Adelaide Hills Wine Region

The Adelaide Hills Wine Region is cooler than other South Australian wine regions and hence has a different mixture of favoured grape varieties.

This region is part of the Mt Lofty Ranges on the eastern side of the City of Adelaide. It is bounded by the Eden Valley and Barossa Valley wine regions to the north and the McLaren Vale Wine Region to the south.

The undulating topography of the Adelaide Hills generates a wide range of microclimates but the region is generally cooler and moister than Adelaide and the coastal plain.

There are three informal subregions, Gumeracha, Lenswood and Piccadilly Valley, but even this finer classification does not do justice the complex topography. Each individual site seems to have its own combination of soil, altitude and aspect influencing the quality of the grapes.

Many wineries are using the cooler environment to grow early maturing traditional varieties such as Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris.

In recent years the trend to alternative varieties has really taken off in these hills. A range of Italian varieties such as Sangiovese, Prosecco, Montepulciano and especially Nebbiolo are becoming more prevalent.

But the most dramatic change has been the appearance of Austrian wine grape varieties.

Hahndorf Hill is spearheading the effort to use Austrian wine varieties such as Blaufrankisch, Gruner Veltliner, and Zweigelt. As list shows below the region has embraced Gruner Veltliner, which was first produced in this region in 2010.

Adelaide Hills Producers and wine Varieties

The list below is of the wineries in the region and the alternative varieties that they are using.

There is an inherent difficulty in compiling this list. Many wineries in the region use grapes grown in neighbouring warmer areas as well as their locally grown grapes. Conversely, wineries outside the region often use Adelaide Hills grown grapes. This interregional transport occurs in most wine growing areas of Australia but it is especially common here where cool and warm regions are separated by just a few kilometres.

