South Australian wine
Encyclopedia
Australian wine
The Australian Wine Industry is the fourth largest exporter of wine around the world, with 760 million litres a year to a large international export market and contributes $5.5 billion per annum to the nation's economy...
. The state of South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
has a vast diversity in geography
Geography of South Australia
The geography of South Australia incorporates the south central part of the continent of Australia. It is one of the six states of Australia. South Australia is bordered on the west by Western Australia, to the north by the Northern Territory, Queensland to the northeast, and both New South Wales...
and climate which allows the state to be able to successfully produce a wide range of grape varieties-from the cool climate Riesling
Riesling
Riesling is a white grape variety which originated in the Rhine region of Germany. Riesling is an aromatic grape variety displaying flowery, almost perfumed, aromas as well as high acidity. It is used to make dry, semi-sweet, sweet and sparkling white wines. Riesling wines are usually varietally...
variety in the Clare Valley
Clare Valley
The Clare Valley is one of Australia's oldest wine regions, best known for Riesling wines. It lies in the Mid North of South Australia, approximately 120 km north of Adelaide. The valley runs north-south, with Main North Road as the main thoroughfare....
to the big, full bodied Shiraz wines of the Barossa Valley
Barossa Valley (wine)
The Barossa Valley is one of Australia's oldest wine regions. Located in South Australia, the Barossa Valley is about 56km northeast of the city of Adelaide...
.
As with most agriculture in Australia
Agriculture in Australia
Australia is a major agricultural producer and exporter. Agriculture and its closely related sectors earn $155 billion-a-year for a 12% share of GDP. Australian farmers and graziers own 135,996 farms, covering 61% of Australia’s landmass. There is a mix of irrigation and dry-land farming...
, irrigation is a vital component to the success of the South Australian wine industry. Some of Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
's most well known wines like the Penfolds Grange
Penfolds Grange
Penfolds Grange is an Australian wine, made predominantly from the Shiraz grape and usually a small percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon. It is widely considered Australia's "first growth" and its most collectable wine...
, Jacob's Creek, Yalumba
Yalumba
Yalumba is a winery located near Angaston, South Australia in the Barossa Valley. It was founded by a British brewer, Samuel Smith, who emigrated to Australia with his family from Wareham, Dorset in August 1847 aboard the ship 'China'. Upon arriving in Australia in December, Smith built a small...
and Henschke
Henschke
Henschke is a family-owned, year old Australian winery located in Keyneton, Eden Valley South Australia. It produces the 'Hill of Grace', one of Australia's Cult wines and considered Australia's second best wine by James Halliday in 2009.-History:...
Hill of Grace are produced here as well as many of Australia's mass produced box wine
Box wine
A box wine is a wine packaged as a Bag-In-Box. Such packages contain a plastic bladder protected by a box, usually made of corrugated fiberboard.- History :...
s.
History
The earliest recorded evidence of vine planting was in 1836 by a settler named John Barton HackJohn Barton Hack
John Barton Hack was an early settler in South Australia; a prominent farmer, businessman and public figure. He lost his fortune in the financial crisis of 1840 and despite his best efforts, never regained anything like his former influence and prosperity...
in Chichester Gardens, North Adelaide
North Adelaide
North Adelaide is a predominantly residential precinct of the City of Adelaide in South Australia, situated north of the River Torrens and within the Adelaide Park Lands.-History:...
. In 1838 George Stevenson planted a vineyard in Adelaide and may have been producing wine as early as 1841. Following the spread of urban development, those Hack's vines were pulled up with a new vineyard at Echunga Springs near Mount Barker
Mount Barker (South Australia)
Mount Barker is a mountain just outside of the town of Mount Barker in South Australia.The mountain is the home to a transmission tower that services SAGRN and mobile phone transmissions throughout the area.- History :...
. In 1843, he sent a case of wine made from the vineyard to Queen Victoria, being the first Australian wine to reach the Queen.
Climate and geography
Mainland
Mainland is a name given to a large landmass in a region , or to the largest of a group of islands in an archipelago. Sometimes its residents are called "Mainlanders"...
with Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
to the west, Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
to the north east, New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
to the east, Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
to the south east and the territory, Northern Territory
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...
to the north.
