South Australia

Australia is the world's fifth-largest wine producer: around 146,000 hectares of vines, more than 100 grape varieties and 65 protected Geographical Indications, mostly in the cooler south-east and south-west of the continent. Shiraz leads with roughly a quarter of the vineyard area, followed by Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon. Wine history begins in 1788, when Captain Arthur Phillip brought vine cuttings from the Cape of Good Hope to Sydney; John Macarthur planted the first commercial vineyard around 1820, and German settlers shaped the Barossa Valley from the 1840s. Wine law is liberal: origin, vintage and variety on the label must each be at least 85 % true – beyond that, winemakers are largely free.

South Australia produces around half of the nation's wine and, thanks to strict quarantine, remains Phylloxera-free – which is why some of the world's oldest vines grow here. Five world-class regions sit close together around Adelaide: the Barossa Valley, an hour's drive north-east, was planted by German settlers from the 1840s and, with more than 170 wineries, is the home of powerful Shiraz – Penfolds Grange and Henschke's Hill of Grace come from here. The Clare Valley, 120 kilometres north at 400–500 metres, delivers dry, lime-fresh Riesling that ages for decades. Coonawarra in the south-east, a narrow strip of 20 by 2 kilometres, is famous for Cabernet Sauvignon from red terra rossa over limestone – blackcurrant, eucalyptus and mint. McLaren Vale south of Adelaide stands for Mediterranean-style Shiraz and GSM blends of Grenache, Shiraz and Mourvèdre. The Adelaide Hills at 400–700 metres are the cool counterpart with Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.