Liquor Industry

Mr BIGNELL (Mawson) (16:06): I rise today to talk about one of my favourite subjects: booze. I want to congratulate the Kangaroo Island Spirits team, led by Jon and Sarah Lark, who last night in London picked up a gold medal at the International Wine and Spirit Competition. It is the first time ever that a South Australian gin distillery has won a gold medal in that very prestigious international competition. Of course, in the electorate of Mawson we are blessed with so many producers of quality booze. I say that because we used to be known as the wine state, but increasingly we are becoming known as the state that produces amazing spirits, ciders, beers and other wonderful drinks.

In the McLaren Vale area, we have 150 wineries, including more than 80 cellar doors. We are really seeing some huge increases in the number of visitors coming to McLaren Vale, largely off the back of the development of the Cube at d'Arenberg. I was there for lunch last weekend, and it is an amazing place. They say that they have been so busy during the school holidays with kids wanting to come through what is a little bit like Willy Wonka's chocolate factory. It is an amazing place. You really have to experience it to believe what they have done there, thanks very much to d'Arry and Chester Osborn and their vision.

It is also something that we as a government put $2 million into for a $15 million build, so the Osborn family stumped up $13 million. We keep hearing from the new government that they are going to do away with those grants because they do not want to pick winners. Well, what is left for you to pick? Losers? Everyone is a winner in McLaren Vale because of the development of the d'Arenberg Cube. All the wineries and the restaurants that I talk to say that their visitor numbers are up because of these developments.

We have also seen cellar doors right throughout South Australia receive $25,000 grants, which has really helped them to invest, go to the banks and get some money, so that they can have some of the best cellar doors and experiences anywhere in the world. The minister for agriculture spoke earlier about the fact that South Australia and Adelaide is a member of the Great Wine Capitals. When we did the deal, we did not just do the deal for Adelaide the city and one of our 18 wine regions: we put all 18 wine regions in.

I was up in the Hills a couple of weeks ago. I went to Deviation Road and caught up with Kate and Hamish. They received one of the cellar-door grants from us, but they put a whole lot of their own money in to do a fantastic extension to their cellar door. I tell everyone to make sure you get up there and check out what they have done.

The Adelaide Hills is doing very well in terms of what they are offering visitors from around South Australia but also from around the world. Brendan and Laura from Unico Zelo have done an amazing job, with not just the wines they produce but the spirits as well. They do a fantastic coffee cello. If you ever have time to make yourself an espresso martini, you get a bit of this and just whack it on the ice on a cold night at home and it does not do a bad job.

But if you like an espresso martini, I can make an entire one using Kangaroo Island produce. You use the Kangaroo Island Spirits vodka, you replace the Kahlúa with a mixture of the fig syrup that you can get from Kangaroo Island, and then you add two-thirds nocino which is produced by Kangaroo Island Spirits, and that is made from soaking green walnuts for months in spirits. It is a great thing. It is two-thirds nocino, one-third fig syrup, and then you put the coffee roasted by Kangaroo Island Coffee Roasters in there as well and a lot of ice and you shake it. I find that a cocktail mixer just does not do it for me. I use a thermos, then you can serve all your mates at the same time and you are not there all night. Just a few handy tips from the former minister for food and grog.

Also, when we look at the breweries around our area, we are looking forward to Swell Brewing opening up in McLaren Vale. Dan Wright and his wife, Corrina, who is an exceptional winemaker for Oliver's Taranga, are building an amazing new brewery and cellar door. I guess it is a cellar door or a beer door, whatever they call their brewery. We also have Jeff and Mary Goodieson. We have Smiling Samoyed down at Myponga. Forktree Brewing has just opened up at Carrickalinga. Of course, we have Vale Ale which is doing a great job.

We also have the Shifty Lizard boys. They are some hipsters who have moved into our area in the main street of Willunga. We used to do a five-pub crawl in Willunga. There are only three pubs. Everyone asks, 'How do you get five?' Well, you do three on the way up and two on the way back. Now they have put a taphouse in the middle, so we probably would get seven, which is fantastic. It is a great little taphouse, the Shifty Lizard. Please, if you want a good drink, come down to McLaren Vale and enjoy all the stuff we have there, or head over to Kangaroo Island where we have award-winning spirits, beer and wine.