The Melbourne Food and Wine Festival isn't exclusively about hot nosh and vino.
Some of the Australia's leading mixologists will be on deck creating signature cocktails at a floating barge bar on the Yarra River.
Sebastian Reaburn from Vue de Monde's Lui Bar has designed a Botanical Water cocktail for the festival, which will incorporate wild plants.
"We work a lot with lemon myrtle, aniseed myrtle - strawberry gum is a favourite," he says.
The botanicals will be flash infused into water, which will be mixed with vodka and lime juice.
"The drink will look totally clear, it will look like a glass of water and then when you taste it it will be like this vibrant, Australian botanical Tom Collins."
Reaburn says cocktail menus are growing more seasonal as mixologists look to what is happening on plates for inspiration.
"We have seen over the last 10 years this understanding of produce, where it comes from, what its origins are, and that is just going to become more important," he says.
"Really great fresh produce gives really great fresh drinks."
Reaburn says there is also a lot of experimentation with local, quirky spirits like the award-winning Wildbrumby's Premium Pear William Schnapps made in Jindabyne, NSW.
Hobart mixologist Adam Turner (Void, Museum of Old and New Art) and Sydney's Tim Philips (Bulletin Place) are also among bartenders creating signature cocktails for the floating bar at the festival hub, The Immersery.
To eat, crowds can enjoy yum cha during the day and larger dishes in the evening as part of a menu designed by Florent Gerardin (Silo by Joost), Daniel Wilson (Huxtable, Huxtaburger) and Jesse Gerner (Bomba and Anada).
The Immersery: Festival Kitchen Bar and Raingarden is a three-level structure anchored to the banks of the river, featuring vertical gardens, water mist and a soundscape.
There will be more than 200 events across Victoria during the festival, including the World's Longest Lunch for 1500 people on Friday, with a menu designed by Jacques Reymond, Adam D'Sylva and Stefano de Pieri.
Several international chefs will be in Melbourne including Makoto Tokuyama (Cocoro, Auckland), Damian D'Silva (Immigrants The Singapore Gastrobar) and American pastry chef, Johnny Iuzzini.
* Melbourne Food and Wine Festival runs from February 28 to March 16.
