• South Australian distilleries boast world’s best spirits
• Record minerals exports from South Australia
• Bipartisan delegation learning from global urban renewal projects
• Local wines on show to international ambassadors
• SmartSat sends PhD students to NASA
• Hollywood Plaza to receive $15 million upgrade
• YourDC secures the Cloud in South Australia
• Yalumba announces 2018 vintage wine
• 1834 Hotels announces nationwide expansion

South Australian distilleries boast world’s best spirits

South Australia touted its talent at the 2023 World Premix Awards with local distilleries receiving top awards.

Mclaren Vale’s Never Never Distilling Co and Melbourne’s Curatif were recognised with the World’s Best Premix Design award for the Curatif Never Never Distilling Co Negroni, which also won Bronze for World’s Best Classic Cocktail alongside Prohibition Liquor Co’s Bathtub Cut Negroni.

In the Spirit and Mixer Category, Barossa Distilling Company’s Australian G&T was the Style Winner as well as the Gold winner for Taste.

Flinders Gin followed closely with its Outback Lemon and Lime Gin and Tonic winning Silver and its Quandong Gin and Tonic winning Bronze in the Taste category.

Flinders Gin Master Distiller Alby Trotta said he was thrilled the company’s passion for Flinders region flavours and gin-making skills were recognised.

“These awards are a testament to the quality and care we put into every bottle and can … We couldn’t be prouder of our small team and really appreciate the support of our regional community as well as all of our customers,” Trotta said.

Record minerals exports from South Australia

South Australia’s energy and minerals exports increased by 32.5 per cent in the 12 months to March.

Refined copper continues to lead the way with exports up 62.6 per cent or $958 million.

The state’s copper production continues to rise alongside the worldwide demand as Olympic Dam reports an increased production following smelter de-bottlenecking and new projects emerge including BHP’s Oak Dam deposit and Coda Minerals’ Emmie Bluff and Elizabeth Creek deposits.

“Copper remains an essential metal for the global energy transformation and our production helps to support countries to use greater electrification of their economies to reduce their carbon footprints,” said Minister for Energy and Mining Tom Koutsantonis.

“A pipeline of approvals for new mines coming to market will ensure that our minerals sector continues to support future export growth.”

Bipartisan delegation learning from global urban renewal projects

A South Australian delegation comprising Labor and Liberal members of parliament will next week attend a study tour of Europe to learn from the world’s leading urban renewal and development projects.

The tour comes after the announcement of projects by the Malinauskas Labor Government to tackle the housing crisis.

The projects include a land release in Adelaide’s north and south for almost 2000 housing allotments and seeing the former Franklin Street Bus Depot site turned into an apartment living complex.

Urban Development Institute of Australia’s SA Division (UDIA SA) Acting Chief Executive Pat Gerace said that for South Australia to maintain its mantle as one of the world’s most liveable cities, we must continue to look to the best developments from across the globe.

“This tour has been carefully tailored to ensure delegates learn from the challenges faced in some of the globe’s most progressive cities, to help keep Adelaide at the forefront.

“The UDIA SA has selected and will be leading the tour to three of the busiest and most challenging development locations in the world, witnessing firsthand and hearing directly about the most cutting-edge approaches to sustainability, place-making and design.”

International ambassadors will visit South Australia for a taste of local wines. Photo: Pexels.

Local wines on show to international ambassadors

Members of the South Australian Wine Ambassadors Club (SAWAC) from Singapore, Hong Kong and New Zealand will visit South Australia in a four-day tour of the wine regions.

The international wine importers will tour the Adelaide Hills, McLaren Vale and Barossa.

“Taking our guests to key regions, introducing them to our winemakers on their own turf, and experiencing our landscape and wildlife along the way are all valued steps in building ongoing relationships that bind us in business as well as international friendship,” said SAWAC Patron and wine journalist Tony Love.

South Australia’s combined exports to Singapore ($118.6 million), Hong Kong ($152.7 million) and New Zealand ($72 million) in the year ending March 2023 represented 26 per cent of the state’s total wine export value.

In the same year, South Australian wine exports were valued at $1.3 billion making up 65 per cent of the total value of Australian wine exports.

NASA’s JLP Campus in California. Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech.

SmartSat sends PhD students to NASA

Two Australian students will join the internship program of Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JLP), a NASA space lab in California that specialises in robotic space exploration.

