Cellar Door Fest

The Hon. M. EL DANNAWI (14:27): My question is—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! I want to hear the Hon. Ms El Dannawi.

The Hon. M. EL DANNAWI: Thank you, Mr President. My question is to the Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development. Will the minister inform the chamber about the Cellar Door Fest held at Adelaide Convention Centre this past weekend?

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN (Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development, Minister for Forest Industries) (14:28): I thank the honourable member for her question. Between 2 and 4 February, this weekend just past, thousands of festival goers enjoyed gourmet food, wine and spirits at the Cellar Door Fest, a premier showcase of our state's food and drink.

Celebrating its 13^th year, this event brings together more than 100 of South Australia's food, wine and spirit producers to one venue in the heart of Adelaide. From boutique to well-recognised brands, the Cellar Door Fest offers attendees the opportunity to learn more about South Australia's wine regions, our emerging vibrant distillery scene and, of course, incredible produce. Indeed, this event also provides the inspiration to many attendees to plan a future visit to one of South Australia's wine regions.

The 2024 Cellar Door Fest provides a wonderful platform for exhibitors hailing from Eyre Peninsula all the way to the Coonawarra, and 15 South Australian wine regions were showcased at this year's event. The scale of our local industry is impressive. South Australia is home to 18 wine regions, more than 3,250 vineyard owners, 700 wineries and more than 340 cellar doors.

South Australia also produces almost 80 per cent of Australia's premium wine, produced from some of the oldest vines in the world, thanks to our rigorous biosecurity measures. The festival also featured the Great Wine Capitals discovery stage, which showcased some of South Australia's Best of Wine Tourism Award winners, some of whom I have spoken about in this place before, who have been recognised for their innovation and excellence in wine tourism.

The Best of Wine Tourism Showcase was hosted by wine personality Nick Ryan and featured McLaren Vale's Yangarra Estate Vineyard; Pindarie and Alkina Wine Estate from the Barossa Valley; and the Adelaide Hills' Mount Lofty Ranges and Sidewood Estate. Personally, I particularly enjoyed visiting the emerging producer zone, which showcases new talent from across the state who have been in the industry for only three years or less.

Cellar Door Fest is proudly supported by the South Australian government through the Department of Primary Industries and Regions South Australia and is an example of how our government is working hard to both support and promote our wine, food and spirits sectors.