South Australia: The six-star food and wine state

When the Colony of South Australia was settled in 1836, it did not take long for its fledgling community to realise the importance of the agricultural sector. Just three years later in 1839, the Royal Agricultural and Horticulture Society of South Australia was established to advance agricultural knowledge and promote the development of natural resources. The state’s multicultural heritage – from the German settlers of the Barossa Valley in the 1850’s, to post-war Mediterranean migrants and newer Asian arrivals in recent decades – has helped to build a rich culture of food and wine, and an industry that continues to have a huge influence on South Australian society.

The food and wine sector is South Australia’s largest industry – it employed one in five working South Australians and generated $18.2 billion in revenue in 2014-15. The state is globally recognised for its cutting-edge biosecurity standards and high-quality fresh produce, sourced from a pristine environment that is free of pests and diseases. South Australian food and wine products are exported to over 100 countries and backed by world-leading research and development programs.

A clean and green reputation
South Australia’s enviable reputation for food safety and quality products provides the state with a significant advantage in global markets. It has also created something of an impression that South Australia – and in particular the Barossa Valley, located just an hour’s drive outside the state capital of Adelaide – is a culinary destination of the highest standing. But what are the conditions that have enabled the development of such a reputation?

The state has a diverse landscape and a Mediterranean climate that is perfect for the growth and cultivation of premium products such as olives, wine and almonds – not to mention a vast range of premium meat, grains and fruit. The clean and green environment extends to the waters in the Great Australian Bight off the coast of South Australia, where a vast ocean stretches uninterrupted to Antarctica. A lack of major rivers and coastal settlements in the state ensures that the pristine waters produce the highest-quality rock lobsters, tuna, abalone, oysters and prawns.
South Australian rock lobster and tuna are among the world’s most sought-after seafood, and the state’s grains are used in high-quality beers, pasta and oils around the world. To provide just a couple of examples, South Australian durum wheat is sold to Italy for pasta production, and its grains are used to produce the renowned Laucke flour products as well as in the manufacturing of Coopers Brewery beers.

Culinary icon Maggie Beer found fame and global renown through a restaurant in the Barossa Valley that has since morphed into a line of gourmet food products. According to Maggie, the area’s superior produce is one of the key reasons for the success of her company. “We notice that by using local produce, in season, our food products stand out for the superior flavour they have and everyone appreciates tasting that difference.”

Maggie – who has played no small role in the growth of South Australia as a gastronomic destination – believes that despite its diversity, the state’s food culture has flourished due to a sense of community among the industry.

“We are so lucky to have access to the growers we do here in South Australia, and particularly in the Barossa. I don’t think it’s something that can be contrived – a strong food culture develops organically over time,” says Maggie. “South Australia has such a rich diversity of produce that it has naturally allowed and encouraged an ever-growing tapestry of food-based ventures, all of them steeped in a common history.”

Chief winemaker Peter Gago, from the internationally recognised Penfolds winery, echoes Maggie Beer’s sentiments about the role of community in building South Australia’s stellar international food and wine reputation.

“South Australia has it all – the climate, the soils, the people. With Adelaide at its epicentre, this food and wine treasure-chest confidently sits alongside Bordeaux, the Napa Valley, Burgundy, Rioja and Florence,” says Peter. “The clean and green conditions, ancient soils and dynamic mindsets all have merit, but there’s much more to it. It’s just a great place to live, and this demeanour and spirit transmits to the quality of all things food and wine.”

A pioneer of the seafood industry in South Australia, Hagen Stehr knows the value of the state’s reputation when it comes to seafood. According to him, Australian aquatic conditions are the envy of even big fishing nations such as Germany and Norway, and the South Australian seafood industry is the biggest beneficiary of this.

“The tyranny of distance was a handicap for the Australian food industry in the early days, but it has become an advantage. We are so far away from everyone that the ‘Made in South Australia’ sticker or Australian Made logo really gives you quite a step up the ladder,” says Hagen. “You’re living at the end of the world, but it’s a blessing in disguise – we are the cleanest state in the nation.

“For years we have been working on a clean and green image, and unlike other areas of the world – such as France, where you have wineries next to atomic reactors – South Australia is totally different,” says Hagen. “We pride ourselves on our clean and green image, whether it’s for aquaculture, food or wine.”

World-renowned wines
The jewel in South Australia’s crown is its world-renowned wine industry, which accounts for half of all the bottled wine and 80 per cent of the premium wine in Australia. The industry generated roughly $1.8 billion in revenue in 2014-15, with exports valued at $1.2 billion. One of the fastest growing export markets for South Australian wine is China and Hong Kong, where demand recently saw the market increase by $65 million.

The German settlers of the Barossa Valley kicked off the industry in the 1850’s, and it soon spread to other areas which have since become familiar names to wine drinkers around the world – McLaren Vale, Coonawarra and Clare Valley. These areas have some of the oldest vines in the world, thanks to the state’s rigorous biosecurity measures that have prevented the spread of diseases like phylloxera which have decimated vines in many older wine regions.

