World Food Exchange in Adelaide

The inaugural World Food Exchange is a unique, must attend event for South Australia's food and wine producers and the culinary tourism industry. The event will bring together leading international and Australian experts in the development of high quality food and wine themed tourism experiences to share their knowledge and expertise.

The four day event, from 21-25 September 2008, will promote South Australia as a leading culinary tourism destination and showcase South Australian primary produce industries as ecologically sustainable and among the best in the world.

The World Food Exchange regional tours provide an opportunity to introduce visitors to a taste of regional South Australia's brilliant experiences, highlighting the whole chain of wine and food experiences. The World food Exchange organised tours incorporate unique experiences only available through the World Food Exchange program. They feature a taste of the lifestyle and world-class ecologically sustainable seafood and aquaculture industry of the Eyre Peninsula as well as immersion in the food and wine culture of Barossa Valley.

It's an event not to be missed.

For more information or to register, visit worldfoodexchange.com or www.richandlingering.com.au/FoodExchange.html

Hill-Smith Honoured

Michael Hill-Smith MW, the owner of the Adelaide Hills based winery Shaw & Smith, has been named Member of the Order of Australia in this years Queens Birthday Honours list.

The Order of Australia is awarded to individuals to recognise their contribution to the country. Hill-Smith was nominated for his role in the Australian wine industry. The order is ranked at a similar level to the Member and Order of the British Empire (MBE, OBE) awards in the UK.

In 1988, Hill-Smith was the first Australian to pass the rigorous Master of Wine exam. He is chairman of judges at the Royal Adelaide Wine Show. He is also a wine consultant for Singapore Airlines, a trained cordon bleu chef, and all round nice guy.

Hill-Smith was delighted at his appointment. 'Obviously, she has made a terrible mistake,' he joked.

Tempranillo: A Classy & Luscious Red

New to Australia: A young, classy and juicy individual of Mediterranean origin, desperately seeking a quiet dinner for two. Will mature to be a beautiful rich and luscious foodie partner, no walks on the beach necessary.

Spain's classy indigenous Tempranillo is exactly that, early-ripening, red wine grape which makes juicy wines for drinking young, but can mature well in a rich, sometimes oaky style.

Tempranillo (pronounced Temp-rah-NEE-yo) is a grape variety that puts the spine into a high proportion of Spain's respected reds and is the most widely planted grape variety in the superstar Rioja region in the rugged north-east of the country. It is a hearty, robust wine with light tannins and great acidic structure, which matches excellently with food.

Tempranillo has a level of versatility other grapes can only envy. It's thick-skinned and capable of making deep-coloured, long-lasting wines. As a single variety wine it typically exhibits a generous mix of flavours – strawberry, dark cherries, tobacco or a herbal character, vanilla and spice. But it can also be blended with Grenache (also know as Garnacha in Spain) or Cabernet Sauvignon to produce provide a little more tannin support.

In South Australia, which has a similar Mediterranean climate, the variety has been planted here over the past decade with great success. McLaren Vale has always been a region ready to try innovative approaches and varieties. This is no exception with a number of classy Tempranillo wines produced by Gemtree Vineyards, Mr Riggs, Cascabel, and Olivers Taranga. In the Barossa Valley Yalumba, and Peter Lehmann Wines are well known wineries, and even in the cooler Adelaide Hills Nepenthe Wines produce one.

A food wine, it works well with game, sausages, casseroles and lamb. Perfect for those winter comfort meals and, of course, traditional Spanish dishes, - think chorizo sausage tapas.

There comes a time when you need to discover something new, otherwise it could be a long lonely winter.

Sweet Child O' Wine

Adrian North, Head of Applied Psychology at Heriot Watt University in Edinburgh has discovered that music influences taste. Specifically, he discovered that listening to powerful, heavy music makes wine seem richer and heavier.

One of the tests in the study involved people tasting Cabernet Sauvignon and listening to Sweet Child O' Mine by Guns N' Roses. The test subjects reported that the wine tasted 60% more robust when the music was played. The research has a few excited entrepreneurs exploring the option of music matching suggestions on wine labels and music menus in restaurants.

Rest assured that Brazilian Speed-Metal will not become the selected music on Rich & Lingering's Barossa Shiraz Tour.

2008 South Australian Wine Vintage

Absolutely perfect – right up to the point when it all went pear shaped!

A record heat wave across South Australia, right in the middle of vintage lead, to temperatures of at least 35 for 15 straight days. This caused any fruit still on the vine to ripen very suddenly. Sugar levels went through the roof – 15, 16 baume, 18, 20, 22 baume. Sometimes jumping a couple of degrees in a day. Everything ripened at once, from the early ripening varieties through to the late.

Consequently everyone was trying to get their fruit off the vines and into the winery. Not only were pickers even more difficult to get hold of than usual, but most wineries were at full capacity, with a two week delay before they could accept any more fruit. Fruit stayed on the vine, becoming ultra ripe. A two month vintage suddenly become a two to three week event.

It will be a great year for fortified wines – and they won’t need to be fortified with brandy spirit. Look out for some big wines, with high alcohol.

Up to that point, everything was going fantastically. With half the fruit in across South Australia’s premium wine regions, it was going to be an early vintage again. The yields were likely to be slightly below average, making it easy for the vines to ripen what was there. Warm dry conditions lead to little disease pressure. The quality was expected to be very good.

So wines from fruit before the heatwave will be great, wines from after the heatwave will be great for Mr Parker.

Wine Australia's Tasting Challenge

A website challenging consumers to show off their knowledge of wine has been launched by Wine Australia. Described as “virtual wine tasting”, The Regional Heroes Tasting Challenge has been designed to assist you to learn more about wine.

You can pick a wine and select the appropriate characteristics to describe it. You will then receive a score, and tasting notes for that particular wine and what can be expected from that region. The website is http://www.wineaustralia.com/regionalheroes/

Wine Australia aims to build peoples awareness of Australia's wine regions and inform consumers about an Australian sense of place and particular flavour, or style of wine. Its a quick way to learn more about Australia regional styles.

Finding Fiano Fantastic?

Hmmm, its nice, it unusual...
Forever on the search for the interesting, the challenging and the down right enjoyable, we have started a new column on what we are currently drinking.

2007 Coriole Fiano – Fiano is a new white grape variety to South Australia. Originally coming from Avellino in south west Italy. This is the second commercial release by Coriole, who are based in McLaren Vale. We know of only two other producers making it; Parish Hill, in the Adelaide Hills, and Olivers Taranga also in McLaren Vale.

This particular release has a light pale colour, intense aroma, with a consistently intense and rich (somewhat savoury) palate of toasted nuts and melons. In the mouth its has a similar feel to Viognier — full and rich. Lovely balanced acidity. Fantastic with robust seafood dishes, like a squid ink risotto.