The Barossa Valley is located approximately 60 km (1 hour by car) North East of Adelaide in South Australia.  It has a Mediterranean climate with cool wet winters and hot dry summers. This is an old vineyard area with a tremendous history and culture.  In the late 1830’s to early 1840’s hundreds of Lutheran German immigrants moved to this area due religious persecution from Prussia. These hard working people were good farmers and had been growing vines for hundreds of years in their native Selesia. Through widespread vine trials they discovered that Shiraz and Grenache were ideal cultivars for the region as they could be dry grown, reached high sugar and tolerated the hot summers. They also found that if they went to the higher altitude areas of the Eden Valley, fine Riesling could also be produced. Many of these founding families are still in the valley and their names are often found gracing the labels of the wine bottles. Grenache/Shiraz/Mouvedre wines inspired by blends from the Southern Rhone Valley work particularly well in this warm climate. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Semillon and Chardonnay are also grown with some success depending on the vintage.  

Vines are often grown without irrigation, utilizing simple goblet/bush vine structure and many vineyards possess extremely old vines 50+ years.  Red wines from the Barossa show significant density, alcohol, structure and longevity (20+years). Riesling from the Eden Valley shows signature acidity, citrus and a delicate structure.  Some of the more important sub-regions of the Barossa Valley include Greenock, Bethany, Ebenezer, Kalimna, Moppa and High Eden.

Wineries in this region: