Flavours of SA
Food and travel go together like fritz and sauce – a match made in heaven. From border to coast, South Australia is a feast for the senses.
South Australia has a reputation for yielding world-class produce, and the fruits of this labour are eaten locally and exported around the country and globe. Come on a journey and discover the unique ways in which you can experience our state’s outstanding gastronomy.
Pack a picnic in | Adelaide
Meander the aisles of the Adelaide Central Market and find SA’s superb produce under one roof. With more than 70 traders to choose from, create your very own picnic and enjoy a feast on the banks of the River Torrens, a short stroll away. Hand-pick native wild game meats and chutneys from Indigenous-owned Something Wild Australia. Grab a freshly baked baguette from The Market Bread Bar, ripened chèvre from The Smelly Cheese Co. and the juiciest strawberries from one of many fruit and vegetable producers. Don’t forget your Haigh’s Chocolate frogs for dessert.
Cheesy lovers in the | Adelaide Hills
Is it brie you’re looking for? Cheese and wine are best friends, and the Hills do both spectacularly. Select a bottle of The Lane’s Lois Blanc de Blanc or Golding Wines’ The Purveyor pinot noir, then head to Woodside Cheese Wrights for a ‘gouda’ time. Taste unique handmade cheeses like cave-aged cheddar, buffalo feta, and lemon myrtle infusions. Or visit Udder Delights for a hands-on experience and learn how to make your own delectable dairy in a cheese making class. Enjoy your cheese with a gin, wine or beer from Grünthal Brew.
Im-port-ant distinction in the | Barossa
While wine springs to mind when you think of the Barossa, there’s another grape-based beverage that’s also made in the region. Perfect when paired with a square of dark chocolate on a cold night, port is wine’s sometimes-forgotten sweet cousin. A visit to Seppeltsfield can give you an experience like nothing else in the world. With a barrel of tawny put aside every year since 1878, you can take a tour of the winery culminating in a taste of port barrelled during your year of birth. Conclude your tour with fresh local and seasonal flavours at Fino at Seppeltsfield restaurant.
Cycle your way through | Clare Valley
Riesling and shine! It’s time to hit the saddle and explore Clare Valley’s Riesling Trail by bike. With more than 30km of riding track (and a few loops and nooks), your wheels will take you among the grapes and into the heart of Clare Valley’s cellar doors. Coast into Pauletts Wines for a tasting paired with bush-sourced canapes, glide into Jim Barry Wines for a tour through the vines, and detour from riesling to a brew at Pikes Beer Company. You can cycle the region at your own pace, or sit back and pedal on a guided tour.
Ocean fare in | Eyre Peninsula
A real pearl on the seafood map, the region’s sheltered bays and pristine waters create the ideal environment for cultivating oysters. Begin your oyster odyssey at Ceduna’s Oyster Barn, slurping your shellfish au natural, or with surprising flavours such as Mexican or mornay. Continue along the coast, stopping for a dozen in Streaky Bay before arriving at world-renowned Coffin Bay. Jump on an Experience Coffin Bay tour boat and enjoy oysters plucked straight from the water while sipping a local Boston Bay wine. Or for something more intrepid, slip into provided waterproof gear before wading into the unbelievably turquoise waters, and pick your oysters straight from the source.
A slice of the | Fleurieu Peninsula
Are you in Europe, or on the Fleurieu? Pair McLaren Vale’s quality wines with the holy grail of Italian food – pizza. With locally sourced ingredients scattered atop handmade wood-oven fired dough, Pizzateca is SA’s own slice of the Mediterranean. With a regional wine in hand, you could easily be in Napoli. Continue across Europe with Woodstock Estate’s German-style stone-baked flatbread pizza, the flammekueche. Try the traditional speck, leek and sour cream dish with a glass of Woodstock fiano or bright montepulciano. Don’t forget to say hello to Maverick the emu and his furred and feathered friends who call the winery home. After a day exploring the Fleurieu’s cellar doors, take a bottle to BYO-friendly Russell’s Pizza in Willunga, and finish off the night with all-you-can-eat pizza.
