Barossa

Be consumed in the Barossa, just over an hour north from Adelaide. It's no wonder that the very soil, which produces some of the world's best wines, also grows and creates some outstanding local produce.

Fill picnic baskets with smoked and cured smallgoods, egg noodles, preserves, cheeses, dill cucumbers and fresh bread. Sample the delights at Maggie Beer's Farm Shop, where the local foodie produces her signature verjuice, pates and sauces. Explore regional restaurants including fine-dining at Appellation, unexpected flavours at FermentAsian or dine in the stunningly restored stables at Hentley Farm Restaurant.

Savour a Shiraz or sip on a crisp Riesling at over 80 cellar doors in the region. The big names can be found at every turn including Wolf Blass, Jacob's Creek and Penfolds. Don't overlook the smaller players such as Rockford, Henschke and Charles Melton who consistently produce award winning wines.

Pass through small towns, the early German and English heritage evident in the architecture of quaint stone homes and church spires which dot the landscape. 

Voyeur’s March feature preview

SA: Wild Harvest

WORDS JO STEWART

From Jacob’s Creek to Maggie Beer, Penfolds and beyond, South Australia lays claim to many of the big guns of the Australian food and wine world. And, while it is tempting to gravitate solely towards the well-known names and brands, the state is the domain of producers both big and small.

These producers are at the heart of South Australia’s push to reposition itself as one Australia’s culinary innovators after a decade or two in the wilderness. This is already in evidence in Adelaide, where changes to licensing law in recent years have seen a new raft of eateries and a burgeoning small-bar scene.

“We used to have all these trailblazers: Phillip Searle, Ann Oliver, Cheong Liew, Don Dunstan,” Simon Bryant told The Australian Financial Review last year. Bryant was one of three creative directors responsible for revamping and revitalising Tasting Australia, the state’s premier food and wine event. “We had a thriving food culture that was very true to [these chefs’] migratory backgrounds and the produce that was available in this state. We lost our way, but now it’s our job to show that we are a serious contender in the food industry.”

South Australia’s provenance is very much at the centre of the AAT Kings Adelaide and Kangaroo Island Discovery trip, a five-day tour revealing the state’s food artisans. It’s certainly not a trip for those on a diet as it’s a parade of wine, cheese, cured meats and seafood.

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