There are now 18 wine regions in South Australia and more than 200 cellar doors within an hour’s drive of Adelaide. Such is the state’s reputation for fine wine that Adelaide has recently been invited to join the Great Wine Capitals Global Network, joining eight of the major wine producing regions in the world (including Bordeaux in France, Napa Valley in the United States and Rioja in Spain). At any given point in time, there are nearly a billion bottles of wine on tables and in cellars around the world that proudly bear ‘South Australia’ on their label.

The state’s reputation for prestigious wines has been reflected by a constant stream of national and international awards. Barossa Valley winery Wolf Blass was named the 2013 International Winemaker of the Year at the International Wine and Spirit Competition in London, and the Penfolds winery has also received a number of accolades over its 172-year history. It was named White Winemaker of the Year at the 2015 International Wine Challenge and recently announced as the world’s most admired wine brand by the Drinks International magazine annual poll.

For Penfold’s Peter Gago, innovation is the key to maintaining both his winery’s and the state of South Australia’s world-class reputation. “Put simply, after 172 years Penfolds primary objective is to continue to create better wine,” he says. “Innovation, diversity and a willingness to push global boundaries all keep the Penfolds team hungry and motivated.”

Maintaining the prestige
While it may seem like South Australia is naturally blessed by climate and isolation to the point where biosecurity management isn’t a big effort, this is definitely not the case. The South Australian government recognises the importance of biosecurity in maintaining the state’s clean and green reputation, and by extension its presence in international trade.

South Australia is the only state in Australia that is free of the fruit fly, and each year the state government spends about $5 million to keep this pest and others out of the state. It is also the only mainland state in the country where the commercial cultivation of genetically modified crops is prohibited.

“These programs give South Australian food and wine producers unrestricted access to new and existing export markets that pay premium prices for the assurances of our clean environment and high levels of food production safety,” says South Australian Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, Leon Bignell. “One of our key opportunities is our proximity to emerging markets in South East Asia, which we will continue to work with to secure export deals.”

The government has made the provision of premium food and wine one of its key economic priorities, and is working hard in areas beyond biosecurity management to ensure South Australian produce reaches as many people as possible. The focus is on capitalising on opportunities to increase market share and maximising the production of value-added food and wine products.

Since 2013, Primary Industries and Regions South Australia (PIRSA) has supported more than 100 trade missions – both inbound and outbound – that have been of great value to the food and beverage industries of the state. One of the most recent trade missions was a delegation of 52 representatives of the wine industry, led by Minister Bignell, which went to China in 2016. According to Minister Bignell, the value gained out of these types of missions is exemplified by the collaborative attitude displayed by the delegation.

“It is interesting to be on these delegations and see how much people learn from each other, as well as learn about the whole China experience and that market,” says Minister Bignell. “I have to say that it is a great collaborative approach, where you see one winery telling people to beware of the pitfalls that they themselves may have suffered a year or two earlier.

“A lot of this success has come off the back of the government collaborating with the wine industry to make sure that we are working in a concerted and quite deliberate way to get South Australian wine into bottle shops and onto restaurant wine lists right around the world.”

Crucial to supporting the food and wine industry is the government’s role in fostering innovation and technological advancement through investment in research and development. One of the best examples of this is the Waite Research Precinct in Adelaide, which is home to the South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI) – a division of PIRSA.

SARDI is the state government’s principal research institute, and has provided South Australia’s food and wine industry with innovative, world-leading research for more than 20 years. The institute is a great advantage to the state, as it has the largest concentration of expertise in the Southern Hemisphere in the areas of plant biotechnology, cereal breeding, sustainable agriculture, wine and horticulture and land management.

And it’s not just SARDI that provides research and expertise for the agricultural industry in the state. Adelaide is also home to the Australian Wine Research Institute and the Northern Adelaide Food Park, which provides opportunities for colocation of food and beverage manufacturers and processors. For these businesses, colocation gives them access to infrastructure and common services on one site, which improves processing efficiencies and distribution capabilities.

The state government also recently established the South Australian Food Innovation Centre to maximise future opportunities for the food and beverage industry by supporting innovation and encouraging the commercialisation of new ideas and products. The aim of the Centre is to assist food and beverage businesses find the innovation solutions they need to develop and deliver high value products that are sought after by local, national and international markets.

The six-star state
A combination of a blessed landscape and climate, centuries of hard work and a willingness to innovate have put South Australia on the map as a real player in the global food and wine scene. With pioneers like Hagen Stehr, culinary icons like Maggie Beer and committed innovators like Peter Gago, it is easy to see why the food and wine industry in South Australia has flourished.

The state’s focus on premium food and wine products is backed up by a reputation for purity and cleanliness that is well-deserved. Maintaining this reputation into the future is the next great challenge for South Australia, but it is one that is being met with aplomb by both the state government and the industry. Significant investment in biosecurity and research and development will only ensure that South Australia consolidates its position as the six-star state for food and wine for years to come.