South Australia Flashcards
What is the capital of South Australia?
Adelaide
When did South Australia ban imported vine material?
1874
What percentage of Australian wines is produced by SA?
50%
What large wine groups are headquartered in South Australia?
Accolade Wines
Premium Wine Brands (Pernod Ricard)
What zones are in the Adelaide Super Zone?
Barossa
Fleurieu
Mount Lofty Ranges
What is Barossa named after?
named after a Spanish battlefield in the Napoleonic wars
What was Barossa’s first commercial winery?
Orlando Wines, 1847
Now Jacob’s Creek brand
Where are the world’s oldest Shiraz vines? What year were they planted?
Langmeil’s “Freedom” vineyard 1843
Where are Australia’s oldest Cab Sauv vines? When were they planted?
Penfold’s Block 42 in the northern part of Barossa. 1888
What winery created the Barossa Old Vine Charter?
Yalumba
What are the categories of the Barossa Old VIne Charter?
Old Vines: min 35 yo
Survivor Vines: min 70 yo
Centenarian Vines: min 100 yo
Ancestor Vines: min 125 yo
What are the GIs of Barossa?
Barossa Valley GI
Eden Valley GI
What is Barossa Valley GI’s elevation?
And Eden Valley GI’s elevation?
Barossa Valley: 100-300 meters above sea level
Eden Valley: 400-600 meters
What is the soil of Barossa Valley GI?
deep, loamy clay, some sand. Underground water reserves help with irrigation
What was Eden Valley GI’s first vineyard?
Pewsey Vale, planted in 1847 by Joseph Gilbert
Eden Valley GI’s soil
poor, rocky, covered in a thin layer of red clay. loamy sand amd clay loams, mixed with quartz and gravel
What is Eden Valley’s most famous Shiraz? When was it planted?
Henschke’s Hill of Grace vineyard. Planted 1860. 8 ha.
What percentage of Eden Valley GI’s acreage is red?
54%
What is Eden Valley GI’s subregion? Where is it within the zone?
High Eden GI Most elevated (over 500 m) and southernmost point is Eden Valley GI
What produced was an early champion of High Eden GI in the 1970s?
Mountadam, famous for Chardonnay
Name the GIs of the Fleurieu zone
McLaren Vale GI Langhorne Creek GI Currency Creek GI Kangaroo Island GI Southren Fleurieu GI
What are the geographical influences on McLaren Vale GI?
South Mount Lofty Ranges/Adelaide Hills to the east
Gulf of St Vincent to the west
McLaren Vale GI climate
Warm mediterranean
Warm, windy
organic is easy
What is a major environmental challenge in McLaren Vale GI? How is it handled?
Water scarcity
There’s a pioneering program to recycle wastewater from Adelaide
What is the coolest, northeasternmost part of McLaren Vale GI called?
Clarendon
What is the Scarce Earth project?
Started in 2009
Awarded to McLarenvale Shiraz cuvees that come from unique sites and speak more to the terroir than the winemaking
What is MVSWGA?
McLaren Vale Sustainable Winegrowing Australia
What are the requirements for Scarce Earth wines?
- Must be a member of MVSWGA
- min 10 yo vines
- no excessive oak, fault, over- or under-ripeness
In what areas of McLaren Vale GI is Grenache excelling?
Blewitt Springs
Kangarilla
Both just south of Clarendon
(both sandy soils, like CDP)
What GIs of Fleurieu zone are on Lake Alexandrina?
Langhorne Creek to the northwest
Currency Creek to the southwest, with the Southern Ocean to the south
Name three top McLaren Vale wines
d’Arenberg Dead Arm Shiraz
Gemtree Paragon and Subterra Shiraz
Clarendon Hills Astralis and Hickenbotham Syrah
Hardys Reynella (owned by constellation)
Geography of Southern Fleurieu
Peninsula with the Gulf of St Vincent to the north and Southern ocean to the south
What are the 7 terranes of McLaren Vale?
- The Ancient Rocks
- Sand and Sandstone
- Limestone Country
- Clay Plains of Aldinga
- The Piedmont (alluvial deposits)
- Talus Slope (variable deposits near the Willunga fault in the south)
- Alluvial Flats
What is Langhorne Creek GI’s longest running producer? When were they established?
Metala
Planted the Stonyfell Vineyard in 1890
What is the coolest GI of Fleurieu Zone?
Currency Creek (by a couple degrees)
Which GI of Fleurieu has almost as much white acreage as red? What are the top three grapes in order?
Southern Fleurieu GI
Shiraz
Chardonnay
SB
What body of water separates Kangaroo ISland GI from Fleurieu Peninsula?
Backstair Passage
8.4 miles wide
Name the GIs of Limestone Coast GI Zone
Coonawarra GI Padthaway GI Mount Benson GI Robe GI Wrattonbully GI Mount Gambier GI
What is the climate of Coonawarra GI?
Cool mediterranean (region II)
Who planted Coonawarra’s first vines, and when?
John Riddoch in 1891 “Penola Fruit Company” and Cht Comaum
What estate brought fame to Coonawarra GI?
Wynns Coonawarra Estate.
They purchased Cht Comaum and started bottling varietal Cab in 1954
What is Wynns (and therefore one of Coonawarra’s) top bottling?
John Riddoch Cabernet Sauvignon
When was Coonawarra GI established?
2003
What other GI has Terra Rossa soil? is it warmer or cooler than Coonawarra?
Padthaway; slightly warmer
Wrattonbully also has some
So does La Mancha DO.
Where is Tappanappa a star producer?
Wrattonbully GI
What is South Australia’s largest region in acreage?
Mount Gambier GI, though only 250 ha planted to vines
GIs of Mount Lofty Ranges
Clare Valley GI
Adelaide Hills GI
Adelaide Plains GI
What was Clare Valley’s first winery, when? What for?
Sevenhill Cellars, built by Jesuit Monks for sacramental wine in 1851. They still make it.
Top producers of Clare Valley GI
Wendouree
Jim Barry- The Armagh Shiraz
Kilikanoon- Oracle Shiraz
Grosset- Polish Hill Riesling
Clare Valley GI elevation
400-600 meters
Unofficial subregions of Clare Valley GI
Polish Hill Watervale Auburn Sevenhill Clare
What is the soil of Polish Hill?
Slate
What is the soil of Watervale?
terra rossa over limestone
Which GI of Mount Lofty Ranges is directly south of Barossa?
Adelaide Hills GI
What is the climate of Adelaide Hills GI?
Cool, wettest part of South Australia. Almost 70% of plantings are white.
Sub GIs of Adelaide Hills GI
Piccadilly Valley GI
Lenswood GI
Top grapes of Adelaide Hills GI
Sauv Blanc, Chardonnay, PG
PN, Merlot
Adelaide Hills GI producers
Shaw + Smith Petaluma The Lane Ashton Hills BK Wines
What is the main grape of Piccadilly Valley GI?
Chardonnay
Top grape of Lenswood GI
Sauv Blanc
Contrast Adelaide Hills GI and Adelaide Plains GI
Adelaide Hills GI is the coolest and rainiest in Adelaide Super Zone. Adelaide Plains GI is the driest and warmest.
What is the (only) famous estate of Adelaide Plains GI
Magill Estate, historic estate where Max Schubert first experimented w Grange. No longer in use, just a showpiece as the “spiritual home of Grange”
GI of Far North
Southern Flinders Ranges GI
How are sparkling shiraz typically produced?
Tank fermented
Sweetened with a little Australian Tawny