The Great Australian Bight
Great Australian Bight
The Great Australian Bight is a large bight, or open bay, off the central and western portions of the southern coastline of mainland Australia.-Extent:...
forms the region's southern coastline. The climate of the region varies greatly with the more interior regions like Riverland
Riverland
The Riverland, is a region of South Australia. It covers the area near the Murray River from where it flows into South Australia downstream to Blanchetown.The major town centres are Renmark, Berri, Loxton, Waikerie and Barmera...
being intensely hot and growing cooler as you get closer to the coastal regions like Adelaide Hills
Adelaide Hills
The Adelaide Hills are part of the Mount Lofty Ranges, east of the city of Adelaide in the state of South Australia. It is unofficially centred on the largest town in the area, Mount Barker, which has a population of around 29,000 and is also one of Australia's fastest growing towns.- History :The...
. Across the region there is low annual rainfall which necessitates the need for irrigation to curb the threat of droughts
Drought in Australia
Drought in Australia is defined as rainfall over a three month period being in the lowest decile of what has been recorded for that region in the past. This definition takes into account that drought is a relative term and rainfall deficiencies need to be compared to typical rainfall patterns...
.
Vines are grown at types of altitudes in south Australia from the low valley regions of the Barossa and the Riverland area up to the 1,970 ft (600 m) vineyards at Pewsey Vale
Pewsey Vale
Pewsey Vale vineyard was founded in 1847 by Englishman, Joseph Gilbert. It was the first vineyard established in South Australia’s Eden Valley and the first to plant Riesling vines in Australia...
in the Eden Valley
Eden Valley, South Australia
Eden Valley is a small South Australian town in the Barossa Ranges. It was named by the surveyors of the area after they found the word "Eden" carved into a tree. Eden Valley has an elevation of 460 metres and an average annual rainfall of 716.2mm....
. The soil type is also varied across the region from the well known terra rosa
Terra rosa (soil)
Terra rossa is a type of red clay soil produced by the weathering of limestone. When limestone weathers, the clay contained in the rocks is left behind, along with any other non-soluble rock material. Under oxidizing conditions, when the soils are above the water table, iron oxide forms in the...
of the Coonawarra
Coonawarra
Coonawarra is a wine region, on the Limestone Coast of South Australia, that is known for the Cabernet Sauvignon wines produced on its "terra rossa" soil. Coonawarra is an Aboriginal word meaning "Honeysuckle". It is about 380 km southeast of Adelaide, close to the border with...
region, the limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
-marl
Marl
Marl or marlstone is a calcium carbonate or lime-rich mud or mudstone which contains variable amounts of clays and aragonite. Marl was originally an old term loosely applied to a variety of materials, most of which occur as loose, earthy deposits consisting chiefly of an intimate mixture of clay...
based soils of the Adelaide and Riverland area, to the sand
Sand
Sand is a naturally occurring granular material composed of finely divided rock and mineral particles.The composition of sand is highly variable, depending on the local rock sources and conditions, but the most common constituent of sand in inland continental settings and non-tropical coastal...
y, clay
Clay
Clay is a general term including many combinations of one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure.- Formation :Clay minerals...
loam
Loam
Loam is soil composed of sand, silt, and clay in relatively even concentration . Loam soils generally contain more nutrients and humus than sandy soils, have better infiltration and drainage than silty soils, and are easier to till than clay soils...
based soils of the Barossa.
Wine regions
Since the 1960s, Australia's labeling laws have centered around an appellationAppellation
An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication used to identify where the grapes for a wine were grown; other types of food often have appellations as well...
system that distinguishes the geographic origins of the grape. Under these laws at least 85% of the grapes must be from the region that is designated on the label. In the late 1990s more definitive boundaries were established that divided Australia up into Geographic Indications (GI) known as zones, regions and subregions.
South Australia added a fourth classification known as super zones which include multiple number of nearby zones. Currently only the Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
region which includes the Barossa, Fleurieu
Fleurieu Peninsula
The Fleurieu Peninsula is a peninsula located south of Adelaide in South Australia, Australia. It was named after the French explorer and hydrographer Charles Pierre Claret de Fleurieu by the French explorer Nicolas Baudin as he mapped the south coast of Australia in 1802.Towns of interest in the...
zones and the area around the Mount Lofty Ranges
Mount Lofty Ranges
The Mount Lofty Ranges are the range of mountains just to the east of Adelaide in South Australia.-Location and description:The Mount Lofty Ranges stretch from the southernmost point of the Fleurieu Peninsula at Cape Jervis northwards for over before petering out north of Peterborough...
is designated as a "superzone".
