Where is Australian Wine Country?

As we know, the largest wine production region by far is South Australia. 

There are three major wine regions in Australia by shear volume are South Australia, New South Wales and Victoria. South Australia and NSW tend to be more famous for their warm climate varieties such as Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon whereas Victoria is known for cool climate-loving Pinot Noir.

South Australia

Adelaide is the hub of the largest wine growing region in Australia. A few miles from Adelaide is Barossa Valley, South Australia’s most prestigious growing area. It’s interesting to note that the majority of the wine from the area is actually grown in Lower Murray and Fleurieu (see the geeky list of GIs below)

Barossa Valley–oldest living vineyards in the world?!
45 minutes from Adelaide are the rolling hills of Barossa Valley. The region is unique because of its isolation from the rest of the world. Phylloxera hasn’t yet infected vineyard soils in Barossa, which means it’s home to some of the oldest living vineyards in the world.

New South Wales

The major production in New South Wales comes from the inland Big Rivers Zone. This area has historically produced much of the commercial Chardonnay and Shiraz from Australia. However, because of severe drought in recent years, more wine grape growers are experimenting with drought friendly varieties like Tempranillo and Verdelho.

Victoria

Commercial winemaking in North West Victoria makes up the majority of wine production in the entire region. However, the growing areas of interest are cooler and closer to Melbourne such as Mornington Peninsula and Yarra Valley. The cool climate areas in Victoria have received a lot of praise for their Pinot Noir.