The ten Australian wine regions worth knowing, region by region, with the producers we drink from.
McLaren Vale
South Australia
South of Adelaide, near the coast. Maritime-influenced shiraz, grenache, and increasingly serious Mediterranean varieties (fiano, vermentino, tempranillo). The shiraz is gentler than Barossa; sea breezes pull the alcohol back and the tannins finer. The grenache here is some of the best in the country: spicy, lifted, perfumed.
Producers we drink from
Barossa Valley
South Australia
An hour north-east of Adelaide. Old shiraz vines (some over 150 years), German Lutheran heritage, and the deepest, richest reds in Australia. Hot summers, cold nights. The Eden Valley sub-region (cooler, higher) makes the country’s best riesling. If you only learn one Australian wine region, learn this one.
Producers we drink from
Eden Valley
South Australia
Sister region to the Barossa, sitting 400-500m above on the eastern range. Cool nights, granite soils, and bone-dry riesling that is among the best in the world. Henschke’s Hill of Grace shiraz (and many other top Australian wines) come from Eden fruit. A serious wine region disguised as a Barossa subset.
Producers we drink from
Clare Valley
South Australia
Two hours north of Adelaide, higher and drier than the Barossa. Australia’s quiet riesling capital: lime-lifted, mineral, ages for decades. The screw-cap revolution started here in 2000 when Clare producers went over en masse. Also makes a leaner, peppery shiraz that is the antithesis of the Barossa school.
Producers we drink from
Margaret River
Western Australia
A three-hour drive south of Perth, on the south-western tip of Australia. Mediterranean climate, ancient soils, surf coast. Cabernet sauvignon and chardonnay are the headline acts; the Bordeaux blends here regularly outperform their French counterparts at half the price. Cullen, Leeuwin, Vasse Felix, Moss Wood are the big names.
Producers we drink from
Yarra Valley
Victoria
An hour east of Melbourne. Cool-climate, perfect for pinot noir, chardonnay and sparkling. The first Australian region to take Burgundy seriously, and still where the country’s best pinot comes from. Domaine Chandon was planted here, and the chardonnays are increasingly Burgundian: taut, mineral, lower alcohol than the Australian average.
Producers we drink from
Mornington Peninsula
Victoria
A peninsula south-east of Melbourne, jutting into Bass Strait. Cool maritime climate, pinot noir and chardonnay specialists. Producers are smaller, family-run, and the wines tend to be lighter and more aromatic than Yarra. Worth seeking out if you like Burgundian pinot; the best are now world-class.
Producers we drink from
Tasmania
Tasmania
Australia’s southernmost wine region, in the Roaring Forties. Cool, marginal climate gives high-acid pinot noir, chardonnay and increasingly serious sparkling. Tasmanian sparkling, especially House of Arras and Jansz, competes seriously with Champagne at half the price. The future of Australian fine wine is being built here.
Producers we drink from
Adelaide Hills
South Australia
Higher altitude region just outside Adelaide, cooler than the Barossa floor. Sauvignon blanc, chardonnay and increasingly serious pinot noir. Shaw + Smith and Bird in Hand are the household names; the cool-climate shiraz here is a revelation if you only know the Barossa version.
Producers we drink from
Hunter Valley
New South Wales
Two hours north of Sydney. The oldest continuously producing wine region in the country. Hot, humid, prone to harvest rain, and yet produces a semillon found nowhere else: low-alcohol, citrus-driven, ages for decades into something tasting of toast and lanolin. Tyrrell’s, Brokenwood, Mount Pleasant make the canonical versions. Hunter shiraz is leaner and more savoury than the southern Australian style.
More producers coming soon.