The South Australian Wine Story

South Australia’s prestigious place in the wine world was born of equal parts vision, planning and hard work. And it all happened quickly. Barely three years after the original Colony was founded in 1836, a German settler saw the immense potential of the area north of Adelaide we now know as the Barossa Valley, noting a resemblance to France’s famous Rhone Valley. Just a handful of years later, vineyards were flourishing in the Barossa, McLaren Vale to the south and the nearby Adelaide Hills (three of modern South Australia’s pre-eminent wine regions) and our pioneering winemakers were beginning to make their mark. This was always their intention. South Australian settlers did not just throw vines into the ground to see what might happen. There was a clear commitment to develop a world-class wine industry that would both use, and do justice to, what nature was providing. Established between 1841 and 1853 they include household names Penfolds, Orlando, Seppeltsfield and Yalumba, alongside Bleasdale, Normans, Sevenhill Cellars and Oliver’s Taranga. The likes of Saltram and Hardys Tintara were soon to follow. Yalumba is of particular note because it is the nation’s oldest family-owned winery and a founding member of Australia’s First Families of Wine (AFFW), a unique collaboration of companies with custodianship of some of our finest vineyards. Four other South Australian wineries are members – Taylors, d’Arenberg, Henschke and Jim Barry Wines. As South Australia’s wineries grew and developed in the early years, they were greatly assisted by something that didn’t happen – Phylloxera, the tiny but deadly insect that can permanently sap the health and vigour of even the strongest vines. Strict quarantine measures and good vineyard management ensured the Phylloxera outbreak that ravaged Australia’s eastern states in the late 1800s – and has been equally destructive before and since in Europe and other wine-producing countries – simply didn’t make it to South Australia. Just to be sure, a formal Phylloxera Act was passed in 1899 – an early sign of the Government’s commitment to supporting the wine industry. The importance of this cannot be overstated. It means that South Australia boasts some of the oldest established vineyards anywhere in the world. Henschke’s iconic Hill of Grace Shiraz, for example, is produced each year from vines that originate from material brought from Europe in the 1860s. This single vineyard Shiraz has been acclaimed, and much in demand, since the first bottling in 1958. Similarly, the enduring quality of Pewsey Vale’s famous Riesling owes much to vines whose ancestry can be traced back to the first stocks to be brought to Australia. There is no greater proof that great wine begins with great vineyards. They are priceless assets. Knowledge is important too, and in 1936 Roseworthy Agriculture College, the first institution of its kind in Australia, began teaching the nation’s first Diploma of Oenonolgy. Roseworthy now claims some of the world’s great winemakers among its graduates. Heritage History, experience and leadership It is significant that eight of the 13 oldest wine companies or continuously operating brands in Australia are South Australian. 02 The South Australian Wine Story