The Auswine Forum

Hello everyone,

I have recently discovered this forum and found it to be full of useful information, although not all of it entirely suitable for a wine novice like myself.

I have some questions regarding the Coonawarra region, but not about wine per se, so IÂ’m not sure if this is the right forum for it, but any help is appreciated.

As it happens, I am investing in a property trust that owns a vineyard in the Coonawarra GIC that sells its grapes to winemakers (although it has had some difficulty recently, and probably into the foreseeable future).

The problem I am facing is the issue of where Coonawarra really is. I was actually there just last week, but couldnÂ’t manage to extract answers which satisfy me, perhaps because I was asking the wrong questions or talking to the wrong people.

I am aware that due to some EU laws, Australian wine exports with regional labelling require that the regions be legally demarcated.

As a result for Coonawarra, the region has been expanded to cover areas outside of the supposed 15km by 2 km Terra Rossa ridge.

The vineyard I invest falls within the Coonwarra GIC, but is definitely outside the ridge. I heard from some people there that the soil is still considered excellent for the most part, while others I spoke to claimed only the narro terra rosa ridge is the true Coonawarra. Of course, all parties I spoke with, for the most part, do have their own vested interest in their proclamations.

So the bottom line is that I am in fact still not very clear what it means in concrete terms (if itÂ’s possible to have such an understanding in the first place!) to produce Coonwarra grapes that are not in the ridge.

Are the grapes (mostly cabernet) still highly sought for their Coonawarra appellation? Is it possible to grow good Coonwarra grapes outside of the ridge? And a whole host of other unknown unknowns which I obviously have not even taken into consideration! 

I would appreciate any help some of you experienced wine hands might have and are willing to offer, or otherwise direct me to where I can find some answers.

Thank you.

BTW, I have only recently taken an interest in wine and I find all aspects of wine fascinating, and I now suspect the interest will stay with me for life. My learning curve is steep though. 

teck

Teck, a whole lot of questions with answers, with nuances, with opinions thsat would be hard to cover justifiably in writing. I'm fairly familiar with Coonawarra and have been a regular visitor for twenty years so I'll give you my opinion.

In brief, the orginal and oldest plantings are on the 15km x 2 km "cigar" that straddles the main highway. It is here that all the significant labels source their fruit as well as the Coonawarra component in the major Penfolds wines.

Contrary to popular belief, the cigar is not consistent in soil and geology. It predominantly is Terra Rossa but there are patches of grey and black soil through the cigar. The depth of soil varies considerably from a thin scrape to maybe a metre or more and often within short distances. If you want to see how it can vary, next time your in the area, have a look at the soil profile in the quarry about a km or two up the Ednhope road noth of Coonawarra.

The surrounding countryside is a mix of black, grey, red loam and sand. The prized Terra Rossa is not confined just to the cigar and plenty of nearby land has been planted to vines where the red loam is found. There has also been alot of planting immediately next to the cigar on the west on some of the blackest soil you'll see as well as immediately to the east on sandier soil.

It is generally considered that the best fruit comes off the red soil whether that be on the cigar or within the GI. Vine age and viticulture are other factors as well as clones and long term mech harvesting problems.

The climate is relatively consistent throughout the area but the southern part of Coonawarra is cooler than the north and ripening tends to occur in the northern parts first. Again vine age and viticulture play a part here.

Wineries on the cigar were obviously peeved when the GI boundary was made so large and hold that the best wine comes off the original ridge. That may be currently true for reasons other than being on the ridge itself.

Are grapes grown away from the ridge sought after? It all depends on supply and demand but wineries buying in grapes will take good fruit grown away from the ridge in preference to inferior grapes grown on the ridge. The vineyard location doesn't make your wine good, it's the quality of the graps that does that.

I'm happy to have a chat on the phone if you want to give me a call. Just send me a message with your e-mail address (via my profile on the forum) and I'll send you my phone number.

Thank you for yourhelpful reply Steve. I have sent you a PM, however, I am looking through my Sentbox and Outbox and I really can't be sure if I have actually sent it.

If you have not received it, kindly email me at yeeteck_teo@hotmail.com.

Thanks again.

Yee Teck