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Food and wine

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Enjoying the gourmet food and Wine Australia has to offer
Carolyn Johns / Tourism Australia

Australia is one of the most exciting destinations for ‘foodies’ in the world. Its culinary innovation and novel, healthy and fresh approach to food preparation result in some of the best and most interesting restaurants in the region. Australian cuisine owes its greatness to access to fresh and fine produce; rigorous training and pride in the service and hospitality industry; the influence of Asia’s diverse cuisines; and the multitude of ethnic groups represented in Australia.

One of the many benefits of Australia’s multicultural society is the truly diverse food enjoyed in restaurants and homes in every state and territory in the country. Historically, there has never been a cuisine typically regarded as Australian. Instead, Australia’s cuisine has evolved with the distinct layers of flavour that each new culture has added.

Southern Europe has combined with Asia and the Pacific for new flavours and tastes. Italian, Chinese, Japanese, Greek, Thai, Malay, French and Vietnamese restaurants are abundant, particularly in the country’s capital cities. Middle Eastern flavours are emerging in greater abundance in mainstream cooking with Moroccan and Lebanese flavours used with local ingredients with notable success.

Traditional Australian ‘bush tucker’ is also being used to great effect in the cities’ best restaurants—chilli kangaroo tail, sweet yam gnocchi or lemon myrtle linguine are just a few examples. Menus also incorporate Indigenous Australian wild foods such as bunya nuts and Kakadu plums with specialty meats such as crocodile meat and Northern Territory buffalo.

Many new industries were established in the late 1980s and 1990s to accommodate the growing Australian taste for exotic foods. New crops in the fruit and vegetables industry such as Asian vegetables, nashi pears, lychees, olives and herbs were introduced to take advantage of market opportunities. Aquaculture activities, such as farmed Atlantic salmon and southern bluefin tuna, were also established, adding to Australia’s fresh food credentials.

The Australian wine industry is recognised internationally as producing a full range of wine styles to match any dish, from full-bodied reds and deep fruity whites, to sparkling, dessert and fortified varieties. Australian wines are sold in over 90 countries around the world and are likely to be found in the finest restaurants the world over. 

In fact

In 2003–04, exports of Australian wine totalled almost 585 million litres, worth almost $2.5 billion—an increase of just under 3 per cent from 2002–03. The principal destinations were the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Germany and New Zealand. Australia’s largest wine export market by volume was the United Kingdom (224 million litres, worth $849 million) while its largest market by value was the United States (174 million litres, worth $874 million).

The principal wine-producing areas are located in the south-east of the Australian continent, in South Australia’s Barossa Valley; the Hunter Valley in New South Wales; and Victoria’s Yarra Valley. Equally, some of the country’s finest wines come from the Margaret River in Western Australia. Not only has Australia’s wine industry won international acclaim for its quality and value, but Australian wines have won many key international awards, competing favourably against longer-established national wine industries.

Shiraz is the most widely produced grape variety, followed by Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon. The biggest producers of wine in Australia, and some of their brands, are:

BRL Hardy

Berri Estates, Hardys

Southcorp

Penfolds, Lindemans

Orlando Wyndham Group

Jacob’s Creek, Wyndham Estate

Beringer Blass

Wolf Blass, Annie’s Lane

Online

Last update May 2005