Epicurious South Australia: 10 Tasty Food & Wine Experiences

For travelers looking for an epicurious getaway, South Australia is home to myriad food and wine experiences. From artisanal farm shops to lush wine regions to soft tangy cheeses and fine chocolates, here is your guide to the tasty side of South Australia.

Getting There

If you fly Qantas Airways, your epicurious experience will begin on board. The airline features a selection of over 300 wines – mainly from Australia – carefully chosen by a group of wine industry experts. Through their Sommeliers in the Sky program, fliers are guided through the wine list by flight attendants trained as sommeliers. First and Business Class passengers enjoy a four-course wine pairing menu designed by Executive Chef Neil Perry, followed by a turndown chocolate. In Economy, you’ll still enjoy local wines and gourmet meals like grilled chicken with fennel and saffron sauce, risoni and green beans, or Italian-style braised beef with potatoes and roasted pumpkin.

ChocoVino Tasting At Hahndorf Hill Winery

While it’s typical to pair wine with cheese or meals, pairing with chocolate is a whole new experience. At Hahndorf Hill Winery — one of the best places to visit in Australia — you’ll start with a box of two fine Australian chocolates (Haigh’s and Daintree), a pure cocoa bean, and some apple slices.

First, taste the cocoa bean to get a sense of the bitterness, then cleanse your palate with the apple.

From there, you’ll learn to properly taste chocolate using all your senses — examining its sheen, feeling its coolness, listening to it snap, smelling its aroma, and letting the flavors melt and unfold on your tongue.

Once trained, you’ll choose a pairing menu and discover how chocolate and wine can combine for a truly delicious and inspiring experience.

A Stay At Kingsford Homestead

Kingsford Homestead is a 5-star, all-inclusive property with a rich history.

Commissioned in 1856, it was the home of a “free-settled” British colonist named Stephen King, who built the town’s first steam-powered flour mill, acquired 500 acres of land, and raised 3,250 sheep.

Inside the grand yet charming structure, you’ll find an original Gothic-style cedar staircase, slate tiles from Edinburgh, and a cedar buffet table with a hidden passageway.

The highlight of the homestead is its food and wine program. Through that hidden passageway, you’ll access a stone wine cellar where candlelit degustations and local wine dinners take place.

Expect entrees inspired by the region — for instance, a six-hour slow-cooked beef daube, made modern with a Barossa Shiraz reduction.

Ligurian Honey Sampling At Clifford’s Honey Farm

Historically, Kangaroo Island had no native honeybees. In the 1880s, pure Ligurian honeybees were brought from Italy and isolated on the island.

Because there are no other bees for them to interbreed with, they’re now considered the purest in the world. The honey is known for its healing properties, including Vitamin E for blemishes and natural anti-bacterial benefits for ailments like arthritis, wounds, and ulcers.

At Clifford’s Honey Farm, you can see the bees in action and sample products like flavored honeys, honey wine, cosmetics, drinks, and ice cream.

Celebrity Chef Tasting At Maggie Beer’s Farm Shop

Maggie Beer’s Farm Shop, located in South Australia’s Barossa Valley, is the shop of celebrity TV cook Maggie Beer from the popular show “The Cook and the Chef.”

Along with high-quality products and complimentary recipes, the shop offers a mecca of free samples.

Dukkahs, olive oils, balsamics, jams, chutneys, vinegars, vino cottos, verjuice, sauces, and pâtés are all available to try.

Afterward, order a freshly brewed coffee or unique tea blend — the chocolate marmalade is a favorite — and enjoy it near the glowing blue turtle pond outside.

Sipping Wine Made From The World’s Oldest Shiraz Vines

South Australia is home to the world’s oldest Shiraz vines, spared from diseases like Phylloxera that devastated vineyards elsewhere.

While some claim the cult classic winery Turkey Flat holds the oldest vines, others argue it’s Langmeil Winery.

Browsing The Many Stalls At Central Market

In Adelaide, the Central Market reflects Australia’s diverse culinary culture with 80 stalls under one roof.

Enjoy pastries at Providore, cheese at Leo’s Cheese Bar, produce at Pick Me Fresh, healthy bites at House of Health, and Moroccan fare at Taste of Marrakech. The market also hosts events, tastings, and wine classes.

Wine Tasting At Australia’s Oldest And Largest Family-Owned Winery

Yalumba has been family-run since 1849 and is the oldest and largest in the country. It’s also one of the few in the world with its own cooperage.

Tour the workspace where they season, temper, and pressurize wood to make barrels, then sample wines like The Signature — a Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz blend with intense fruit flavors and a touch of American oak.

Make Your Own Wine At Penfolds

At Penfolds, sample world-class wines and create your own blend.

Wearing a lab coat, head to the blending room to mix Shiraz, Grenache, and Mourvèdre using a beaker. Taste, tweak, and bottle your custom wine. My final blend: 52% Shiraz, 26% Mourvèdre, 22% Grenache.

Have A Historical & Spiritual Vino Experience

Sevenhill Cellars is Clare Valley’s oldest winery and the only Jesuit-owned winery in Australia.

Founded in 1851 to make sacramental wine — which it still produces — Sevenhill also offers high-quality table wines, free tastings, and tours of its onsite church and underground crypt.

Bike Food & Wine Trails

McLaren Vale offers numerous trails including the Cadenzia Grenache Trail, Cheese and Wine Trail, Coast to Vines Trail, Scarce Earth Shiraz Trail, and McMurtrie Mile.

The Cadenzia Trail highlights Grenache wines from producers like d’Arenberg and Maximus Wines. The Cheese and Wine Trail pairs local cheeses with cellar door wines.

Coast to Vines blends heritage and nature. The Scarce Earth Trail explores single-vineyard Shiraz wines with unique character. The McMurtrie Mile celebrates the simple pleasures of wine, craft beer, local food, art, and scenic views. For maps and details, click here.

South Australia Tour Recommendations

We personally recommend the following tour companies for epicurious pursuits in South Australia. Each has been experienced by a member of the Epicure & Culture editorial staff:

• For Kangaroo Island: Exceptional Kangaroo Island
• For the Barossa Valley: Barossa Daimler Tours
• For Adelaide Hills, Clare Valley, and McLaren Vale: Rich & Lingering

Have you visited South Australia?