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Barossa Valley

In 1837, the Barossa Valley was named by South Australia’s first Surveyor general, Colonel William Light. The area was named after Barrosa in Spain and was settled by the Germans and English in 1842. Today, the Barossa Valley is one of the most famous wine regions in South Australia. The Barossa Valley is also the largest single wine processing region in Australia.

With a picture perfect landscape, the Barossa Valley is most notable for the twists and turns in the road alongside the rolling hills and valleys. With thousands of meticulously manicured vineyards, the Barossa Valley is truly breathtaking. It also has two (2) basic soil types. The first is brown, loamy sand. The other is a light brownish to dark grey color with a sandy soil and clay loam. Both are relatively low in fertility and acidity tends to increase with depth. Yields are typically low (also for the vine age) but can produce intense fruit characteristics easily recognizable as a Barossa Valley characteristic.

The climate of Barossa Valley is normally characterized as warm, but this is not entirely true. In fact, the climate of the Barossa is quite comparable to the Margaret River where temperatures vary and the ripening mean temperatures are almost exact. The Barossa does, however, have a wide temperature range, more sunshine, low humidity and low rainfall, which all contribute towards the robust and full bodied wines of the Barossa.

Shiraz is the best known varietal from Australia and most notably from the Barossa Valley. The Barossa remains one of the oldest Shiraz vineyard sites and is the only premium international viticultural areas not ravaged by phylloxera in the 1800’s. In fact, some vineyards date back to the early German and English settlements from the 1840s. The style is full bodied, dark in colour, rich in dark fruits with a touch of chocolate, a hint of roasted character and sometimes hints of mint and eucalypt as well. With a round and velvety structure, these wines are jam packed and ready to be aged.

Wineries

• Sheep’s Back 

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