The Gastronomy of South Australia’s Wineries: Where World-Class Wine Meets Exceptional Food
Our first wine tours to Australia were a huge success! It was no surprise that the wines were great and there were certainly plenty of them – including the extension to Tasmania we tasted 170 different wines in total! But the big, and unexpected, surprise of the tours was the very high standard of meals we enjoyed at the wineries. Gastronomy indeed! There’s something wonderful about the harmony of fine wine and gourmet cuisine, especially when the dining room overlooks a vineyard. Truly what memories are made of.
Our first group meal at the Australian Wine Centre in Adelaide was a sign of things to come – as it’s called locally, a ‘Feed Me’ menu of three starters, three main courses and a delicious dessert all served as sharing dishes. Many other wonderful meals followed and at each one we had four or five different wines. These are five of my favourite gastronomic highlights, three of which were worthy of a Michelin Star for the quality of flavour and presentation:
Fino Restaurant at Seppeltsfield winery, Barossa Valley.
A 5 course tasting menu including swordfish cerviche; creamy houmous; wagyu brisket; raspberry millefeuille.
Paringa Winery, Mornington Peninsula.
Faultless service from a professional team led by Luc. A 3 course menu comprising…
- Entrée: Tuna, broad beans, finger lime, taramasalata
- Main: Sher Wagyu, braised morels, white onion puree (one of the best beef dishes I have ever had!); and
- Dessert: Brillat savarin ice cream, poached rhubarb, candied strawberries, white chocolate crumb;
Yerring Station Winery, Yarra Valley.
What a glorious view from the light-filled dining room! A 3 course menu of…
- Entree crab, prawn, white bean, lemon;
- Main market fish, prawn arancini, scallop, fennel, ricotta, zucchini flower; and
- Dessert caramel chocolate basque cheesecake, berry sorbet.
Frogmore Winery, Southern Tasmania.
The presentation of dishes here was particularly impressive.
- Entrée: Huon salmon ceviche with wakame, pickled ginger, wasabi mayonnaise, soy gel and sesame cracker;
- Main: Marinated lamb backstrap ,pumpkin purée, roasted Dutch carrots, minted labneh, carrot-top pesto, fried Brussels sprout leaves; and
- Dessert: Matcha and white chocolate cheesecake, yuzu gel, whipped mascarpone, white chocolate crumble and pistachio ice cream.
Moorilla Winery The Source Restaurant at MONA.
After the sensory overload of MONA museum, a wonderful fine dining experience. A 3-course menu served as ‘alternate drops’, i.e. there were two options in each of three courses and each option was served to alternate diners. So if you wanted to pair up with someone you could taste all six dishes!
- Entrees: Fried buttermilk cauliflower, almond cream, tahini dressing, burnt honey, puffed wild rice & garlic crisps OR Mushroom Gnocchi, Roast wattle seed & kipfler gnocchi, nut brown butter, Browns & Towns mushrooms, black barley risotto, PX & wallaby broth, saltbush, fermented garlic;
- Mains: Koji butter line caught local roast fish, scallop, cauliflower cheese, capers, lemon potato, spinach & warrigal puree, green olive, broccolini, squid ink & vermouth vinaigrette OR Seared Tasmanian wild venison, celeriac & stilton cream, coffee roasted beetroot, caramelised shallots, pickled beetroot, game jus; and
- Dessert: Salted caramel custard tart, toasted milk ice cream, red wine quince, oat & cashew crunch OR Tasman honey parfait, honeycomb, pistachio tuile.
It’s sometimes said that a restaurant is ‘worth crossing town for’. Well these were worth crossing the globe for!
Cheers and Bon Appetit.
Christos