Treat Your Taste Buds on “Taste of South Australia’s” New Gourmet Walking Tours of Adelaide

Nov. 26, 2009 - PRLog -- Food and wine loving pedestrians will be happy to learn of four new gourmet walking tours, known as ‘Insiders Adelaide’, launched by specialist food and wine operator “Taste of South Australia” (www.tastesa.com.au).  

The four tours uncover Adelaide’s hidden secrets, exposing the city’s true essence with inspirational walks hosted by local guides. Highlights include wine tastings, a visit to Adelaide’s colourful Central Market, delicious chocolate from iconic producer Haighs and an exploration of Adelaide’s top foodie street, Rundle Street.

The four ‘Insiders Adelaide’ walking tours are divided as follows:

MARKET CULTURE: includes Adelaide Central Markets, visiting local potters and cheeseries, learning about local wines and exploring some of the interesting buildings around Victoria Square.

CLASSIC ADELAIDE – CULTURE & HISTORY: ideal for art lovers, this tour visits the Art Gallery, explores the Cultural Boulevard with its statuesque Government and University buildings, visits Artlab to view the team restoring historic paintings, books and fabrics and walks past the historic Queen Adelaide Club, home to the city’s elite. The tour also includes tasting Haighs fine chocolate and lunch at SA’s Art gallery.

EAST END PUB CULTURE: this includes some of the city’s quirky sites - the Cupola in honour of Elvis in the Botanic gardens, experiencing a bush food trail and wandering through the historic East End fruit and produce markets. The East End of Rundle Street is one of Adelaide’s finest foodie streets and guests can enjoy food heaven, be that a fresh oyster from the Oyster Bar or a hot indulgent chocolate from Chocolat.

WEST END ART & CULTURE: this tour focuses on the contemporary arts and culture of Adelaide such as the Samstag Museum and the long-established Experimental Art Foundation, as well as many small art venues that are often hidden from those that don’t know the city. There will also be chance to enjoy a wine tasting in the stylish Apothecary restaurant.

Each tour can last two or four hours and costs AU$127 per person for a two hour and AU$187 per person for a four hour tour. Prices include an expert local guide, entrance fees and goodie bag, a light meal - either breakfast, lunch, morning or afternoon tea, depending on time of day tour takes place.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

TASTE OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA (http://www.tastesa.com.au) was founded by Mary Anne Kennedy over 15 years ago. A graduate of the school of winemaking at Roseworthy Agricultural College, she worked in wineries and hotels around Australia before starting Taste of South Australia.

The company offers a wide range of food and wine tours, including ‘Tour de Foodies’ featuring seven different wine, culinary, spa and golf experiences. These educational and informative tours, ranging from one-day to five-nights, include celebrity chefs, wine makers and other selected experts and offer authentic and sometimes adventurous experiences.

Renowned names include Andrew Fielke, innovative founder of the Red Ochre Grill who pioneered gourmet Australian native cuisine, and Rosa Matto, a major influence on Adelaide’s culinary scene with her focus on Asian and Mediterranean foods. Others include foodie Mark Gleeson, Chef Andrew Hudson and winemaker Paul Lelacheur.

Tour de Foodies experiences include: COLLECT, CREATE AND COOK - a day tour which begins with a trip to Adelaide Central Markets for a ‘chef’s eye’ to selecting fresh produce to be used in Rosa Matto’s cooking class later in the day. The focus is on cultural diversity so unfamiliar ingredients are a feature. The class ends with a meal, the results of the day’s efforts, served with local wine.

COLLECT, CREATE AND COOK CONSISTENTLY - from two to five-days, this tour combines the market visit and Rosa Matto’s cooking class with meetings with some of Adelaide’s up and coming chefs, and explores Asian, Vietnamese, Middle Eastern and Mediterranean food trails. There are cooking schools at Chapel Hill and Thornpark Country House and wine tours in the Clare and McLaren Vale.

WINE ICONS - a one or three-day tour encompassing Penfolds Grange (the first non Californian, non French wine to be named best red wine in the world), Barossa’s Wolf Blass and Jacob’s Creek labels, Shaw & Smith and Petaluma.

ROYAL GOLF - from two to seven days, this tour includes rounds on selected Royal golf courses in Brisbane, Sydney, Canberra, Adelaide and Perth, as well as golf clinics, private winery visits and fine dining. Australia’s Royal Golf courses are renowned for being exclusive, beautiful and challenging.

GOLF & GOURMET CELEBRITY CHEF - a one or three-day tour begins with a round at the Royal Adelaide Golf Club, ranked in Australia’s top five, and features a master class in Australian native cuisine with Andrew Fielke. Touring and gourmet lunches included.

WINE & WELLNESS - a one or four-day tour, starts each morning with a bush walk through the picturesque Adelaide Hills followed by simple, healthy gourmet breakfasts. Aquador Retreat is a Wellness Centre specialising in hydrotherapy with a signature bathhouse treatment. Days are spent being pampered in the spa or relaxing in the gardens, whilst evenings are spent enjoying contemporary Australian cuisine by Bernard Oehrli and fine cool climate wines from the Adelaide Hills.

THE BEST OF EVERYTHING SOUTH AUSTRALIA HAS TO OFFER - is a six-day tour incorporating the Adelaide Hills, Barossa Valley, Clare Valley and McLaren Vale wine regions, a cooking school, spa treatments, local produce markets and gourmet dining. Highlights include accommodation at Thornpark Country House, lunch at the award winning Bridgewater Mill restaurant in the Adelaide Hills, a visit to Maggie Beer’s shop and dinner in the renowned Appellation restaurant in the Barossa and a walk or cycle along the Clare Valley’s Riesling Trail.

For wine lovers Taste of South Australia offers a number of tours focusing on South Australia’s gourmet restaurants, its best wine, beautiful scenery and laidback lifestyle, with personalised tours led by guides trained in wine and tourism, with background training at Roseworthy Agricultural College.

The bespoke wine tours offer visitors the chance to meet people in the wine industry in any or all of the five main wine regions – Barossa Valley, Clare Valley, McLaren Vale, Adelaide Hills and Coonawarra. Tours include:

• Gourmet Food Tour and Cooking Schools
• Wine and Wildlife: Southern Vales and Kangaroo Island
• Gourmet Walking and Cycling Tours
• Art of Food and Wine (includes meeting with landscape artist David Dridan)
• Fine Antiques Tour
• Wine and Great Ocean Road
• Taste of the Outback
• Taste of Real Australia
• The Great Australia Wine Tour (includes South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales, Western Australia and Tasmania)
• Wine Education and Appreciation

A Taste of South Australia is featured by all the UK’s leading tour operators to Australia including Tailor Made Travel, Bridge & Wickers and Audley Travel, to name but a few.

For further information on South Australia: http://www.southaustralia.com

November 2009  

-ENDS-

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