Gourmet road trips through Australia’s food and wine regions

Australia is a lucky country when it comes to the diversity and freshness of our food – and a road trip is the perfect way to get right to the source and taste what makes each region unique. Here are three touring routes where you can meet and buy directly from artisanal producers and dine in establishments run by innovative chefs who creatively curate ever-changing seasonal menus. Your gourmet getaway starts here.

South Australian Food and Wine Tour

South Australia is home to some of the country’s most celebrated wine regions and countless cutting-edge restaurants, abundant markets, and charming farm-gate stores. To get a taste of it all, embark on the seven-day Epicurean Way Road Trip, which begins at Willunga Farmers Market (a 45 minutes drive south of Adelaide) and ends at Pikes Wines (where you can pick up a winter-warming shiraz or cabernet to be enjoyed once your home). While enjoying wine country, remember to drive responsibly and only drink out at wineries if you have a designated driver. 

Touring through McLaren Vale, Adelaide Hills, Barossa and Clare Valley, you’ll experience creative seasonal menus at The Currant Shed, fine dining at Maxwell Wines, pick-your-own produce at Beerenberg Farm, handmade cheeses at Woodside Cheese Wrights, legendary preserves and sauces at Maggie Beer’s Farm Shop, and visit a range of cellar doors (including the renowned Seppeltsfield). Late winter and early spring offer spectacular scenery to frame your drive, with tree-lined fairytale villages, fields of yellow canola blooms and buds breaking over the vineyards.

Gourmet Road Trip on the Apple Isle

The fertile soil of northwest Tasmania might offer some of Australia’s best ‘paddock-to-plate’ experiences, and the self-drive Tasting Trail is the ideal way to try a full menu of seasonal delights. From Launceston to Smithton, the trail stops at 40 artisanal producers offering local berries, nuts, cheese, chocolate, seafood, beer, and wine. One must-stop spot is The Truffledore in Lower Barrington. Winter is black truffle season, and on Saturdays (until the end of August) you can join the farm truffle dogs on a real-life truffle hunt. You’ll learn how these culinary gems are grown and unearthed, then sit down for a four-course truffle-themed lunch by an open fire.

Salmon lovers should take the opportunity for a self-guided tour around 41 Degrees South salmon farm (with an on-site shop to sample hot-smoked salmon products) and, if you’re visiting in spring or summer, don’t miss The Berry Patch to pick your own strawberries and savour some real-fruit ice cream. With a producer located every six kilometres or so, the trail takes you off the highway and into the heart of this beautiful landscape, so you can enjoy some short bushwalks and admire serene waterfalls between stops.

A Regional Road Trip in Victoria

Just outside Melbourne, the Daylesford and Macedon Ranges region takes pride in its produce, with cafes, restaurants and farmers markets all showcasing the fruits, vegetables, meat, and poultry born from the area’s four distinct seasons. The Daylesford headliner is Lake House, a forty-year-old fine diner that is credited with kick-starting the regional dining trend in Australia. Other dining destinations here include Larder (for an all-day breakfast); Wombat Hill House (for lunch amidst the botanic gardens); Farmers Arms Hotel (for elevated pub fare); Kadota (for luxe Japanese degustation); and Beppe (for lively Italian classics).

Thirty minutes drive from Daylesford is Kyneton, a gorgeous Gold Rush town home to a weekly farmers’ market (second weekend of the month) as well as the acclaimed French bistro Midnight Starling, and Italian newcomer Marchesa. Fifteen minutes further along the freeway, Woodend hosts another farmers’ market (first weekend of the month), plus Kuzu Izakaya (Japanese share plates), Holgate Brewhouse and Mountain View Garlic, where you can pick up free-range eggs and just-picked vegetables from the farm gate shop. Neighbouring Macedon is a quiet, leafy village home to the perennially popular Mr Macedon café; while Mount Macedon Trading Post is worthy of a final pit stop for a coffee and some road trip snacks before the return drive to Melbourne.

^Disclaimer

^{Viva Energy Australia Pty Ltd (“Viva Energy”) has compiled the above article for your general information and to use as a general reference. Whilst all reasonable care has been taken by Viva Energy in compiling this article, Viva Energy does not warrant or represent that the information in the article is free from errors or omissions or is suitable for your intended use.}