Harbour flavours, award-winning wines and Tassie’s best pub
Your weekly taste of Australia’s best food, drinks and spirited discoveries
Welcome back to Uncorked & Forked, your weekly taste of Australia and beyond’s best food, drinks and spirited discoveries.
This week we’re heading to Sydney’s Darling Harbour for a little new restaurant with some tempting dishes, before opening two outstanding Western Australian wines that have been collecting serious accolades.
There’s also big news for Australian fine dining, a troubling forecast for France’s winemakers and a country pub in Tasmania that’s just won the people’s vote.
Throw in moving sculptures among the vines, a food festival in northern NSW and Champagne and caviar on the high seas, and we’ve got plenty to get our teeth into.
Let’s get into it.
MAIN COURSE
Shoreline brings fresh flavours to Darling Harbour
Sydney’s Darling Harbour has a new dining destination, and there’s plenty on the menu to catch the attention of anyone who enjoys good food without too much fuss. Shoreline Kitchen has opened inside the newly refurbished Adina Sydney Darling Harbour, bringing a relaxed, all-day dining experience to the waterfront precinct.
With seating for just 60, the restaurant draws inspiration from its harbour surroundings, combining natural timber, stone, brushed brass and soft furnishings in a contemporary setting.
Executive chef Evan Prayogo, who has spent more than 15 years working across Australia’s hospitality industry, studied architecture before finding his calling in the kitchen. That eye for detail now influences his approach to cooking.
His menu takes its cues from Mediterranean dining while keeping Australian produce firmly in the spotlight. Bloody yum, breakfast, lunch and dinner.
There’s blue swimmer crab mafaldine with brown butter, chilli, burnt lemon and dashi, while Shoreline’s signature fish burger comes with finger lime, tartare and pickled cucumber.
For something more substantial, diners can choose whole market fish with dashi butter, capers and charred lemon, or shawarma-spiced lamb neck with whipped labneh and pickles.
Breakfast is equally appealing, notably the Tasmanian smoked salmon served on potato rösti with white tarama, pickled cucumber and a poached egg.
“For us, Shoreline Kitchen is about creating the kind of place people want to come back to,” Prayogo says.
“Somewhere for breakfast before work, a long lunch by the harbour or dinner with friends as the city starts to slow down. The food matters, of course, but so does the feeling people leave with.”
The restaurant is open seven days from 7am, with dinner service scheduled to begin this week. And with Barangaroo, Darling Harbour and the CBD all within easy reach, it’s a handy new option for visitors exploring Sydney.
Shoreline Kitchen, Adina Sydney Darling Harbour, 60 Lime Street, Sydney.
Discover Shoreline Kitchen at Adina Darling Harbour
Good Drops
Xanadu Cabernet Sauvignon 2023 — Margaret River, WA
Here’s a red that’s been making some serious noise in Australian wine circles.
Xanadu’s 2023 Cabernet Sauvignon has claimed Red Wine of Show and the prestigious Prime Minister’s Trophy at the 2026 National Wine Show of Australia.
And that’s quite an achievement in a country producing so many extraordinary reds. The wine comes from Margaret River, a region renowned for its elegant Cabernet Sauvignon, and offers blackcurrant, dark chocolate and subtle spice, supported by fine tannins and a beautifully balanced finish.
It also earned 98 points at the 2025 International Wine & Spirit Competition.
My Verdict: A trophy-winning Cabernet with outstanding credentials at a surprisingly approachable price. If you can track down the 2023 vintage, it’s well worth investigating.
The Region: Margaret River, Western Australia.
Best with: Roast beef, grilled lamb or a good aged cheddar.
Price: Approximately $38–$40, subject to availability.
Singlefile Great Southern Riesling 2025 — Western Australia
If you’ve been overlooking Riesling in favour of Sauvignon Blanc or Chardonnay, here’s a very good reason to reconsider.
Singlefile’s 2025 Great Southern Riesling has earned an impressive 96 points in Halliday’s selection of Australia’s best white wines under $40.
At around $28, it’s a particularly enticing proposition from a region producing some wonderful cool-climate wines.
Expect lively lime, crisp green apple and white nectarine characters, with refreshing acidity and a lovely mineral finish.
It’s precisely the sort of white that makes sense as the weather begins to warm up.
My Verdict: Ninety-six points for $28 is hard to ignore. A bright, refreshing spring white with serious credentials, although I haven’t personally tasted it.
The Region: Great Southern, Western Australia.
Best with: Fresh oysters, grilled prawns or Thai-style seafood.
Price: Approximately $28.
Worth Knowing
Michelin stars finally arrive in Australia
Australia’s fine-dining scene has reached a rather remarkable milestone, with Michelin stars awarded to Australian restaurants for the first time.
