreated building – such as a grocery store, pub, saddlery, hospital, and local newspaper and printing press. The Griffith Italian Museum is a great place to start, as it offers in-depth insight into the people and produce that have made this bustling Riverina city what it is today.
For the love of wine
We can thank Italians for kickstarting the wine region in and around Griffith, where there are now more than 30 wineries and a smattering of family-run cellar doors.
We begin our wine trail at Yarran Wines, where it feels more like a property in Veneto than somewhere in Australia. The Brewer family established the vineyard in the late 1990s and it’s since grown from having a single shiraz release into a diverse portfolio of varietals and styles, all crafted from estate-grown fruit by wunderkind winemaker Sam Brewer – who has a firm focus on organic, innovative, small-batch winemaking.
At the cellar door, which opens on to a sprawling wooden deck overlooking the vineyards, we enjoy a relaxed tasting paired with a platter of local produce – cheeses, prosciutto, olives and delicious crackers made by Sam’s mother, who refuses to share the secret recipe with anyone.
“She went overseas for a month, and I thought – “Yes! She’ll finally share the recipe so I can make some for guests, but instead she baked enough to last us and kept her secret!” our sommelier explains with a laugh and a slap of the table.
Standout varieties include Durif and pinot grigio, while the Yarran Cuvee Blank (which sells for a super reasonable $18) is a refreshing crowd-pleaser with crisp lime notes.
For wine lovers, De Bortoli Wines needs no introduction. It’s one of Australia’s most recognised family owned wine producers, and was founded in 1928 by Italian migrants Vittorio and Giuseppina De Bortoli. Starting out with small batches of shiraz, it quickly grew into a multi-generational enterprise.
We meet Margot De Bortoli, who organises a delicious platter of local produce and a tasting of the classic ‘Buttery Chardonnay’ (full, with bright peach and melon notes), the Pale & Dry Rosé, and the world-famous Noble One botrytis semillon – a dessert wine that helped define De Bortoli’s impressive reputation.
After our tasting we enjoy a walk around the winery’s enchanting garden which was lovingly created by matriarch Emeri De Bortoli. Before Emeri’s husband Deen De Bortoli passed away in 2003, he promised her 14 acres for the garden that has since been her pride and joy.
The fairytale landscape – with bridges, trellised walkways draped with flowering vines, a dam and a rockery – is a mesmerising living artwork comprised of different environments bursting with colour.
Next is Calabria Family Wines, which was established in 1945 by Italian couple Francesco and Elizabeth Calabria. This third generation winery has grown from humble beginnings into a dynamic producer with vineyards in both Griffith and the Barossa Valley, and it would not look out of place in Tuscany.
Known for its expressive Italian varietals – such as aglianico, montepulciano and nero d’Avola – alongside classic Australian styles, Calabria balances heritage with forward-thinking winemaking. The super stylish Griffith cellar door has tastings in polished surrounds, dining and a gorgeous, lush green garden where we sat under the grapevines and enjoyed a classic margherita pizza and a glass of Belena Pinot Grigio.
Putting the fine into Italian dining
Choosing where to eat in Griffith is no easy task, but we slice our three days as perfectly as Italians slice pizza.
For breakfast we head to Milano’s, where we sip on some of the best coffee in town, then enjoy avocado, tomato, feta and poached eggs on sourdough. Just down the street is Bertoldo’s Pasticceria – which has been serving Griffith Italian treats for a more than seventy years. We swoon over a legendary cream-filled cannoli.
Limone is our lunch spot, where award-winning head chef Luke Piccolo delights customers with his exquisite meals showcasing produce from his family’s Piccolo Farm. Luke’s signature tagliatelle with basil pesto and pecorino is a flavour explosion, with the fresh basil doing all the talking.
We’re not the first people to swoon over his baccala (salt-cured cod) patty crumbled with polenta on a bed of tomato sugo and celery, and the family’s famous lemon meringue pie is so light and fluffy it looks like the meringue is going to rise from the crust and fly away.
Afterwards we visit Luke’s father (aka Farmer Pete) at Piccolo Family Farm, where he and his wife Rosa settled more than fifty years ago.
