McLaren Vale

The McLaren Vale is just south of Adelaide in an area known as the Fleurieu Zone. It has relatively hot summers although winds blowing in off the Gulf and down from the Adelaide Hills help to moderate the intensity of the the climate which results in some of the best wines. Generally, McLaren Vale has a huge variety of microclimates based on relation to the sea and altitude as well as a complex geology.

McLaren Vale is one of the oldest wine-producing regions in Australia. Fortified wine production dominated the early 1900s but after World War II, migrating European immigrants, particularly from Italy, created a rise towards red wine production which continues today.

Shiraz and Cabernet are the two key grapes. They tend to be deep-coloured, full-bodied and undergo a fair bit of oak ageing. As is happening all over Australia at the moment, there has been a small rise in Mediterranean variety plantings, such as Sangiovese and Fiano among others which are worth looking out for being better suited to the hot climate than some of the classics like Chardonnay.