Visiting South Australia? Or lucky enough to live here?

Only approx. 2 Hours drive from the CBD lies the small town of Clare; Famous once for supplying Adelaide with fresh fruit and Veg, it's now renowned for its wine.

In 2016 I was fortunate enough to visit Clare with Choice Hotels Australia-Pacific in their Comfort Inn Hotel as part of a top 10 Australian Travelgrammers. This gave me great taste into the wonders Clare offered.

Can you do Clare as a Day Trip?

Absolutely, this last Saturday I was lucky enough to return to Clare just for the day; however I thoroughly recommend staying one night and make it a weekend. There are plenty of B & B's to stay at like the cute Vine Art, or for comfort and convenience the Comfort Inn is located on the main Street.

Things to Do:

From riding the main private bike trail "The Riesling Trail" on a hire bike, visiting some local Heritage and of course Wine Tasting! My top Activities are below.

My Top Activities:

Eat at Seed for Dinner (Read further down for a review)
Riding the Riesling Trail (An excellent bike ride; go as for or short as you want on the fairly flat trail stopping in at various wineries. Then call a taxi to pick you up at the end to return [Dave the taxi driver does an amazing job 0428055590]).
Visit Wineries: Read down for my favourites.
Visit the SevenHill Winery Historical Sites. (One of the first wineries brought to the area by religious jesuits, the winery boasts a fantastic cellar and gardens to stroll around or buy some snacks at the winery and have a picnic lunch (easily accessible from the Riesling trail).
Tapas for lunch at Mr Micks.
Bungaree Station, the oldest historical still Family owned sheep shearing property, its both gorgeous and interesting.

My Top Winery Picks:

Kilikanoon (Top wines, Prodigal Grenache, Morts Cut Riesling, Kelly 1932 Grenache, Second Fiddle Rosé, Oracle Shiraz)
Jeanneret (Top wines, Doozie Riesling, MoonDance Malbec, Stand and deliver Shiraz, Hummer Merlot)
Tim Adams (Top Wines: Reserve Riesling, Semillion, Pinot Gris, The Fergus, Reserve Tempranillo, Cabernet Malbec)
Pikes
SevenHills Winery
Knappstien Winery

(The wineries selected are based on 1. Quality of Wines and 2. Cellar Door experience. All these top wines are my personal favourites at tasting from the wineries).

Saving the best till Last! Seed Kitchen and Winehouse.

An attained pipe dream for Guy Parkinson and Candice Leighton who from the Hunter Valley have settled on the property and the want to have a kitchen of their own. Guy commands the kitchen and Candice runs the floor which from both times I've visited haven't disappointed in their roles. They remove any doubt from my mind after reading mixed reviews that Seed is a must do when in Clare.

Entering the beautiful old stone premise, the decor is chosen perfectly; With warm wood tones, Balanced Mood lighting with a great amount of Natural Light and lots of living plants it's a pleasant space. The classic white table cloths are forgiven as they provide a great contrast with the dark toned china.

Expect to be greeted with a friendly smile, and immediate attention; Offers for drinks or cheese platters are given as you have the option to wait at the bar before going to your table. I recommend getting a cheese as I missed out doing the first time; the ingredients are amazingly fresh and everything from the cheese to the honey are sourced well.

Getting down to the meal, a very reasonably priced menu faces you. Above ordering from the menu (unless something jumps out at you) I recommend choosing the chefs choice at a brilliant $59 4 plate Meal or $99 with matched wines (prices 4.2.17).

We started with a warmed bread and homemade butter; Followed by cold smoked tomato dish with fresh mozzarella which was a healthy relief to have a unique style dish that let the ingredients speak for themselves.

Peach, procuitto, cream, mint and olive oil. Not the first list of ingredients that flows through my mind on a second course; But from the effervescence from the peach on tongue to the touch of savoury this dish surprised and delighted.

The following two dishes of Black Linguine with Blue Crab; and Steak with condiments and Salad didn't let down the excitement except the mustard was so filled with flavour, I had to shy away. So when it came to dessert we had no more room, we had to order a dish to try anyway. So we shared it between us; one of the best decisions!

The drinks did not disappoint either, finally a South Australian restaurant that doesn't shy away from wine recommendations and follows through with results! From a fantastic Gin the 78 from the Adelaide hills with handpicked garnish to a perfect Rosé with dessert.

Seed Kitchen is a Gastronomical Delight with their simple honest food and in my top 10 favourite Australia Restaurants which includes Attica. A must do for your visit to South Australia.

See the SEED Photo album HERE.

A South Australian Gem

David Boon