You don’t have to spend a fortune to experience Tasting Australia. This year’s program is jam-packed with incredible events ranging in price from free to $950. No matter what you spend – you’re guaranteed to have a fantastic time.
Whether you want to try your hand at a masterclass, splurge on a food safari, get up close and personal renowned chefs for free or do something fun and affordable with the kids, we’ve pulled together a comprehensive guide to suit every budget and taste.
We’ve got the events that are free to access, events under $50, events under $100, premium experiences, and the ultimate event – priced just under $1000.
The food and wine festival kicks off this Sunday 30 April – Sunday 7 May but ticketed events are selling out fast. So if you’d like to do something, now’s really the time to plan and book.
Free
Town Square
Town Square in Victoria Square/Tarntanyangga is the Tasting Australia hub. You can wander around for free and enjoy some the season’s best offerings all in one place.
This is where you’ll find the Glasshouse Kitchen, Tasting Australia’s new showpiece restaurant where guest chefs from around the country and the globe will join forces with local industry to produce decadent dinners every night. As well as Charred, Tasting Australia’s street-style food vendors, cooking over coals.
You can purchase a glass of local wine, artisan beer, cider or spirits to share an after work aperitif while you wander. You can even pick up a fine local bottle to take home and share at your table for dinner from the Tasting Australia bottle shop. All beverages are presented by East End Cellars and Treasury Wines.
If you are visiting Town Square, UPark on Grote Street is only 400 metres away. Parking starts from $5 during the day with $8 night parking flat rates after 6pm | Monday to Thursday and Saturday. To find out more and to check availability, visit the UPark website here.
Town Square Opening Hours
Sunday 30 April 11am-11pm
Monday 1 May 11am-2:30pm
Tuesday 2 May 11am-2:30pm
Wednesday 3 May 11am-11pm
Thursday 4 May 11am-11pm
Friday 5 May 11am-Midnight
Saturday 6 May 11am-Midnight
Sunday 7 May 11am-5pm
Charred
Warm your body and satisfy your appetite at Charred, Tasting Australia’s Town Square ‘street’ food vendors. Each stall will utilise fire as a primary heat source for cooking their menu, adding smokiness and searing heat to your autumn lunch or dinner.
Using South Australian produce, Charred will showcase regional flair such as dishes cooked by Kangaroo Island firemaster, Tony Nolan and Dan Moss of Terroir Auburn (Clare Valley). Charred will also play host to several informal masterclasses with our guest chefs throughout the festival such as Cheong Liew, Analiese Gregory, Alex Herbert, Clayton Wells, Simon Bryant, Paul Carmichael, Sammy and Bella and Mitch Orr.
Charred is your chance to get up close and personal with some the most renowned chefs in the industry and taste their food for a fraction of the price.
Chef’s Journey/Living Library
Meet Tasting Australia’s festival stars for 2017, including superstar chef Marco Pierre White for FREE on stage in Town Square. The line up also includes Lennox Hastie, Sophie Zalokar, Analiese Gregory, Duncan Welgemoed and Alex Herbet.
Under $50
Masterclasses
Skinny Dipping – Celebrating Skin Contact in Wine – Discover the role that grape skins play in developing wine. Explore some of the outer reaches of the winemaking world, investigate what constitutes ‘orange wine’ and even go back in time and experience wines fermented in amphorae.
Understanding Pet Nat, a unique wine style – Naturally sparkling wines have been made for centuries, but these techniques have been lost with the emergence of technology and innovative thinking. This masterclass is focused around the simple, rustic sparklers that are bottled before primary fermentation is finished, which leaves you with a cloudy, unfiltered beauty.
Naturally Good – You won’t find chemicals here. Natural wines are made without chemicals and minimal technological intervention when picking the grapes and making them into wine. This tasting is your chance to hear from two McLaren Vale heavyweights, Joch Bosworth (Battle of Bosworth) and Peter Fraser (Yangarra Estate) and their passion for Natural wines.
For The Kids
“TASTE BUDS” Food Facts for Kids FOOD FACTS FOR KIDS
With Callum Hann and Themis Chryssidis from Sprout Cooking School
Sunday 30 April, $30 per child
Sessions from 11am, 12:30pm, 2pm or 3:30pm
Book now
“TASTE BUDS” Food Art
With local artists Kirsty Shadiac from Art Venture and Kate Hubmayer, author of Nature Craft for Aussie Kids.
