When the MICHELIN Guide announced that South Australia was the first place it would be turning its gaze in this country, no one in the state was surprised. Eighty per cent of the nation’s premium wine is made in South Australia.
The Barossa Valley pours bold shiraz from some of the oldest vines on the planet, the Clare Valley sets the standard for crisp Aussie riesling and McLaren Vale and the cooler Adelaide Hills are home to subtle chardonnay and elegant bubbles; great wines to pair with food.
Then there’s the produce: Ligurian honey from Kangaroo Island, world-beating Eyre Peninsula seafood, grass-fed Limestone Coast beef from Mayura Station, artisan cheeses, cold-pressed olive oils and just-picked stone fruit. And you will find it all at the Adelaide Central Market, among the largest fresh-produce markets in the Southern Hemisphere, that has been extolling the virtues of this wealth of amazing foods for over 150 years. To top it off, you have world-class chefs in restaurants that will wow the MICHELIN reviewers with inspiration from this bounty of wine and produce.
This abundance of high-quality local ingredients and the joy of sharing great meals has fostered a culture in South Australia that is relaxed, inclusive and best savoured with family and friends. This unique approach to food, wine and hospitality sets the state apart.
Beat the MICHELIN rush
The world-famous guide is heading to South Australia because of its reputation for fine food and reviewers will be spoiled for choice. Restaurant Botanic in Adelaide has already received Australia’s top prize of three chef’s hats led by chef Jamie Musgrave in the picturesque Botanic Gardens. Staġuni, in the Barossa Valley village of Marananga, South Australia, is a Mediterranean-inspired restaurant led by acclaimed chef Clare Falzon. While the Kuti Shack on the Fleurieu Peninsula puts that region’s produce to incredible use under the watchful eye of owners Vanessa Button and Brendan Roach. Who will make the MICHELIN cut? Go and find out for yourself.
Sip wine in the Clare Valley
Family-owned vineyards like Taylors or Jim Barry in the Clare Valley deliver hand-picked, perfectly balanced wines backed by decades of wine-making skills. Pair these fantastic drops with some artisanal cheeses at the cellar door surrounded by perfectly coiffed gardens and modern sculptural works.
Appreciate McLaren Vale’s amazing gin
South Australia is more than just a wine producer. Never Never Distilling Co., makes some of the greatest gin in Australia. Their products feature in some of the best restaurants in the country including making what purports to be the driest martini in the world at Melbourne’s famous Gimlet restaurant. But at its home in McLaren Vale, you can have a guided gin tasting with an inhouse expert to truly appreciate this bespoke spirit, and it just tastes better with views over the majestic Fleurieu Peninsula.
Explore the Seafood Frontier
Eyre Peninsula is part of the Seafood Frontier and the whole area is a seafood-lover’s paradise. In Coffin Bay you will sit at a table that is waist deep in water and learn to shuck oysters that are grown just metres from where you sit, then shipped all over the world where they are in demand for the mineral-rich taste that only these South Australian waters can foster. But these pearls of the ocean will never taste better than right there in Coffin Bay, shucked by you, rinsed in the waters that nurtured them and eaten in your big rubber waders. Further towards the tip of the Eyre Peninsula you can make a stop in Port Lincoln where you can sample the famous Spencer Gulf prawns within hours of them being brought to shore on the trawlers.
Get fruity at markets and cafes
South Australia’s warm days and cool nights make it home to some of the finest stone and citrus fruit. On Saturdays, the Willunga Farmers Market brings growers face to face with shoppers, often with fruit picked that very morning. South Australia’s cafe scene also makes great use of the state’s bountiful crop with Verdun’s Fourth Hill Providore serving up compotes and crumbles, while Thebarton’s Bloom offers brunches in century-old tram barn.
This feature was originally published in Issue 13 of Dream by Luxury Escapes.
