Food & Wine

It’s the apple of Batlow’s eye, and there are high hopes a new self-guided High Country Cider, Wine and Food Trail will help clinch the Snowy Valley town’s spot on visitors' agendas in coming months. The freshly minted idea is the brainchild of one of Batlow's long-time residents, Margaret Sedgwick, and it comes in the form of a map currently...

Cheese wouldn’t be the first thing people associate with Yass. Instead, the 30 or so wineries surrounding this regional NSW town are far more likely to spring to mind. Nevertheless, it’s hard to find a better pairing than cheese and wine, and there’s a growing group of Yass Valley cheesemakers coming into their own and warranting a local cheese competition....

Valentine's Day is fast approaching, and if you haven't thought of a romantic surprise yet, the NSW South Coast has a plethora of food, wine, tours, experiences and activities, and the region's hospitality venues and businesses, which suffered through a year of fires, floods and plague, are ready to make your day extra romantic. Why not start your day with...

When Brigadier Sue Melotte considered her retirement, the ACT woman approached it with all the planning and precision that stood her in good stead as the Department of Defence Director General Logistics Systems. She knew whatever she chose would have to be a passion; a project that would challenge, but not consume her. "I'd been looking to buy something down the...

The small town of Braidwood in the NSW Southern Tablelands, less than an hour’s drive from Canberra, is not just a pretty face. A burgeoning food scene has cool cafes and eclectic restaurants sitting side by side with producers of everything from honey and black garlic to mountain pepper-flavoured pastas. We checked out some of Braidwood’s gourmet highlights. Breakfast at...

Remember those $100 worth of vouchers to boost businesses affected by COVID-19 shutdowns? The program is set to be rolled out from March 2021, but registrations are now open to eligible businesses to take part in the NSW Government's economic stimulus program, Dine & Discover NSW. Under the program, every NSW resident aged 18 and above will receive four $25 vouchers...

BentSpoke Brewing has taken out the top spot on the GABS Hottest 100 list of Australian craft beers with its crowd favourite Crankshaft American IPA, and rounded off the top 10 with Barley Griffin pale ale. In total, the Canberra brewery managed to get four of its beers in the top 20 and five in the countdown. BentSpoke co-founder and...

Australia is predicted to become the second-largest global producer of truffles within 10 years, and growers located in NSW's cooler climates are establishing truffières (truffle orchards) in preparation. Olivier Kapetanakos and his partner planted 400 trees, mostly French oaks and some hazelnuts, on two hectares on their farm stay, Avonside Alpine Estate, near Jindabyne in the Snowy Mountains, in 2020. They...

The glasses were clinking in the Whisky Lounge at Jugiong’s Sir George Hotel but they were not malt-filled tumblers. Instead, this atmospheric setting was the venue for a recent wine industry seminar focused on the latest buzz alternative white grape variety – fiano (pronounced fee-ah-noh). A native of Campania, a region near Naples in southern Italy (where it is formally known...

In film and television, Geoff Burton’s name is synonymous with more than 50 feature films including The Sum of Us (1994), starring Russell Crowe, and The Year My Voice Broke (1987), shot in Braidwood, plus hundreds of TV dramas and documentaries such as The Cowra Breakout (1984) and Bangkok Hilton (1989). However, ask people in the Canberra wine region who Geoff...

The thought of attending a three-hour class involving a lot of stretching would normally have me running screaming for the hills. But it’s a new year, and I’ve resolved to work on overcoming my pathological fear of exercise and also to learn a few new things. I seem to have found the perfect combination of the two with a cheesemaking...

Opening a cafe in the heart of Queanbeyan amid bushfires and a pandemic proved to be a mere speed bump after the booming eatery was last month named the best cafe at the Canberra Region Local Business Awards. Thirty 4 cafe and restaurant was named the best by a panel of independent judges who visited 26 other cafes in Canberra and rated them on...

Just half an hour’s drive east of Canberra, the pretty town of Bungendore has morphed into a gourmet food destination without us even knowing it. From cooking classes and cellar door experiences to authentic French food and pub grub that’s a cut above your usual fare, Bungendore has all the ingredients for the perfect gourmet getaway. Follow our itinerary for...