Adelaide Plains

The vineyards of the Adelaide Plains are centred around Virginia and Angle Vale on a flat expanse due north of Adelaide. Grapes ripen easily in the hot dry climate to make deeply coloured wines with ripe fruit flavours. Red wines are focused on succulent cabernet sauvignon, which is often blended with shiraz and merlot. Boutique producers make intensely flavoured, spicy shiraz from mature, low-yielding vines. Tropical styles of chardonnay and colombard make up the main white varietals. Pioneering Italian families in the area are reviving their heritage with new plantings of sangiovese, moscato and pinot grigio. The Adelaide Plains is a hot grape growing climate with very low rainfall. A south-westerly sea breeze helps to moderate high Summer temperatures. The terroir is made up of fertile red-brown loams and free draining limestone soils. Mechanisation is common and irrigation is an essential part of viticulture on the plains. High yields mean much of the Adelaide Plains’ crop find its way into commercial blends processed in the Barossa Valley or McLaren Vale.