Mean January Temperature and Continentality of Wine Regions

by Ashley
(Adelaide)

Ashley Asks:
Which of the following is likely to have both the lowest Mean January Temperature and the highest
continentality?
a. Margaret River (WA)
b. Great Western (Vic)
c. Coonawarra (SA)
d. Burgundy (France)

Darby Says
Some authors claim these stats are important for wine variety selection and for wine quality. Gladstones is a sceptic, he holds that the most important stat is the mean temperature in the month before harvest.

The figures Gladstones quotes are

a. Margaret River (WA) Mean Janury Temp 20.0 ; Continentality 8.9
b. Great Western (Vic) 18.7 11.7
c. Coonawarra (SA) 19.3, 10.1
d. Burgundy (France (July) 19.6, 18.1

On the face of it Burgundy has the most "continental climate" and the second highest midsummer temperature.

###when I first answered this question I misread it and answered for Bordeaux, rather than Burgundy. So I've done a minor edit.

I don't regard continentality as the most important statistic, but for those who do you should look at inland regions such as the Granite Belt in Queenland; Mudgee, Cowra and The Riverina in NSW and the King and Alpine Valleys in Victoria.


Are these figures really important for wine quality? Or are there other more important factors

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