Michael Van de Elzen hits the food and wine trail in South Australia.
Even a 5am wake-up alarm doesn't dull the excitement of my first visit to South Australia for a food and wine road trip.
And, boy, it's so easy getting into Aussie now. You simply scan your Kiwi passport at the ''quick gate'' and voila, ''Welcome to Adelaide!''
Now, where's my rental car?
With a population of 1.2 million, Adelaide is known as ''the 20-minute city'' as everything is close and it's easy to navigate. And, being as flat as a pancake, the city is bicycle-friendly.
My first stop is the Adelaide Central Market, established in 1869 by a group of market gardeners who made their way to a site between Gouger and Grote Sts and started selling their produce. It is still thriving with more than 80 stalls and is South Australia's most visited tourist attraction.
Being midweek, the market is only partly open compared to the big selling days, Thursday to Saturday (it's closed on Sundays and Mondays). But the advantage is I can stroll at leisure. I just love central city food markets where you browse alongside chefs buying for their restaurants. If the professionals shop here, the produce must be good.
I nip into family-owned Lucia's Pizza and Spaghetti Bar, where they have been making coffee since 1957, for a takeaway long black, asking for half the usual amount of water and half a teaspoon of sugar. I can almost hear the barista muttering under her breath, ''Who's this prat telling me how to make my coffee!''.
At the market stalls you can buy almost any foodstuff - from Tasmanian truffles at $A1000 ($NZ1155) a kilogram to a kilo of Polish sausage for $12 and coffee from every part of the world. Prices tend to be cheaper than New Zealand with cheese and cold meats all about $2 less per kg.
I'll definitely be returning on a Friday when the markets are in full flight. Just 35km out of Adelaide is famed wine region McLaren Vale and my destination is the McMurtrie Mile. You can easily spend a full day here.
This short stretch houses some of the Aussie wine superstars at Wirra Wirra vineyard, (my wife, Belinda, has given me a list of wines to bring home) Hugh Hamilton wines and Primo Estate.
At Primo, cellar-door manager Mark Vangestel invites me to taste the Joseph label, named after the founder who started the vineyard at the tender age of 16. I commence with a light refreshing pinot grigio, followed by a nebbiolo variety.
Apparently it is a hard grape to grow, maturing far later than other varieties. It has an earthy, almost mushroomy flavour - and would be a perfect match for roasted pheasant.
Of course a shiraz is on the list. I believe South Australia makes some of the best in the world and this 2011 Joseph shiraz is refreshing and very much alive. Cellaring would do wonders for it.
Then come the big boys, a 2011 cabernet merlot moda - moda being an old style of winemaking in which grapes are picked when they are 75% ready, covered and stored in a dry location for weeks until they shrivel. This sweetens them before they go into the wine presses. The result is a complex, moreish red.
From the cellar depths appears the same style of wine, but a 2002 vintage. It is incredible to taste two wines 11 years apart in cellaring. The 2002 is less vibrant in colour.
However, it tastes smoother, gentler, with legs that linger. Its restaurant price would be around $220, and it is worth every cent.
We conclude with espresso and an amaretto biscuit to accompany Primo's fortified wine, called Fronti and similar to a Spanish sherry. Sweet and 20% alcohol, when combined with espresso and biscuit, Fronti tastes like heaven.
I add this new favourite to my other magical combos of goats' cheese, fresh honey and truffle oil ... and black olive caramel with tomatoes and mozzarella.
Fifty metres along the road is Hugh Hamilton wines, aka the Black Sheep vineyard, one of South Australia's oldest, first planted in 1837. I especially enjoy a Saperavi (2009). This hand-picked grape produces a dry, but full-bodied red wine.
To round off my day, I check out The Barn restaurant, built in 1860 as a blacksmiths' forge. The surroundings are exquisite and I tuck into my 300g South Australian Hereford prime steak, cooked to perfection.
A thriving market, an extremely enjoyable wine-tasting and a satisfying meal ... not bad for my first day in South Australia, and an itinerary this fussy foodie cannot fault.
• Mike Van de Elzen travelled to South Australia with the assistance of Air New Zealand and the South Australian Tourism Commission.
For more information visit myaustraliapassion.co.nz/passions/food-wine/.
48 hours in McLaren Vale
McLaren Vale is just 45 minutes drive south of Adelaide, and the gateway to a Fleurieu Peninsula holiday as well as being a popular stopover on the way to Kangaroo Island.
Day 1
Start the morning at the Blessed Cheese cafe, picking up a hamper of cheeses for your cheese and wine trail.
Try the wines at the Coriole, Wirra Wirra, Samuels Gorge and Primo Estate cellar doors, and factor in time for lunch at one of the cellar-door restaurants or at the Star of Greece Cafe at Port Willunga.
Then work off some of the day's indulgences by picking up a bike in McLaren Vale and cycling the 17km Shiraz Trail between McLaren Vale and Willunga. Stay overnight in McLaren Vale.
Day 2
Collect a Tour Genie GPS from the McLaren Vale Visitor Information Centre to talk you through a self-guided adventure along the Fleurieu Way.
This 235km touring route weaves around the peninsula, taking in the coastal towns of Victor Harbour, Port Elliot and Goolwa.
Take a cruise in the Coorong, climb aboard the Cockle Steam Train or watch whales as they come close to shore between May and October.
Stay overnight in McLaren Vale.
Five things to do in McLaren Vale
• Taste the region's best food and wine at the Saturday morning Willunga Farmers Market selling fresh primary produce from regional farms and the Fleurieu Peninsula;
• Sample beers at McLaren Vale's micro-breweries;
• Follow the region's art trails through galleries, working studios and exhibitions;
• Pick up a cellar-door map and experience the region's magnificent wine industry. There are more than 60 cellar doors to choose from, including big-name bestsellers through to boutique wineries;
• Watch the sun set as you enjoy dinner and some of the region's finest wines at the Star of Greece, overlooking Port Willunga.
Be like Mike
• Adelaide Central Market is in Grote St in the heart of the city and has everything from patisseries to continental meat products and cheeses (adelaidecentralmarket.com.au)
• Make sure you stop for a coffee at Lucia's Pizza & Spaghetti Bar at 1/2 Western Parade, dip fresh strawberries in chocolate at the chocolate fountain, sample the fresh salami bagels or treat yourself at the giant German hotdog stand in the food court.
• Famed wine region McLaren Vale is home to McMurtrie Mile where you can visit some of the best wineries in South Australia. I indulged in the Joseph Tasting Experience which costs $A15 ($NZ17) (minus the 2002 moda). It's an experience not to be missed (mcmurtriemile.com.au)
