★ Tempting chocolate events

Mississippi Mud Pie - Hot Chocolate Festival

As if visitors needed any extra encouragement to indulge in one of life’s true pleasures, three chocolate events are doing just that, this August.

Melt Away is a new chocolate festival taking over Melbourne Docklands 7 – 9 August 2015. With workshops, masterclasses and activities for all ages plus a chocolate fair, a chocolate bar, chocoholic tours and much more, this new Melbourne food festival is sure to get visitors and locals off the couch and into the Docklands this winter. Tickets for a single day session start at $22, at various venues around Docklands. For more information contact press@meltawaymelbourne.com

Putting a new spin on the tradition of cheese and wine pairing, Melbourne’s Chocoholic Tours is running a Chocolate and Wine Pairing Afternoon on 9 August. Visitors will discover how chocolate is made from bean to bar as well as learning key chocolate tasting techniques and how to recognise unique flavours. They will also have the opportunity to pair five wines with five handcrafted coverture chocolates to bring out the flavours in both. For more information contact info@chocoholictours.com.au

Just 50 minutes from Melbourne, Yarra Valley’s Hot Chocolate Festival takes the winter warming drink to uncharted territory with its 31 flavours to match each day in August. At the Yarra Valley Chocolatiere and Ice-Creamery, new flavours include strawberry and balsamic, bacon and maple syrup, and honeycomb and lavender. Meanwhile, showstopper hot chocolates include Mississippi Mud Pie which comes with a molten shot of caramel sauce to pour over and melt a disc of dark couverture chocolate; a Bombe Alaska with a ball of berry ice cream and a mountain of meringue; or The Slam Dunk, where mini doughnut balls are dipped into a cinnamon and honey hot chocolate.  35 Old Healesville Road,  (cnr Melba Highway)  Yarra Glen Victoria. Free entry. More information contact jo@yvci.com.au