Australian regions

australia produces wine in 4 of its 6 states

Western Australia

margret river
best known, largest volume producer
chardonnay, cab sauv


swan river
one of the warmest and wettest. bulk sweet wine.

great southern
scattered collection of vineyards
reisling, shiraz, cab sauv-merlot blends

geographe
chardonnay and shiraz


Southern Australia
coonwarra one of the great regions
one of the southernmost, lowest degree days in Australia
slow ripening, frost hazards.
two main soils, black and red
Terra Rossa is the most important, rich red loam with limestone subsoil
Cabernet Sauv, and Shiraz

barossa valley
hillside plantings are best
hot and arid
most are fermented and aged in American oak

eden valley
long considered part of barossa, eden valley is quite different
stonier and more exposed
germanic reislings and
shiraz (the hill of grace)

mclaren vale
mesoclimate
beefy reds, shiraz and cab s
closer to ocean, chard and sauv blanc

clare valley
northernmost region in southern australia
hot and dry. irrigation needed
reisling and shiraz

langhorne creek
flat and warm
soft and ripe and most relaxed wines
long used as blending in the rest of the country

adelaide hills
easy drinking wines
sauv, chard, cab sauv, merlot, shirz
lots of olive groves
winemakers from all over the country source fruit here

kangaroo island
new region, elegant and cool
merlot and cab sauv

New South Wales
hunter valley
not an ideal place to grow grapes, but it is close to sydney. most northernly of australian regions. it is subtropical, with wildly varying vintages
shiraz is the classic red
chardonnay and semillon

mudgee
on the great dividing range, cool climate  chard and cab s
very rich dense shiraz called mudgee mud

orange
high altitude volcanic soil on Mt Canobolas
sauv blanc, reisling, pinot noir

canberra
low yield old vine shiraz and viognier (like cote roti)
and some delicate pinot noirs

Victoria
north east
includes rutherglen, king valley, and glenrowan
produces sweet wines from moscatal and tokay

goulborn valley
extreme climate, hot summers, cold winters

grampians
formerly known as Great Western
one of the great sparkling wine regions

yarra valley
up and coming region with high standards