Coonawarra Calling

Directions

A four-hour drive from Adelaide or five-hour drive from Melbourne is suitably rewarded when you arrive in Coonawarra – home to Australia’s iconic terra rossa soils that inspire some of Australia’s great Cabernets resplendent of blackberry fruits, leafy mint and dusty oak tannins.

An enterprising Scottish settler John Riddoch planted the region’s first grapevines in 1891, thirty years after establishing a lucrative sheep farm at Penola. Six decades on, David and Samuel Wynn bought Riddoch’s property and Wynns Coonawarra Estate was born.

The hot, dry and dusty summers and crisp winters along with an abundance of sunshine give Coonawarra the ideal conditions for slow, even grape ripening. But it’s the famous 12-kilometre-long strip of red earth seam that is the heart of winemaking in these parts – it has birthed the fruit of some of the most collectable Cabernets in the country.

It would be a mistake to just talk Cabernet. Shiraz also thrives in Coonawarra and its wines are distinctly different from the more famous regions for the style. Elegant Merlot and aromatic Rieslings also command praise when referring to the region.