Fleurieu zone is a wine zone located south of

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

. It extends from

Kangaroo Island Kangaroo Island (, ) is Australia's third-largest island, after Tasmania and Melville Island, Northern Territory, Melville Island. It lies in the state of South Australia, southwest of Adelaide. Its closest point to the mainland is Snapper Poi ...

in the west as far north as Flagstaff Hill on the west side of the

Mount Lofty Ranges The Mount Lofty Ranges are a range of mountains in the Australian state of South Australia which for a small part of its length borders the east of Adelaide. The part of the range in the vicinity of Adelaide is called the Adelaide Hills and d ...

and to as far north as Langhorne Creek on the east side of the Mount Lofty Ranges. It consists of the following five

wine regions Wines are produced in significant growing regions where vineyards are planted. Wine grapes berries mostly grow between the 30th and the 50th degrees of latitude, in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, typically in regions of Mediterranean ...

, each of which has received

appellation An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication used to identify where the ingredients of a food or beverage originated, most often used for the origin of wine grapes. Restrictions other than geographical boundaries, s ...

as an Australian Geographical Indication (AGI): Currency Creek,

, Langhorne Creek, McLaren Vale and the Southern Fleurieu.

Extent and appellation

The Fleurieu zone includes the following areas south of Adelaide - Kangaroo Island, the

Fleurieu Peninsula The Fleurieu Peninsula ( ; locally mainly ) is a peninsula in the Australian state of South Australia located south of the state capital of Adelaide city centre, Adelaide. History Before British colonisation of South Australia, the western s ...

, the strip of coast on west side of the Mount Lofty Ranges extending into the southern Adelaide metropolitan area and the strip of land on the western shore of Lake Alexandrina including the town of Langhorne Creek and the following islands within the lake - Hindmarsh, Mundoo, and Long. The term 'Fleurieu' was registered as an AGI under the ''Wine Australia Corporation Act 1980'' on 27 December 1996.

Constituent regions

The wine zone includes the following wine regions - Currency Creek, Kangaroo Island, Langhorne Creek, McLaren Vale and the Southern Fleurieu.

Currency Creek wine region

The Currency Creek wine region is located on the west side of Lake Alexandrina between Milang, the

Murray Mouth Murray Mouth is the point at which the River Murray meets the Southern Ocean. The Murray Mouth's location is changeable. Historical records show that the channel out to sea moves along the sand dunes over time. At times of greater river flow ...

Port Elliot Port Elliot is a town in South Australia toward the eastern end of the south coast of the Fleurieu Peninsula. It is situated on the sheltered Horseshoe Bay, a small bay off the much larger Encounter Bay. Pullen Island (South Australia), Pullen Is ...

and just south of Ashbourne including the town of Currency Creek. Chardonnay, Riesling,

Sauvignon blanc Sauvignon blanc () is a green-skinned grape variety that originates from the city of Bordeaux in France. The grape most likely gets its name from the French words ''sauvage'' ("wild") and ''blanc'' ("white") due to its early origins as an ind ...

and Semillon grow here, though the region also produces some notable red wines.Stevenson, 2005, pages 578-581 The term 'Currency Creek' was registered as an AGI on 9 April 2001. As of 2012, the region contains at least two wineries.

Kangaroo Island wine region

The Kangaroo Island wine region which covers the full extent of the island of the same name is known for its Bordeaux style wines. Most of the vineyards are found on the

ironstone Ironstone is a sedimentary rock, either deposited directly as a ferruginous sediment or created by chemical replacement, that contains a substantial proportion of an iron ore compound from which iron (Fe) can be smelted commercially. Not to be c ...

and sandy loam soils near Kingscote. The term 'Kangaroo Island' was registered as an AGI on 8 December 2000. As of 2012, the region contains at least seven wineries.

Langhorne Creek wine region

The Langhorne Creek wine region is located southeast from the town of Strathalbyn along the Bremer River to Lake Alexandrina.

Orlando Wines Orlando Wines is an Australian wine company, well known for Jacob's Creek wine, first released in 1976. The company has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Pernod Ricard since 1989 and is now known as Pernod Ricard Winemakers. The winery still ...

sources many of the grapes for its Jacob's Creek brand from this region which has also developed a reputation of its

dessert wine Dessert wines, sometimes called pudding wines in the United Kingdom, are sweet wines typically served with dessert. There is no simple definition of a dessert wine. In the UK, a dessert wine is considered to be any sweet wine drunk with a mea ...

s. The term 'Langhorne Creek' was registered as an AGI on 16 October 1998. As of 2012, the region contains at least 17 wineries.

McLaren Vale wine region

The McLaren Vale wine region is located south of Adelaide and extends from Flagstaff Hill in the north to Kangarilla in the east and to Sellicks Beach in the south. With the area's of rain, and diversity of soil types including sand, clay and limestone, this area produces a wide range of wines with Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon,

Merlot Merlot ( ) is a dark-blue-colored wine grape variety that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name ''Merlot'' is thought to be a diminutive of , the French name for the blackbird, probably a reference to the color ...

, Chardonnay, Semillon and Sauvignon blanc being the most widely planted. The term 'McLaren Vale' was registered as an AGI on 2 September 1997. As of 2012, the region contains at least 82 wineries.

Southern Fleurieu wine region

The Southern Fleurieu region is located on the Fleurieu Peninsula and the portion of the Mount Lofty Ranges extending north east from the peninsula to Willunga in the west and Ashbourne in the east. The area's sandy loam and gravel based ironstone soil supports Cabernet Sauvignon,

Malbec Malbec () is a purple grape variety used in making red wine. The grapes tend to have an inky dark color and robust tannins, and are known as one of the six grapes allowed in the blend of red Bordeaux wine. In France, plantations of Malbec are ...

, Riesling and

Viognier Viognier () is a white wine grape variety. It is the only permitted grape for the French wine Condrieu AOC, Condrieu in the Rhone Valley (wine), Rhône Valley.J. Robinson ''The Oxford Companion to Wine'', Third Edition, p. 754, Oxford Univers ...

plantings. Shiraz, Sauvignon blanc, Merlot and Primitivo are also planted at Nangkita near Mount Compass. The term 'Southern Fleurieu' was registered as an AGI on 6 June 2001. As of 2012, the region contains at least five wineries.Haliday, 2012, page 762

Citations and references

Citations

References

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