Saturday 6 May, $30 per child
Sessions from 11am, 12:30pm, 2pm or 3:30pm
Book now
“TASTE BUDS” Plant a Pizza
With Sophie Thomson from ABC’s Gardening Australia.
Sunday 7 May, $30 per child
Sessions from 11am, 12:30pm, 2pm or 3:30pm
Book now
Under $100
Masterclasses
Two Good Looking Roosters Showcase – Compare the similarities and differences in “perfume and structure” of the Yarra Valley and Adelaide Hills.
The Glory of Grenache – A Discussion, A Debate, An Impassioned Plea – Uncover what it is about Grenache that has some of the brightest minds and biggest mouths in the industry advocating for this underdog of varieties with the winemakers of Yalumba, S.C Pannell, d’Arenberg and wine writers from Postferment.
Food Culture of Beer – Treat your senses to a tantalising feast, combined with world class beers and mixed with a dash of beer education. Your dining experience includes four courses of food from differing cuisines and in between courses, you’ll learn about the history of food and beer from each of the different cultures; giving a snapshot on how beer came to be around the world.
The King and Queen of Riesling – Explore what makes Riesling such a popular wine with two ‘royals’ of the winemaking industry for an in-depth tasting of Rieslings from Australia and overseas.
Cooking Classes
Japan Easy (Tuesday 9 May)
Eddie Ye (Yakitori Takumi)
Normally seen spinning skewers behind the bar at the pint-sized Yakitori Takumi, Eddie will explore dishes cooked in Japanese homes for this class. Introduce these clean, umami flavours to your repertoire with soups, stews and even a pasta dish. Book here
Autumn in Italy (Saturday 29 April)
Salvatore Pepe (Pepe Cucina)
It’s the season when mushrooms appear on the forest floor and a bubbling braise is a welcomed relief from the sudden chill of night. Salvatore prepares a stunning Italian autumn dinner including a lesson about pasta in all shapes and sizes. Book here
My Whey
Kris Lloyd (Woodside Cheese Wrights)
Roll up your sleeves and be cheese maker for the day in this class led by Kris and Regency’s Gina Dal Santo. They will illustrate how to make a fresh feta using local Adelaide Hills cow milk. Taste the fruits of your labour and some other cheeses chosen by Kris at the end of the class. Book here
Premium Experiences
10 Vintages of Rockford Basket Press Shiraz – A wine with soul – Celebrate and discuss the role that wine has in our own personal stories, while tasting ten years’ worth of Rockford Basket Press Shiraz. Joining the session will be Robert O’Callaghan of Rockford Wines, wine writer Nick Ryan, plus special guest author John Harms.
6 Vintages of Penfolds St Henri Shiraz – Relive the years of Penfolds St Henri with a tasting of 6 vintages stretching over 5 decades from 1965.
Australian Pinot Noir – Take a seat alongside winemakers Mac Forbes (Mac Forbes wines) and Peter Dredge (Dr. Edge and Bay of Fires) to examine 12 pinot noirs from around Australia.
Seriously Sparkling – In this tasting session, you’ll explore the world of sparkling wine via premier Australian and international wine regions, including the most famous of all, Champagne.
10 Years of Wendouree – With the wines only available via a fully subscribed mailing list, and a waiting list packed with people hoping for misfortune to fall upon those in front of them, opportunities to explore the wines in this format are rare. This tasting session will traverse the soil of the Clare Valley vineyard in the form of ten distinct wines, with debate and analysis.
Chef’s Supper Club Presented By I Choose SA – A stand-up cocktail style affair, the evening will progress through individual servings from 20 chefs including Ana Ros (Hiša Franko, Slovenia), Mitch Orr (ACME, Sydney), Nic Watt (Madame Hanoi, Adelaide) and Sean Connolly (Sean’s Kitchen, Adelaide) while beverages from East End Cellars will be in abundant supply. Tickets are $250pp plus booking fee. Enter below for your chance to win.
A Next Level Experience (under $1000…just)
If you’re looking for an experience unlike any other, this is the creme de la creme of Tasting Australia masterclasses. There are only 15 tickets all together so it’s a very exclusive and intimate session that you’ll undoubtedly remember forever.
Grange Experience – This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to taste six different vintages of Grange from Penfolds. The wines will be taken from six different decades, from the1960’s through to 2012. Hosted by Penfolds’ Global Ambassador Jamie Sach, this tasting session includes Georg Jensen Hallmark Cuvee to begin and Great Grandfather Port to finish.
For more information please head to www.tastingaustralia.com.au.
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