If South Australia, Australia’s best-known state for wine production, is “what California is to the USA,” wine writer Hugh Johnson notes, the Barossa Valley is its Napa Valley. The Barossa Valley boasts the highest number of vineyards of any Australian wine region, producing popular full-bodied wines with bold fruit flavors.
The Barossa Valley is characterized by rolling hills and transverse valleys reminiscent of Napa. Unlike Northern California, however, much of the Barossa Valley region can be unseasonably warm and dry. Hot summer days and relatively unfertile soils force vines to grow deep roots to reach moisture and nutrients.
The classic Barossa Valley wine is a ripe, concentrated and high-alcohol red made from Australia’s flagship red grape, Shiraz. Cabernet Sauvignon and Grenache are other red varieties that thrive in the Barossa Valley. Within Barossa is the Eden Valley, where higher altitudes and cooler weather make it an ideal spot for producing fine white wines, including Chardonnay and Riesling.
