Hiding in plain sight

Guest Blogger: Simon Schmidt 
This is the first in our Guest Blogger series. 
Simon Schmidt is the Managing Director of Vinnovate a proudly South Australian run beverage innovation group doing awesome things to disrupt the beverage industry including the wine industry.
Simon has over 20 years' experience in the wine industry, is a qualified wine maker and grew up in the gorgeous wine region of the Barossa Valley. He is passionate about wine and South Australia.

For most of us, we go about our daily lives very much in the throws of a routine. Sometimes the smallest changes upset the status quo, and leave us wondering what just happened!
 
Ask yourself then, when was the last time you stopped and had a look around; actually looking further than the places and people you already know, or buying the same things you always do. We often operate in autopilot, sometimes because we have it so good we forget to see what is right in front of us.
We buy the same milk or bread from the local supermarket and we buy our wine from big retailers, we buy the best deals of the day and with all the noise around, we sometime forget that we have the most incredible products on our doorstep, just waiting to be discovered. If  you are lucky to live in South Australia like I do, you will know that we really do live in the lucky country.

South Australia is home to hundreds of wineries and vineyards, many of whom you’ve likely never heard of, and inside these wineries and vineyards, people toil every day to perfect the art of what they do and the products they produce.

South Australia is the home of wine in this country, and is without a doubt one of the best and highest quality wine producing areas in the world. People save up their pennies in other countries and years of annual leave to travel to South Australia and experience what we have to offer. Pretty incredible huh!
 
While other countries are often better at promoting their wares, make no mistake their wines are not superior to ours – so don’t always believe they are.
So let me ask this, where else in the world can you find a large variety of world class wine regions within a mere two hours drive from a capital city?
We’ve got the Barossa, Clare, McLaren Vale and The Adelaide Hills within a day trip just to name a few. We are spoilt for choice and high quality produce which is loving made by those who dared to dream they could.

One little gem I found recently was Beresford Wines’ tasting pavilion in McLaren Flat. 45 mins from Adelaide, 15 minutes from the beach, and a world away from anything resembling stress. Nestled in amongst their own estate vineyards I’d highly recommend a visit. With delicious local wine and delicious food it’s worth a look.

​I could go on with all the little wineries I love to visit but it would take all day and to be honest I’m still working my way through them myself.
 
We are incredibly fortunate to call South Australia home, so forget the old phrase – “think global, act local”, I challenge you to think local, and drink local – you’ll be glad you did! Support our local wineries and get out and about in the gorgeous state we call home.
 
Cheers,
 Simon

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