Barossa zone
- The Barossa Valley is one of South Australia's oldest and most prestigious premium wine producing regions, known internationally for its Shiraz production. The area's climate is very hot and dry with most of the area's white wine plantings of ChardonnayChardonnayChardonnay is a green-skinned grape variety used to make white wine. It is originated from the Burgundy wine region of eastern France but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from England to New Zealand...
, Riesling and SemillonSémillonSémillon is a golden-skinned grape used to make dry and sweet white wines, most notably in France and Australia.-History:The origin of the Sémillon grape is hard to determine. It is known that it first arrived in Australia in the early 19th century and by the 1820s the grape covered over 90 percent...
being located on the higher altitude hill sides around the valley where they can be cooled by the ocean breeze. In recent times the area has found some success with plantings of Rhône varietalVarietal"Varietal" describes wines made primarily from a single named grape variety, and which typically displays the name of that variety on the wine label. Examples of grape varieties commonly used in varietal wines are Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Merlot...
s including GrenacheGrenacheGrenache is one of the most widely planted red wine grape varieties in the world. It ripens late, so it needs hot, dry conditions such as those found in Spain, the south of France, and California's San Joaquin Valley. It is generally spicy, berry-flavored and soft on the palate with a relatively...
and MourvèdreMourvèdreMourvèdre , Mataró or Monastrell is wine grape variety used to make both strong, dark red wines and rosés. It is an international variety grown in many regions around the world....
. Due to the hot climate, the grapes can become overripe, which requires the winemaking to limit the macerationMaceration (wine)Maceration is the winemaking process where the phenolic materials of the grape— tannins, coloring agents and flavor compounds— are leached from the grape skins, seeds and stems into the must. Maceration is the process by which the red wine receives its red color, since 99% of all grape juice is...
time to prevent the wines from being overly tannic.
- The Eden Valley wine region includes the High EdenHigh EdenHigh Eden is the geographical indication of a subregion of the Eden Valley wine region within the Barossa wine zone in Australia. The High Eden wine region was entered in the Register of Protected Names on 28 August 2001...
sub-region and is known for its rockier, more acidic soil than the neighboring Barossa Valley. The area has a higher elevation (in the 1,300–2000 ft (400–600 m) range), and thus has a colder, wetter climate. The Eden Valley is home to the Hill of Grace vineyard with its 130+ year old Shiraz vines that are behind the world renowned Henschke Hill of Grace wine. The Eden Valley has also gained international attention for its limestone noted Rieslings.
Fleurieu zone
- The Currency CreekCurrency Creek, South AustraliaCurrency Creek is a small town located on South Australia's Fleurieu Peninsula about 6 km north of Goolwa. The Currency Creek area was initially explored by Charles Sturt in the late 1820s, with the area being officially named in 1837 after the whaling boat Currency Lass...
wine region extends from shores of Lake AlexandrinaLake Alexandrina (South Australia)Lake Alexandrina is a lake in South Australia adjacent to the coast of the Southern Ocean, about 100 kilometres south-east of Adelaide.-Name:The lake was named after Princess Alexandrina, niece and successor of King William IV of Great Britain and Ireland...
to Port ElliotPort Elliot, South AustraliaPort Elliot is a town in South Australia toward the eastern end of the south coast of the Fleurieu Peninsula. It is situated on the sheltered Horseshoe Bay, a small bay off the much larger Encounter Bay...
and includes vineyards on the islands of HindmarshHindmarsh IslandHindmarsh Island is an island in the lower Murray River near the town of Goolwa, South Australia. Located on the Fleurieu Peninsula, it is a popular tourist destination, which has increased in popularity since the Hindmarsh Island bridge was opened in 2001...
, Mundoo, and Long Island. Chardonnay, Riesling, Sauvignon blancSauvignon blancSauvignon Blanc is a green-skinned grape variety which originates from the Bordeaux region of France. The grape most likely gets its name from the French word sauvage and blanc due to its early origins as an indigenous grape in South West France., a possible descendant of savagnin...
and Semillon grow here.