Native fruits of the | Flinders Ranges and Outback
What looks like a miniature pomegranate but tastes like a peachy rhubarb, and has twice the vitamin C of an orange? The answer? Quandong. This little red fruit is hardy native bush tucker that flourishes in dry, desert conditions, and you can sample its unique flavour in Quorn. Start at the Quandong Café in the heart of town for a coffee and slice of their famous quandong pie. When it’s time for an aperitif, walk up the street to Flinders Gin. Here you can experience all the flavours of the Flinders Ranges expertly infused in a range of spirits. Try the quandong gin neat, or with the distillery’s tailor-made tonic water.
Petal power on | Kangaroo Island
Everywhere you go on Kangaroo Island, you’ll find the highest quality produce, from seafood and wine to gin and honey. Those honey-making Ligurian bees aren’t just making that sweet amber nectar we love, they’re also pollinating the lush purple meadows on the Emu Bay Lavender Farm. While the medicinal uses of lavender are well known, tasting the bloom is a uniquely purple experience. Indulge in scones lathered with lavender jam. A lavender latte is sure to help with those caffeine cravings, and don’t forget to treat yourself to an ice-cream – lavender flavoured, of course. Buy a bottle of handgathered lavender gin and a jar of signature lavender honey to enjoy when you get home.
Step out along the | Limestone Coast
The same limestone that makes the region famous for its caves and coastline also distinctly flavours its wine. For a unique way to experience the breadth of this region, join a Walk the Limestone Coast tour. Don your comfiest hiking boots, pack your day bag and trek from caves to cabernet to coast, on a four-day walking tour. Explore fascinating fossil lanes, forests and farms on foot, tasting the local produce along the way as you dine at some of the region’s best restaurants and wineries.
Hooked on the | Murray River, Lakes and Coorong
Mullets are back in fashion – the Coorong mullet, that is. This small, intensely flavoured fish calls the Murray River home, and its salty water habitat contributes to its unique flavour. Many hotels and restaurants in the region feature Coorong mullet on the menu. Enjoy a seafood platter while overlooking the lazy eddies of the Murray from the balcony of Pretoria Hotel, or take a cruise with Coorong Wildside Tours and have Coorong mullet fish and chips for lunch. For something completely different, try the award-winning Coorong mullet pie at Tailem Bend Bakery, but don’t dawdle, they sell out quickly.
Garnished with love in the | Riverland
Embrace your zest for life with a bag of delicious oranges from Aggie’s Fresh Fruit Stall. If you prefer your fruit infused instead of fresh, many local producers have harnessed the citrus flavour in their alcoholic offerings. Arrive at Wilkadene, the home of the Woolshed Brewery, by road or river. Try the Big Orange Kettle Sour beer laden with Riverland orange juice while watching flocks of cockatoos and tinnies navigate the river bend. Local distilleries have also used this versatile citrus fruit, and you can find unique infusions at Delinquente Wine Co, St Agnes and 23rd Street Distillery. Orange you lucky!
Steeped in tradition in the | Yorke Peninsula
The historical mining town of Moonta was once nicknamed “Little Cornwall”. Before the region became known for its outstanding seafood, the humble Cornish pasty was prolific. The recipe was imported by Cornish miners seeking their fortunes in the copper mines in the 1800s. But what makes a pasty Cornish?The fluffy yet moist pastry pocket, filled with seasoned meat, potato and other vegetables, is known for its distinctive crimped edge of thickened pastry. This edge was traditionally served as a handle and was discarded, allowing the miners to avoid ingesting arsenic that was on their hands. These days, you can try a handmade Cornish pasty from the Moonta Bakery, The Cornish Kitchen and, while you could eat it with a knife and fork, why not try it the traditional way and hold it by the handle?
Ready to taste your way across SA?
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