‘I make a good pesto pasta’: Daniel Ricciardo’s food and wine favourites (and top Perth pit stops)

Eight-time F1 winner Daniel Ricciardo swapped pit lane for the wide-open road to the Barossa Valley in January this year, making his first trip to St Hugo winery. It’s in the name of a wine partnership that has given him the chance to nurture his palate and bond with his father beyond their love of racing.

The 33-year-old Perth racing car driver launched two red wines as part of his third collaboration with St Hugo, DR3 the 3rd.

Ricciardo’s decision to move into wine was inspired by his relationship with his father Joe, and his paternal grandfather Francesco, who passed away in the first year of COVID in Perth.

“Entering this wine partnership with St Hugo is all about going back to my Italian roots,” says Ricciardo, who spoke to me after the recent Australian Grand Prix.

“My childhood was always about eating meals together around the table with no TV on during dinner. You’d get a slap on the wrist if you tried,” he recalls. “And wine has always been part of that conversation, too, with lots of good food as well.

“The wine my family drank was mostly of the homemade kind. My father and Nonno loved to make it together. To me it tasted more like vinegar − the sort that mum would put in the spinach salad − but it was made with love and something they liked to do. It was a tradition they kept going,” Ricciardo says.

His interest in wine stems from those childhood moments seeing how it brought his family together.

“We used to joke about my Nonno as kids, and maybe it’s a little mean to say, but there was never a time we would greet him with a kiss and not be able to smell wine on his breath. Hands on heart, he was really into it – probably too much,” Ricciardo says.

When it came to adding his personal touch to the St Hugo wines, Ricciardo says samples were posted to him in Los Angeles as he liaised with chief winemaker Peter Munro over Zoom. He says DR3 the 3rd x St Hugo Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 2021 provides aromas of raspberry with hints and oak. He describes DR3 the 3rd x St Hugo South Australia Shiraz 2021 as dark and brooding with berry, pomegranate, and raspberry fruit.

“I appreciate the freedom I had to bring my taste to the bottle, but having Peter allow me to explore my flavour preference was great fun, too. I don’t know it all, so I was responsible with my input and made sure I wasn’t too domineering,” says Ricciardo.

While most want to see him back and racing in 2024, Ricciardo says having a year off to explore other ventures is what he needed to do for his wellbeing. “Dad and I have always bonded over cars and racing and that still is a big thing between us, but this was another reason to take our relationship to a different level,” he says.

“We both have a passion for wine. It’s a business I can bring him into and while I couldn’t bring him to the Barossa in January due to a surgery he needed to have, it’s a journey we will make together and another way we can spend more time together.”

The dish

Signature dish at home

I am definitely not the best in the kitchen, but if I had to prepare one meal, I do make a good pesto pasta. I make the pesto from scratch and use lots of basil and pine nuts and parmesan plus olive oil. I like to use fusilli pasta. It’s delicious.

Guilty pleasure

I have a weakness for ice-cream and have the ability to eat a pint of it in one go. I love eating vanilla and always go for a good quality one like Haagen-Dazs. I scoop in lots of Nutella and make my own. Milo on the top is also good as well.

Kitchen wisdom

I learned this early in life, and that it is so much easier to clean as you go when preparing meals. If you wash the dishes you use so they don’t pile up it means you don’t get overwhelmed.

I saw my mother always start with a clean workbench and organise the ingredients you need. When I am in the kitchen I always like to listen to podcasts and music. I feel the kitchen is one of the few spaces I can be in my own thoughts and focus on the cooking without any distractions.

Favourite dish your Mum makes

Every time I come home to Perth, I always make sure Mum, Grace, cooks up her famous chicken cutlets. I ate this as a kid and it really reminds me of home. She also makes a great spinach salad with cranberries and pine nuts.

Favourite home town restaurant

I spent a lot of time over Christmas 2022 at the Italian restaurant Pappagallo in WA. It’s good Italian food and the owner is an Italian who migrated to Australia on a ship. I also love their amazing chilli mussels and highly recommend the spaghetti vongole. It’s the true Italian spirit: very friendly and homemade.

Favourite cafe in Perth

Can I mention my cousin’s cafe in Perth? It’s called Sayers Little Brother – it’s where I do head for homemade cooking. A cute small space and the coffee is amazing. I am an oat latte kinda guy − a maximum of two a day. I only have a second full strength if I am jet-lagged, and when I do need a second one it’s always decaf.

Favourite place to dine in Australia

We celebrated my sister’s engagement dinner at Millioncino Pizzeria & Cafe in Perth and I absolutely loved the crab linguine.