The "historic heart of Australian wine."
Key varieties: Shiraz (syrah), cabernet sauvignon, grenache, riesling
"South Australia is a very important wine producing state responsible for almost 50% of Australia’s annual production. It is also home to some of the most famous regions, historic estates and the oldest vines in the country.
Straddling the centre of Australia, South Australia produces the majority of the nation’s wine. The State also boasts some of the oldest vines in the world. The venerable old vines found in South Australia’s Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale, Clare Valley and Adelaide Hills, through their isolation, survived the great phylloxera plagues that wiped out the vines of North America, Europe and Australia’s eastern vineyards.
Quarantine restrictions were introduced that saved South Australia’s vines from phylloxera and ensured the State retained its grape growing status.
There is a multitude of different soil types and local mitigating influences such as altitude and cooling ocean breezes that allow for a wide range of wine styles and qualities. South Australia also has a diverse range of regions from the relatively warm temperate climate of the Barossa Valley; to the maritime precincts of McLaren Vale, the Fleurieu Peninsula's Currency Creek, Langhorne Creek and Southern Fleurieu; the cooler Adelaide Hills region and the hot climate of the Riverland region on the Murray River. " - Wine Australia
Map courtesy : James Halliday’s Wine Atlas of Australia (Hardie Grant Books 2008)