Physics PhD student Emily Ahern from the University of Adelaide will commence work in June and use the opportunity to further develop a compact optical clock for small satellites.

Anne Bettens, a PhD candidate in the University of Sydney’s School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering, has already begun her internship focused on autonomous navigation of spacecraft.

SmartSat CRC Chief Research Officer Dr Carl Seubert, who worked at NASA JPL for nearly a decade, said it was challenging to narrow down the two successful applicants from the many high-calibre applications received.

“I had an out-of-this-world experience at JPL working alongside experts on challenging technologies and the best missions, and I want to share that with other Australians,” he said.

“This program provides our students an invaluable opportunity to learn from some of the greatest aerospace engineers and scientists in the world and forge international collaborations that will last their careers.”

– Jack O’Halloran

Render of the new Hollywood Plaza Main Entrance. Photo: Armada Group.

Hollywood Plaza to receive $15 million upgrade

Property development company LAS Group has announced a $15 million upgrade to its Salisbury Downs retail centre.

The plans include the installation of 4000 rooftop solar panels and upgrades to the current air-conditioning system to help meet the South Australian Government’s target of net zero by 2050.

The group will also redesign the centre entrances, add a new children’s play area and renovate the bathrooms and food court.

LAS Group bought the landmark shopping centre in 2021, their only large-scale property in South Australia.

– Shannon Pearce

YourDC secures the cloud in South Australia

The South Australian data storage company is launching the only Tier 3 rated data facility in South Australia

YourDC CEO Scott Hicks said the facility spans infrastructure, storage, backup, disaster recovery, virtual servers, firewalls and testing as-a-service.

“Our new cloud services provide significant benefits for our South Australian customers, including reduced latency, enhanced security and compliance, improved connectivity, and data sovereignty,” Hicks said.

The announcement comes following a fire at the Glenside Data Centre, the state government’s primary data centre, which had a significant impact on the local healthcare system.

“We recognise our customers’ critical infrastructure requirements can change quickly, and offer the flexibility to cost-effectively scale up or down services with consumption pricing and the ability to transfer spend between solutions,” Hicks said.

“Our enhanced product capability validates our recent acquisition by iseek, enabling us to combine iseek’s industry-leading cloud services with VMware’s virtualisation technology and our local data centres to offer a best-in-class digital solution for the South Australian market.”

– Jack O’Halloran

Yalumba’s 2018 ‘The Caley’ Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz. Photo: Yalumba.

Yalumba announces 2018 vintage wine

The Barossa winemaker will release ‘The Caley’ Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz, a blend of 80 per cent Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon and 20 percent Barossa Shiraz in June.

The $365 bottle is the sixth vintage release by Yalumba since its inaugural vintage in 2012 and is designed to be cellared for 15 years.

The wine is named after Fred Caley Smith, the grandson of Yalumba founder Samuel Smith and a horticulturist who worked on the Yalumba orchards and vineyards.

Fifth-generation owner Robert Hill-Smith said 2018 was an even ripening season delivering fruit with fine tannins, natural acidity and strong varietal flavours.

“We had many options for our blend, but our Coonawarra Cabernet block was exceptional this year with fine attention to detail from our viticultural team,” Hill-Smith said.

“This has been beautifully balanced with the elegance of Shiraz grown in our Horseshoe Block next to the winery.”

Yalumba ‘The Caley’ 2018 will be available online, in fine wine retailers and for tasting at the Yalumba Wine Room in Angaston from 1 June 2023.

– Shannon Pearce

1834 Hotels announces nationwide expansion

Adelaide-based hospitality management group 1834 Hotels has added ten new properties to its list of partners, including brands such as Accor Hotels, Choice Hotels and Wyndham Hotels.

CEO of 1834 Hotels Andrew Bullock said the additions include Kewarra Beach Resort in Queensland, Mantra 100 Exhibition Melbourne, Quality Apartments Melbourne Central and Wyndham Resort in Wallaroo Shores.

“As we continue to seek opportunities for expansion throughout Australia, we look forward to forging new relationships with hotel owners and providing them with the tools they need to succeed,” Bullock said.

Bullock said the expansion comes following a successful 2022 as tourism in Australia recovers after a difficult period during the pandemic.

“As an advocate for growth and development in the tourism and hospitality sectors, it’s exciting to see a number of new developments that will further contribute to the growth of the industry,” he said.

– Jack O’Halloran