- The Kangaroo IslandKangaroo IslandKangaroo Island is Australia's third-largest island after Tasmania and Melville Island. It is southwest of Adelaide at the entrance of Gulf St Vincent. Its closest point to the mainland is off Cape Jervis, on the tip of the Fleurieu Peninsula in the state of South Australia. The island is long...
wine region is located just off the coast of South Australia and is known for its Bordeaux styleBordeaux wineA Bordeaux wine is any wine produced in the Bordeaux region of France. Average vintages produce over 700 million bottles of Bordeaux wine, ranging from large quantities of everyday table wine, to some of the most expensive and prestigious wines in the world...
wines. Most of the vineyards are found on the ironstoneIronstoneIronstone is a sedimentary rock, either deposited directly as a ferruginous sediment or created by chemical repacement, that contains a substantial proportion of an iron compound from which iron either can be or once was smelted commercially. This term is customarily restricted to hard coarsely...
and sandy loam soils near KingscoteKingscote, South Australia- Facilities :Kingscote has a school offering years 1 to 12, a hospital, supermarket, post office and Government offices. It is the administrative centre for the Kangaroo Island Council, whose offices have recently undergone a significant upgrade....
.
- The Langhorne Creek wine region is located southeast of Adelaide along the Bremer RiverBremer River (South Australia)The Bremer River is a river in South Australia that rises on the eastern side of the Mount Lofty Ranges at an altitude of 431 metres and drains into Lake Alexandrina at the lower end of the Murray-Darling Basin...
. Orlando WinesOrlando WinesOrlando Wines is an Australian winery located in the small township of Rowland Flat, between Lyndoch and Tanunda, in South Australia's Barossa Valley wine-growing region. Orlando Wines was the valley's first commercial winery. It is currently part of Pernod Ricard Pacific, a wholly owned subsidiary...
sources many of the grapes for its Jacob's Creek brand from this area which has also developed a reputation of its dessert wineDessert wineDessert wines are sweet wines typically served with dessert.There is no simple definition of a dessert wine. In the UK, a dessert wine is considered to be any sweet wine drunk with a meal, as opposed to the white fortified wines drunk before the meal, and the red fortified wines drunk after it...
s.
- The McLaren ValeMcLaren ValeMcLaren Vale is a wine region approximately 35 km south of Adelaide in South Australia. It has a population of about 2,000 and is internationally renowned for the wines it produces. The region was named after either David McLaren, the Colonial Manager of the South Australia Company or John...
wine region is located south of Adelaide and extends to the south of Morphett ValeMorphett Vale, South AustraliaMorphett Vale is a southern suburb of Adelaide, South Australia in the City of Onkaparinga. It is the largest suburb in the state, with a population of more than 23,000 and an area of 12.76km², followed by Paralowie with nearly 10,000 fewer residents. There are approximately 1,000 businesses in...
. With the area's 22 inches (56 cm) of rains and diversity of soil types from sand to clay to limestone, this area produces some of the widest ranges of wines in South Australia with Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, MerlotMerlotMerlot is a darkly blue-coloured wine grape, that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name Merlot is thought to derive from the Old French word for young blackbird, merlot, a diminutive of merle, the blackbird , probably from the color of the grape. Merlot-based wines...
, Chardonnay, Semillon and Sauvignon blanc being the most widely planted.
- The Southern FleurieuFleurieu PeninsulaThe Fleurieu Peninsula is a peninsula located south of Adelaide in South Australia, Australia. It was named after the French explorer and hydrographer Charles Pierre Claret de Fleurieu by the French explorer Nicolas Baudin as he mapped the south coast of Australia in 1802.Towns of interest in the...
region is located on the southern end of the Fleurieu Peninsula. The area's sandy loam and gravel based ironstone soil is home to Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Riesling and ViognierViognierViognier is a white wine grape. It is the only permitted grape for the French wine Condrieu in the Rhone valley.-History:The origin of the Viognier grape is unknown. Viognier is presumed to be an ancient grape, possibly originating in Dalmatia and then brought to Rhône by the Romans. One legend...
plantings. Shiraz, Sauvignon blanc, Merlot and Primitivo are also planted at Nangkita in the centre of the Peninsula.. Nangkita is home to Peter Belej's Madeleines Wines (formerly Vincognita) wine label, winner at the 2008 McLaren Vale Wine Show of the best Fleurieu Peninsula dry red and the best from any small producer in the larger region. It was also the best single vineyard wine of any style - scoring its grower recognition as the best single vineyard viticulturist of the year - and finally impressing the show's international judge, Singaporean Ch'ng Poh Tiong, as his favourite of all the shiraz he tasted.
