Highlights from the Good Food & Wine Show – Perth

Hey Perth! I hope you are all planning on visiting the Good Food & Wine show this weekend at the Convention & Exhibition Centre, as it is $36 well spent! I decided to go yesterday on the Friday so i could get a head start and find out, or should I say ‘taste out’ the best spots and let you all know. How nice of me is that?

The thing is, I got to the show about 10am and I left about 4pm and I don’t think I visited half of the stands. There are 300 producers in total, so there is a lot to see and taste. Mr. Spittoon and I also ran out of arm space to buy anything, as there are just such good deals on all the products that you don’t want to miss out, we really did need a shopping trolley! So below are my top 8 highlights from the stalls and masterclasses that I did manage to experience:

1. Boscastle Seriously Good Pies (N10)

I raved about them last year, and I’ll rave about them again this year, they are truly seriously good party pies. For $7 at the show you can get a mixed tray of 4 of the Boscastle gourmet party pies; Burgundy Beef, Moroccan Lamb, Chicken Leek & Swiss Cheese and Butter Chicken. Not only can you dine on these tasty morsels at the show but you can buy frozen packs to take home!

2. Giesen Wines (R23)

If you are a wino like me and you love Kiwi Sauv’s then this stall is a must! Giesen have not 1, but 4 Sauvignon Blancs and you can try them all! From the standard to the organic to a blend of 2 different vineyards to a Sauv that is oak aged! It opens your taste buds up to a whole new world of Sauv. Plus do I have a secret for you or what – you are able to try the Riesling which you can’t buy in Australia yet, it will most likely be released in the next couple of months at Dan Murphy’s. It is a gorgeous very German style Riesling, love it! (Big thanks to my Mum for the recommendation!) Giesen also have a Pinot Gris and a couple of Pinot’s to try, so something for everyone!

3. Thunder Toffee Vodka (F16)

Vodka and tequila shots anyone? Yes I did it, and yes it was before midday! But hey when you’re at the Good Food and Wine Show drinking is encouraged at all times of the day, love it! I had to try the tequila since it was a luminous hot pink colour, and no they don’t use a dye to get the colour, the colour actually comes from a flower that is used in the mix. Other than the colour it tasted very much like my university days, straight tequila (I am currently screwing up my face at the thought!). However “Thunder” the toffee vodka was another story. This is a vodka I could easily sip on straight and enjoy it. It is a blend of tripe distilled grain vodka and natural toffee syrup, free from unnatural additives or preservatives and at 29.9% ABV it’s strong but not too strong. $45 a bottle you can’t go wrong. Plus you get a free cocktail book with any purchase!

4. Butty’s American Food Truck (in the Brooland Valley Unison Wine & Food Bar)

After all that drinking and eating I just couldn’t turn down a bite to eat from Butty’s big red truck that sits in the Brookland Valley Unison Food & Wine Bar. This is seriously good American tucker. Mr. Spittoon had the Butty’s Double Cheese Burger and I had the Short Ribs and Coleslaw annnnndddd, we had cheesy fries on the side. Little piggies we were but oh my gosh, yumo! This is some seriously good American takeaway food and washed down with a glass of Brookland Valley Cab Sauv for $8, heaven!

5. Riedel A+ Australian Wine Bar

We did the Regional Heroes masterclass, for $60 we had a 45-minute session where we enjoyed a guided tasting through 6 Australian wines. These 6 wines were the best of the best from each region, we had: Riesling from the Clare Valley, Semillon from the Hunter Valley, Chardonnay from the Margaret River, Pinot Noir from the Yarra Valley, Cabernet Sauvignon from Coonawarra and Shiraz from McLaren Vale. It was great, I learnt a lot and we even got a goodie bag to take home which included: 2 Riedel Magnum glasses, a bottle of Brookland Valley wine (if you get in first you can take a sneak peak in the bags and then sit down at one which has either red or white, take your pick!) and a copy of the Gourmet Traveller Wine magazine. The classes book up super fast, so if you can’t get into one of these, right next door are the free tasting classes where the policy is: first in gets a seat, so scope out which classes interests you when you first get to the show and then make sure you head there about 15 minutes prior to the class to get a seat.

6. Howling Wolves Wines (D16)

Again this was another favourite from 2012 which I just had to revisit this year. Howling Wolves are based in the Margaret River and I hate to say it but I am a sucker for their marketing! They were giving out free stick on tattoos, which I thought was very fun. However the showstopper was the Cabernato Mojito – this is a concoction of the Howling Wolves SixPointSix Cabernato 2013 (a light fruity wine sitting at 6.6% abv) ice with fresh lime and a sprig of mint. So yummy and they also have a spritzer of CO2 to really make it a party in your glass!

7. Rekorderlig Swedish Cider F20

I am not usually a fan of Swedish cider as I just find it way to sweet. However I did stop by to try some of their Winter Cider. This is winter in a glass – it is a blend of apples, vanilla and cinnamon. It can be drank cold however they are also serving it up warm at their stand, and oh my it is so good. Perfect for these chilly Perth nights we have been having lately.

8. Maxwell Wines & Meads D9

Maxwell is located in the McLaren Vale area and if you have never had mead before you seriously need to make this stall a stop on your journey. And even if you have had mead before I would suggest it, as the warm spiced mead being served up is just divine. Being Australia’s leader in honey wine since the 1950’s you really can’t go wrong!

There are so many more highlights; Rockcliffe Wines, Barton Jones Wines, Yelland & Papps … to name just a few! If it wasn’t for Mr. Spittoon’s muscle I wouldn’t of been able to get all my shopping home, we ended up with 4 bottles of wine, 2 sets of Riedel Glasses plus our show tasting glasses, a bottle of vodka, biltong, an icebuket, magazines… the list goes on! It was an absolutely fun day and I hope you all get a chance to go, if not this year then put it in the diary for next year!

Saturday opening times: 10:00 – 18:00

Sunday opening times: 10:00 – 17:00

Standard ticket price: $36 (and you can buy these at the door)

For more information checkout the Good Food & Wine Show’s website here.