And the surprise is where they’ve landed. Rather than Sydney or Melbourne, it’s South Australia that’s taken centre stage, with ten restaurants receiving one Michelin star and Magill Estate earning two.
For decades, Australian diners have watched chefs overseas celebrate the coveted stars, awarded by the famous French restaurant guide.
Now the recognition has arrived on our own shores.
It’s a significant moment for South Australia’s hospitality industry, particularly the producers and regional restaurants that have helped build its reputation as one of the country’s great food and wine destinations.
And for travellers who plan their holidays around memorable meals, there’s another very good reason to put South Australia on the itinerary.
Read more about South Australia’s Michelin recognition
WINE WATCH
France’s wine harvest is heading for historic lows
France may be synonymous with some of the world’s most celebrated wines, but its growers are facing another difficult year.
The country’s 2026 wine production is forecast at around 35 million hectolitres, about 14 per cent below the five-year average, following extreme heat and drought across important growing regions.
It’s another reminder of how vulnerable vineyards have become to changing weather patterns, with increasingly unpredictable conditions affecting yields and grape development.
For Australian wine lovers, the question is whether smaller French harvests will eventually influence the price and availability of imported favourites.
That isn’t a certainty. Prices depend on demand, existing stocks, exchange rates and individual regions, not simply the size of one harvest.
But it’s a story worth watching, particularly for anyone who enjoys French Burgundy, Bordeaux or Champagne.
And maybe another reason to appreciate the extraordinary range of wines being produced here at home.
Explore French wine production statistics
A BIT DIFFERENT
When the vineyard becomes a moving art gallery
Imagine wandering through a vineyard, glass of wine in hand, while extraordinary sculptures turn and sway in the breeze against the backdrop of Hanging Rock and Mount Macedon.
That’s the rather beautiful idea behind Art in the Vines – Art in Motion 2, opening at Hanging Rock Winery in Victoria’s Macedon Ranges on October 19. The free outdoor exhibition will feature more than 25 kinetic sculptures spread across three acres, including five works by acclaimed Australian sculptor Rudi Jass.
Unlike traditional sculptures, these creations respond to wind and changing conditions, meaning the exhibition may look a little different every time you visit. Visitors can wander the sculpture trail before heading to the cellar door for a tasting, enjoying local produce or simply soaking up those magnificent views.
Children and dogs are welcome, and the sculptures will remain on display until the end of April 2027. There’s even the opportunity to purchase a work if something particularly catches your eye.
Art in the Vines – Art in Motion 2, Hanging Rock Winery, Macedon Ranges, Victoria. October 19, 2026–April 2027. Free entry.
AT SEA
Champagne, caviar and a very grand table at sea
If your idea of a memorable cruise involves exceptional food and wine, Regent Seven Seas Cruises has announced some rather extravagant new experiences.
Its newest ship, Seven Seas Prestige, will introduce a collection of luxury tastings and culinary pairings, including a five-course Grand Table Experience featuring some of the world’s most prestigious wines.
We’re talking Krug Grande Cuvée with caviar, Louis Jadot Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru with Maine lobster, Vega Sicilia Único with Japanese Wagyu and Château d’Yquem with tarte Tatin.
There’s also a Champagne-focused tasting journey and a Grey Goose martini and caviar ritual.
Beyond the new ship, Regent is introducing destination-inspired wine lunches across its fleet, exploring the wines of France, Italy, the Americas and beyond.
The Seven Seas Prestige is scheduled to make its maiden voyage from Miami on December 28, with selected tasting experiences available at additional cost.
It’s an indulgent proposition, certainly, but for travellers who love discovering extraordinary wines alongside exceptional food, there’s plenty to savour.
LOCAL LEGEND
Tassie’s best pub is hiding in the town of murals
There’s something great about discovering a great country pub in a town that’s already worth visiting.
Sheffield, in Tasmania’s north-west, is famous for its colourful murals and magnificent Mount Roland backdrop.
But there’s another reason to stop for a cold one.
The Sheffield Hotel has just been voted Tasmania’s Best Pub in the 2026 People’s Choice Awards, with the state’s favourite hospitality venues decided by public vote.
More than 25,000 votes were cast across the awards, making it a lovely endorsement of the humble country watering hole.
Sheffield is a wonderful little detour for anyone exploring Tasmania’s north-west, and the hotel gives visitors another reason to linger.
A good country pub, a town full of art and some magnificent Tasmanian scenery. Sounds like an enjoyable afternoon to me.
The Sheffield Hotel, Sheffield, Tasmania.
Explore Sheffield and Tasmania’s north-west
Until next Friday… keep discovering, keep tasting and never drive past a country pub on an empty stomach.
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