Mount Lofty Ranges zone
- The Adelaide Hills include LenswoodLenswood, South AustraliaLenswood is a town in the Adelaide Hills area of South Australia.Lenswood is a semi-rural village situated in the Adelaide Hills east of Adelaide city in Southern Australia. The major industries are apples and wine grapes.-History:...
and Piccadilly ValleyPiccadilly, South AustraliaPiccadilly is a small town in the Adelaide Hills of South Australia, Australia. At the 2006 census, Piccadilly had a population of 509.The Piccadilly Valley was for many decades a market gardening centre which produced food for the Adelaide and overseas market...
sub regions. Located 9 miles (14 km) from the coast, winds from the Gulf St Vincent has a tempering affect on the mediterranean climate of this region making it one of the coolest in South Australia. While the first vines were planted in this area in the 1840s, it didn't gain much attention from the international wine community till the influx of boutique wineries in the 1970s introduced the area to successful bottlings of sparkling wineSparkling wineSparkling wine is a wine with significant levels of carbon dioxide in it making it fizzy. The carbon dioxide may result from natural fermentation, either in a bottle, as with the méthode champenoise, in a large tank designed to withstand the pressures involved , or as a result of carbon dioxide...
, Chardonnay, Riesling and Pinot noirPinot NoirPinot noir is a black wine grape variety of the species Vitis vinifera. The name may also refer to wines created predominantly from Pinot noir grapes...
. In recent times, the area is starting to see success with Cabernet francCabernet FrancCabernet Franc is one of the major black grape varieties worldwide. It is principally grown for blending with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot in the Bordeaux style, but can also be vinified alone - as in the Loire's Chinon...
, Merlot, SangioveseSangioveseSangiovese is a red Italian wine grape variety whose name derives from the Latin sanguis Jovis, "the blood of Jove"...
, Sauvignon blanc, Semillon and Shiraz. The cool climate of this region encourages winemakers to use malolactic fermentationMalolactic fermentationMalolactic fermentation is a process in winemaking where tart-tasting malic acid, naturally present in grape must, is converted to softer-tasting lactic acid. Malolactic fermentation tends to create a rounder, fuller mouthfeel. It has been said that malic acid tastes of green apples...
to help tame some of the wines naturally high acidity.
- The Adelaide PlainsAdelaide PlainsThe Adelaide Plains is the area in South Australia between the Mount Lofty Ranges on the east and Gulf St Vincent on the west. The plains are generally fertile with annual rainfall of about per year....
is one of the hottest and flattest wine regions in South Australia. The area's Magill vineyard "Auldana", pioneered by W. P. AuldW. P. AuldWilliam Patrick Auld , usually known by his initials or as "Patrick", was an Adelaide, South Australian vigneron and wine merchant born in Stalybridge , the son of Patrick Auld and Eliza Auld .He took part in John McDouall Stuart's sixth expedition William Patrick Auld (27 May 1840 – 2 September...
, once provided the grapes for the production of PenfoldsPenfoldsPenfolds is an Australian wine producer, founded in 1844 by Christopher Rawson Penfold, an English physician who emigrated to Australia, and his wife, Mary Penfold...
' Grange but is now its own bottling.
- The Clare ValleyClare ValleyThe Clare Valley is one of Australia's oldest wine regions, best known for Riesling wines. It lies in the Mid North of South Australia, approximately 120 km north of Adelaide. The valley runs north-south, with Main North Road as the main thoroughfare....
is one of South Australia's most northernly districts. Despite its hot and dry climate many of the vineyards in this area are not irrigated which helps to reduce yieldCrop yieldIn agriculture, crop yield is not only a measure of the yield of cereal per unit area of land under cultivation, yield is also the seed generation of the plant itself...
s and concentrate the flavors in the grape. The region is known for its ability to produce Chardonnays, Semillons, and Rieslings that range from full body and luscious to light and delicate.
Far north zone
- The Southern Flinders RangesSouthern Flinders RangesSouthern Flinders Ranges is a South Australian wine region, located east of Spencer Gulf and north of the Clare Valley. It is located to the east and north-east of Port Pirie...
has been planted with vineyards since the 1890s but has only recently started to gain the attention of the international wine community. Located along the Goyder's LineGoyder's LineGoyder's Line is a boundary line across South Australia corresponding to a rainfall boundary believed to indicate the edge of the area suitable for agriculture. North of Goyder's Line, the rainfall is not reliable enough, and the land is only suitable for grazing and not cropping. The line traces a...
the area receives ample amount of rainfall and tends to harvestHarvest (wine)The harvesting of wine grapes is one of the most crucial steps in the process of winemaking. The time of harvest is determined primarily by the ripeness of the grape as measured by sugar, acid and tannin levels with winemakers basing their decision to pick based on the style of wine they wish to...
earlier then the neighboring Clare and Barossa valleys. The area is best suited for Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Shiraz.
