Southern Flinders Ranges is a

South Australian wine The South Australian wine industry is responsible for more than half the production of all Australian wine. South Australia has a vast diversity in geography and climate which allows the state to be able to produce a range of grape varieties&nd ...

region, located east of Spencer Gulf. It is located to the east and north-east of

Port Pirie Port Pirie is a small city on the east coast of the Spencer Gulf in South Australia, north of the state capital, Adelaide. The city has an expansive history which dates back to 1845. Port Pirie was the first proclaimed regional city in South A ...

. Though vines have been planted in the area since the 1890s, the Southern Flinders Ranges is a relatively new wine-growing region that began to emerged during the last 20 years of the 20th century. The term ‘Southern Flinders Ranges’ was registered as an

Australian Geographical Indication A geographical indication (GI) is a name or sign used on products which corresponds to a specific geographical location or origin (e.g., a town, region, or country). The use of a geographical indication, as an indication of the product's source, ...

under the ''Wine Australia Corporation Act 1980'' on 19 August 2003.T. Stevenson ''"The Sotheby's Wine Encyclopedia"'' pg 578-581 Dorling Kindersley 2005

Climate and geography

It shares some

geological Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other E ...

features with the Clare Valley. Most of Southern Flinders

vineyard A vineyard (; also ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture. Vineya ...

s are located between 40 and 500 metres (131 to 1640 feet)

altitude Altitude or height (also sometimes known as depth) is a distance measurement, usually in the vertical or "up" direction, between a reference datum and a point or object. The exact definition and reference datum varies according to the context ...

. Despite its northerly situation, the climate of the region can be described as warm and dry, rather than hot, being assisted in its relative mildness by its elevation and the maritime influences of the Spencer Gulf to the south-west and southerly winds from

Gulf St Vincent Gulf St Vincent, sometimes referred to as St Vincent Gulf, St Vincent's Gulf or Gulf of St Vincent, is the eastern of two large inlets of water on the southern coast of Australia, in the state of South Australia, the other being the larger S ...

. Located along the

Goyder's Line Goyder's Line is a line that runs roughly east–west across South Australia and, in effect, joins places with an average annual rainfall of . North of Goyder's Line, annual rainfall is usually too low to support cropping, with the land being sui ...

the area receives ample amount of rainfall and tends to harvest earlier than the neighboring Clare and Barossa Valleys. Some vineyard still choose to irrigate using underground water sources.Wine Australi
Southern Flinders Ranges
Description The region is often split into two sub-zones-the Baroota Land System which includes the

coastal plains A coastal plain is flat, low-lying land adjacent to a sea coast. A fall line commonly marks the border between a coastal plain and a piedmont area. Some of the largest coastal plains are in Alaska and the southeastern United States. The Gulf Coa ...

to the west of the

Flinders Ranges The Flinders Ranges are the largest mountain range in South Australia, which starts about north of Adelaide. The ranges stretch for over from Port Pirie to Lake Callabonna. The Adnyamathanha people are the Aboriginal group who have inhabit ...

and the Wild Dog Creek Land System which includes the land to the east of the Ranges. The sub zones are distinct from each other in soil type with the Baroota having

alluvial deposit Alluvium (from Latin ''alluvius'', from ''alluere'' 'to wash against') is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. Alluv ...

sand Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural class o ...

y loam and the Wild Dog Creek section being composed of more stoney-based loam and red

clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...

Grapes and wine

While the Southern Flinders Ranges grows a wide range of

grape varieties This list of grape varieties includes cultivated grapes, whether used for wine, or eating as a table grape, fresh or dried (raisin, currant, sultana). For a complete list of all grape species including those unimportant to agriculture, see Viti ...

, the area has been very successful in recent years with its Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and

Shiraz Shiraz (; fa, شیراز, Širâz ) is the fifth-most-populous city of Iran and the capital of Fars Province, which has been historically known as Pars () and Persis. As of the 2016 national census, the population of the city was 1,565,572 p ...

. The majority of the region production has been in red wine

varietal A varietal wine is a wine made primarily from a single named grape variety, and which typically displays the name of that variety on the wine label.The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition, 2000.winepros.com.au. ...

s. However, the first wine of Southern Flinders to make one of Australia top 100 wines list was a

Riesling Riesling (, ; ) is a white grape variety that originated in the Rhine region. Riesling is an aromatic grape variety displaying flowery, almost perfumed, aromas as well as high acidity. It is used to make dry, semi-sweet, sweet, and sparkling wh ...

from the area which captured the honor in 2004.S. Grozzer '
A FIRST FOR THE SOUTHERN FLINDERS RANGES
'' ABC West Coast SA 25 November 2004

References

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Climate and geography

Grapes and wine

See also

References