It’s not usually open to the public, but hosts special events, weddings, and it’s where Luke and his father are building a winery so that son Luke can pursue his passion for winemaking.
For dinner we head to the legendary La Scala, which began its days as a beloved restaurant pioneering authentic cuisine, called Belvedere. Established by Italian immigrants Onorato and Catarina Vico, it was renamed La Scala and the Vico family are still at the helm at its new home in the Bagtown Exies.
We begin with the perfectly plump and creamy burrata with roasted figs and some of the best wood-fired ‘balloon’ bread I’ve ever had the pleasure of plunging a breadknife into. The smoky, charred exterior drizzled with olive oil and the hot, soft interior is an easy addiction to take up.
Next up is a crispy-based La Scala pizza which has generous servings of smoked leg ham, prosciutto and perfectly stretchy mozzarella, and a steak that’s cooked to perfection.
Murals, golf, and pasta paradise
On our third day, we pick up a map of the Mural Art Trail from the bright, welcoming Griffith Tourism Hub, which features 37 artworks of local produce, history and modern life, including the city’s water tower, which is now a stunning montage of Griffiths’ produce by Mongolian artist, Heesco.
We enjoy another walk around the 18-hole picture-perfect Griffith Golf Club, which is celebrating its 100th birthday this year. The brilliantly green fairways are lined with native trees and mobs of kangaroos are a common sight. From the clubhouse balcony, we enjoy a tea while taking in the gently undulating verdant blankets peppered with happy golfers.
Next is a stop by Harvest HQ – a wine bar and tasting hub owned and operated by the Riverina Winemakers Association that’s housed in a former ambulance station. The stylish art deco building has been beautifully renovated and it’s a sophisticated, homely place to spend an afternoon.
The word ‘synonymous’ was made for Italy and pasta, and so lunch on our last day is at Zecca Handmade – a chic restaurant housed in a 1920s bank owned by mates Ben Di Rosa, Daniel D’Aquino, and Michaela Cangelli.
The high, ornate ceilings and art deco lighting are gorgeous, but the handmade pasta and salumi are the stars of the show, and upon arrival, we get a tour of the ‘pasta lab’ behind a secret door disguised as a painting.
Clearly in his happy place, Ben talks about his passion for pasta making whilst feeding the machine and cranking the rollers. Soon a tray is filled with coils of tagliatelle.
“It’s not just the food that makes Griffith so special,” he says. “It’s the people and their passion for their lives and what they do.”
Everything on Zecca’s menu is made from scratch and the chalkboard menu changes daily. The driving philosophy is to not complicate the high quality, farm-fresh ingredients.
We indulge in an orecchietta pasta (and immediately know that we’ve been doing it all wrong our entire lives) and a baked Murray Cod with crispy skin that’s simply divine.
We politely decline dessert, but of course, being Italian, Ben delivers two cannoli rolls filled with heaven. “They’re small, right?” he says with a wink and a big smile.
One thing’s for sure – we won’t be small when we roll out of Griffith.
Our final dinner is at Bull & Bell, which is a classic steakhouse with a polished, contemporary edge. Known for its premium Riverina beef, the menu champions perfectly cooked steaks, hearty sides and a strong local wine list that showcases the region’s best drops. The atmosphere strikes a balance between relaxed and refined.
Debating top produce
With Griffith in our rear vision mirror, and a backseat crammed with handmade Italian produce, we recount some of the stories from the museum – how Italian immigrants walked to Griffith from as far away as Broken Hill to make their homes and businesses here. How they started with nothing and made so much from the land, creating family legacies that will continue to cultivate their culture and share it with the world.
This leads to us debating what our favourite dishes were. “Zecca’s pasta!” I squeal. “Hang on, La Scala’s pizza and burrata were the best!” “Sam’s paninis and Limone’s dreamy lemon meringue pie!”
Cannoli, prosciutto, pecorino, tiramisu, Prosecco, baccala…the debate goes on. We can’t agree on a winner, but we do agree that we’ll have to go back for more, so we put A Taste of Italy Griffith in the diary and start counting down the days.
To read about the best festivals in and around Griffith, click here.
Rex flies to Griffith. Book your tickets here and check out the route map below.
