 South Australia is the state with the largest volume of wine production in the country. One center of importance is the area around Adelaide. This city on the southern coast of Australia is home to the notable agricultural college Roseworthy, which can be compared to the U.C. Davis of Australia, producing many of its finest winemakers.
North of the city, the Adelaide Plain is fairly hot and dry, although the area to the east of Mount Lofty is known as Adelaide Hills, and they experience the opposite conditions, cool and wet. This is home to the well-known producers such as Petaluma, Shaw and Smith, and Lenswood. The soil is fairly fertile, and white grapes are more important than black.
 McLaren Vale is a region located south of the city of Adelaide. Here the climate is more influenced by the sea, and produces mild summers, a cool spring during harvest, reliable rain, and little danger of frost or droughts. The soil is sandy and loamy, and black grapes predominate here, such as Shiraz, Grenache and Cabernet. Top producers include D’Arenburg and Wirra Wirra.
Langhorne Creek is a region east of McLaren Vale on the other side of the Mount Lofty range of hills, with a slightly cooler climate and similar soils. The region also specializes in red wine, and often produces a more full-bodied style than McLaren Vale.
 On the other side of Adelaide Hills lie the Barossa Valley to the west and the Eden Valley to the east. In the Barossa, the climate is hotter and drier, with cold winters. The region is known above all for full-bodied Shiraz. Grange is produced in the Barossa, but it is made from grapes blended from throughout South Australia.
The Barossa was originally known for Riesling, but now much of the best Riesling is produced to the east of the Barossa in the Eden Valley. Henschke is another well-known Eden Valley producer, most celebrated for their Hill of Grace Shiraz. In the South of area, Mountadam has a great reputation for its Chardonnay.
 North and slightly west of the Barossa is the Clare Valley, which is also known for its Riesling from producers such as Pike’s and Grosset. The climate here is hot and dry, with soils similar to the Barossa.
Northeast of the Eden Valley and moving east across the top of Victoria and through New South Wales are the irrigated regions of Riverland, Murray Darling, and Swan Hill located along the Murray river, and Riverina to the east. These hot, dry areas are mostly used for bulk production.
 In the southeastern corner of South Australia lies another famous Australian region, Coonawarra. This region is known for its limestone soils, described as “terra rossa” because of its red color. This area, some 250 miles south of Adelaide, has very cool coolest temperatures for South
Australia. The Cabernets that the region is known for show good acidity, firm tannins, and clean, well-defined fruit character.
Padthaway and Wrattonbully have similar soils, but are located to the north of Coonawarra, and so are rather warmer. West of Coonawarra, along the coast, lie Mount Benson and Robe, areas similar to Coonawarra, but showing more maritime influence.
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Wine Regions of the World
