Food and wine trails are a new and exciting part of culinary tourism in Australia. Such attractions are now an integral part of tourism in all the main food and wine production states. While trails join multiple food and wine venues into linked destinations for tourists and have grown in number, they are not widely understood. There has been very little research on them in Australia or overseas.

This qualitative research was undertaken in the three states of South Australia, New South Wales and Victoria. The research objectives incorporated:
• establishing the principal factors involved in the development and performance of food and wine trails in Australia.
• understanding the economic importance of food and wine trails,
• comprehending and elaborating upon critical components,
• developing an awareness of the demography and expectation of tourist-consumers on food and wine trails.
Finally, a principal aim was to develop a theoretical framework through which food and wine trails can be understood.