Food & Wine Downunder Travel Tips - Cruises Near Me, Deals & Cruise Travel Agents Near Me

Because of the extraordinary diversity of high-quality ingredients, Australia produces some of the world's best and most unusual gourmet foods. Australian winemaking goes as far back as European discovery in 1788. Since then, Australia has not only become one of the world's leading producers of wine, but also one of the best.

Melbourne
Melbourne's melting pot of cultures is reflected in its microcosmos of restaurants, cafes, bistros and bars. Fashionable, eclectic and eccentric – Melbourne’s dining spots offer a dizzying spread of the world’s great cuisines, serving meals from the substantial and classic to the truly exotic.

In the city, you can enjoy afternoon tea in the genteel surroundings of a nineteenth-century hotel, watch and be watched in buzzing laneway cafés and bars, or handpick a bottle of Yarra Valley chardonnay at the latest über-chic hangout. Head out a little further and explore one of Melbourne’s specialist eating destinations – Richmond for cheap and cheerful Vietnamese dishes, Carlton for Italian classics, Fitzroy for tantalising Spanish tapas.

Queensland
Queensland offers a gourmet paradise with delectable, award-winning wines, organic produce and fresh seafood.  Follow a food and wine trail and you'll be sipping on a Chardonnay or rolling a Shiraz around your mouth on a grape-fuelled adventure. Wineries are often located in picturesque settings and many offer the opportunity for picnics in grassy knolls overlooking vineyard slopes.

Pick up fresh produce and make your own antipasto with olives, cheeses, nuts and avocados straight off a tree. Queensland's multicultural communities add spice to culinary delights. Australian cuisine blends fresh ingredients and uses European culinary traditions and the light touch of Asian seasoning.

You'll taste some of the best food in the world in Queensland and even the most discerning diner will be satisfied. With fresh barramundi, mud crab, exotic crocodile meat, mangoes and macadamia nuts…that’s how you’ll really know you're in Queensland.

Sydney
Something’s been stirring in the kitchens of Sydney’s food scene for a while now. Local chefs have become lifestyle gurus. And heading off to organic good food markets has become everyone’s favourite activity.

Sydney is the hot destination for foodies, with flavours and venues to suit all budgets and palates. There’s incomparable seafood, a rich multicultural dining experience and world-beating fine diners.   And across the State there’s now a string of iconic food and wine experiences, from Sydney to the gastronomic regions of New South Wales. For a taste of it, get touring.

Tour the wine regions of New South Wales and you’ll enjoy the sweet fruits of success from inspired winemakers.

Adelaide and South Australia
If you know wine, then you know South Australia. We don't have to mention world-famous names like the Barossa, McLaren Vale, or Coonawarra. And we certainly don't have to remind you that their wines have bagged countless awards on the global stage.

But you may be surprised to learn that you can meet many of their expert winemakers in person, at wineries and cellar doors throughout South Australia. You'll get to see the faces behind the labels, and talk about the craft they love. 

They love their wine. And they especially love it before, during, and after a great meal. That's why they've also dedicated themselves to the art of food. They've mastered every style of cuisine you could name, and even created some of their own - such as the gourmet 'Feral Food' of the Outback.

Tasmania
Tasmania offers you the chance to savour hand-crafted wine, beer and fresh produce, and to meet the makers, chefs and growers. 

The Island has restaurants to suit all palates and budgets – many of them offering a range of local cool climate wines to compliment your meal. You can eat among the vines in the wine regions – some serve tasting platters with their wines, others elegant a la carte, and each location tells a story.

On Saturday, visit Salamanca Market, in Hobart, and look for  local produce. You can sample special herb vinegars, mustards, bush honeys and organic goods and meet the producers. Or visit one of the specialist delicatessens across Tasmania to taste locally produced condiments, smoked and fresh produce and luscious cheeses.

Canberra
Canberra region cool climate wines are now receiving worldwide recognition. There are 140 vineyards with more than 30 cellar doors in peaceful rural countryside around Canberra, and most are only 30 minutes from the city. The district’s vineyards produce all the varieties you would expect from a premium wine region. Despite the sophisticated product, the wineries are small and friendly and you may even get to meet the winemaker at the cellar door.

Relax in a stylish café, dine with a lake view, or taste the freshest regional produce amongst the vines. Canberra is a great destination for food lovers. With over 300 restaurants, cafes and pubs, the dining scene just gets better and better. A vibrant and young city, Canberra has a thriving entertainment scene. From nightlife to licensed clubs, theatre, festivals and live music, there’s something to appeal to everyone.

Content provided by Tourism Australia