Limestone coast zone
- The Coonawarra is the most southerly wine district in South Australia and is known for the world renowned Cabernet SauvignonCabernet SauvignonCabernet Sauvignon is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Canada's Okanagan Valley to Lebanon's Beqaa Valley...
grown in its terra rossa soil. For years there was disputes within the Coonawarra region about what vineyards could rightfully be considered "Coonawarra" and what lands were just outside the boundaries. The soil itself became the deciding factor with the lands with red terra rossa soil being distinguished from the black soil found interspersed throughout the region. In addition to Cabernet, the region has also found some success with its Chardonnay, MalbecMalbecMalbec is a purple grape variety used in making red wine. The grapes tend to have an inky dark color and robust tannins, and are long known as one of the six grapes allowed in the blend of red Bordeaux wine. The French plantations of Malbec are now found primarily in Cahors in the South West...
, Merlot, Petit VerdotPetit verdotPetit Verdot is a variety of red wine grape, principally used in classic Bordeaux blends. It ripens much later than the other varieties in Bordeaux, often too late, so it fell out of favour in its home region. When it does ripen, it is added in small amounts to add tannin, colour and flavour to the...
, Pinot noir, Riesling, Sauvignon blanc, Semillon and Shiraz.
- The Mount BensonMount BensonMount Benson is the name of a wine region in South Australia's Limestone Coast zone. It is an area near the coast between Kingston SE and Robe....
wine region is located in the southeastern part of the state near the Robe wine region. The area has seen an influx foreign investments including the well known Rhône wine estate M. Chapoutier and the Belgium Kreglinger winery. The wines made here tend to be more fruitier and less tannic than Coonawarra.
- The PadthawayPadthaway, South AustraliaPadthaway is a small town on the Riddoch Highway in the south-east of South Australia, halfway from Keith to Naracoorte. The name is derived from the Potawurutj Aboriginal name for Good Water. Padthaway is in the Tatiara District Council, the state electorate of MacKillop and the federal Division...
wine region is slightly warmer than Coonawarra but is more well known for its white wine production-particularly Chardonnay. The wines here are known for the balance of their natural acidity and fruit.
- The RobeRobe, South AustraliaRobe is a town and fishing port on the South East Limestone Coast of South Australia. The town's distinctive combination of historical buildings, ocean, fishing fleets, lakes and dense bush is widely appreciated. Robe lies on the southern shore of Guichen Bay, just off the Princes Highway. At the...
wine region is located near Mount Benson in the southeast part of the state. The area is a developing wine region currently producing fruit for Southcorp Wines, a division of the Foster's GroupFoster's GroupFoster's Group is a beer group with interests in brewing and soft drinks. Foster's Group is the brewer of the Foster's Lager. Foster's Group Limited is a publicly-listed company on the Australian Securities Exchange and is based in Melbourne, Victoria...
.
- The WrattonbullyWrattonbullyWrattonbully is a wine region and farming district in South Australia's South East, between the Padthaway and Coonawarra regions, between the Riddoch Highway and the Victorian border....
wine region is located between Coonawarra and Padthaway and had its first commercial vineyards established in the area in 1968. The climate of the region is similar to Coonawarra but vineyards in the Wrattonbully region tend to be higher elevated and on better drained soils. The soil is of the area includes clay, sand and loam on top of limestone with some patches of terra rossa. Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz are the most popular plantings.
Lower Murray zone
- The Riverland wine region is the highly irrigated land where many of Australia's bulk and box wines are produced, similar to the RiverinaRiverinaThe Riverina is an agricultural region of south-western New South Wales , Australia. The Riverina is distinguished from other Australian regions by the combination of flat plains, warm to hot climate and an ample supply of water for irrigation. This combination has allowed the Riverina to develop...
region in New South Wales. Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Malbec and Riesling are some of the largest plantings in the area. The South Australian Riverland region also has one of the larger single plantings of Petit Verdot in the world, with Kingston EstateKingston EstateKingston Estate was established in 1979 by Sarantos and Constantina Moularadellis when they planted 40 acres of vines in South Australia’s Riverland....
planting 100 hectares of this variety.