Almondcart—Graciano, Grenache Gris
Amadio—Aglianico, Arneis, Barbera, Lagrein, Montepulciano, Pecorino, Prosecco, Sagrantino, Sangiovese, Tempranillo
Anvers—Barbera, Gamay
Aramis Vineyards—Gruner Veltliner
Arrivo—Nebbiolo
Artis—Gruner Veltliner, Nero d'Avola
Artwine—Albarino, Arneis, Cabernet Franc, Fiano, Falanghina, Gamay, Graciano, Grenache Gris, Gruner Veltliner, Montepulciano, Prosecco, Sangiovese, Tempranillo
Ashton Hills Wine—Gamay
Atwills Wine—Gruner Veltliner, Touriga
Barratt Wines—Gamay
Barristers Block—Fiano, Tempranillo
Berrigan Wines—Gruner Veltliner, Sangiovese
Between the Vines—Tempranillo
Bird in Hand—Arneis, Gruner Veltliner, Montepulciano, Nero d'Avola, Tempranillo
BK Wines—Gewurztraminer, Gruner Veltliner, Savagnin, Tannat
Blackets—Gewurztraminer
Brackenwood—Barbera, Gamay
Bright Eyes—Gewurztraminer, Gruner Veltliner
Catlin Wines—Gamay, Gruner Veltliner, Montepulciano, Pinot Blanc
Chain of Ponds—Barbera, Gruner Veltliner, Nebbiolo, Sangiovese, Tempranillo
Charlish & Co—Barbera, Dolcetto, Sangiovese, Tempranillo
Charlotte Dalton—Fiano
Cloudbreak Wines—Gruner Veltliner, Montepulciano, Pinot Blanc
Colab and Bloom—Montepulciano, Nero d'Avola, Sangiovese, Tempranillo
Commune of Buttons—Nebbiolo
Coulter Wines—Barbera, Gamay, Sangiovese, Tempranillo
CRFT—Gewurztraminer, Gruner Veltliner, Mencia
Deviation Road—Gruner Veltliner
Elderslie—Pinot Blanc, Nebbiolo
Eloper—Tempranillo
Five Acres—Gamay, Tempranillo
Gentle Folk—Gamay, Sangiovese
Gestalt Wines—Chenin Blanc, Gewurztraminer, Malbec, Petit Manseng, Savagnin, Tannat
Golding—Gamay, Savagnin
Guthrie Wines—Gruner Veltliner
Hahndorf Hill—Blaufrankisch, Gruner Veltliner, Harslevelu, Sankt Laurent, Trollinger, Zweigelt
Honey Moon Vineyard—Marsanne, Tempranillo
Howard Vineyard—Cabernet Franc, Gamay, Gruner Veltliner, Sangiovese
Jericho—Chenin Blanc, Cortese, Fiano, Tempranillo, Touriga
K1 by Geoff Hardy—Arneis, Fiano, Gewurztraminer, Gruner Veltliner, Tempranillo
La Bise—Arneis, Nero d'Avola, Sangiovese, Tempranillo
La Linea—Albarino, Mencia, Tempranillo
La Prova—Aglianico, Barbera, Dolcetto, Fiano, Lagrein, Montepulciano, Nebbiolo, Nero d'Avola, Pinot Blanc, Prosecco, Sangiovese, Zinfandel
Lambrook—Nebbiolo
Landhaus Estate—Arneis, Barbera, Gruner Veltliner, Malbec, Savagnin, Tempranillo
Linear—Fiano, Gamay, Gewurztraminer, Gruner Veltliner, Sangiovese, Tempranillo
Lingo—Barbera, Gamay, Gruner Veltliner, Montepulciano, Nebbiolo
Living Roots—Barbera, Graciano, Nero d'Avola, Tannat, Teroldego
Lobethal Road Wines—Graciano, Roussanne, Tempranillo
Longview Vineyard—Barbera, Gruner Veltliner, Nebbiolo
Loverman—Montepulciano
Main and Cherry—Fiano, Grillo, Gruner Veltliner, Inzolia, Tempranillo, Sangiovese
Monkey Business—Fiano, Graciano, Gruner Veltliner
Mordrelle—Barbera, Gruner Veltliner, Lagrein, Malbec, Tempranillo
Mount Lofty Ranges Vineyard—Gamay
Mr Murphy—Gruner Veltliner, Lagrein, Tempranillo
Mt Bera—Blaufrankisch, Gruner Veltliner, Mencia, Tempranillo, Zweigelt
Murdoch Hill—Meunier
Nepenthe—Albarino, Arneis, Gewurztraminer, Gruner Veltliner, Mencia, Nebbiolo, Tempranillo, Zinfandel
New Era—Dolcetto, Gruner Veltliner, Lagrein, Montepulciano, Nebbiolo, Nero d'Avola, Saperavi, Sangiovese, Tempranillo, Touriga
Ngeringa—Aglianico, Nebbiolo, Sangiovese, Tempranillo
Niccolo—Prosecco
Nova Vita Wines—Gruner Veltliner, Sangiovese
Ochota Barrels—Arneis, Gamay, Gewurztraminer, Sangiovese
One Eighty Wines—Gamay
Paracombe Wines—Cabernet Franc, Gruner Veltliner, Malbec, Montepulciano, Nebbiolo, Pecorino, Pinot Blanc, Tempranillo
Parous Estate—Fiano
Perrini Estate—Sangiovese
Petaluma—Barbera, Malbec
Pike and Joyce—Dolcetto, Gamay, Gewurztraminer, Gruner Veltliner, Malbec, Nebbiolo
Poppelvej—Arneis, Cabernet Franc, Lagrein
Precious Little Wines—Gamay, Gruner Veltliner, Nero d'Avola
Protero—Barbera, Dolcetto, Pinot Blanc, Nebbiolo
Scaffidi Estate—Nebbiolo, Sangiovese
Semprevino—Nebbiolo, Sangiovese
Shaw + Smith—Arinto, Barbera
Shining Rock Vineyard—Gruner Veltliner, Sangiovese
Sidewood Estate—Albarino, Chenin Blanc, Malbec, Pedro Ximenez, Petit Verdot, Tempranillo, Touriga
Spider Bill Wines—Barbera, Chenin Blanc, Dolcetto, Nebbiolo, Nero d'Avola, Verdicchio
Ten Miles East—Arneis, Carmenere, Saperavi
Terre a Terre—Bastardo, Mondeuse
Tessera—Tempranillo
The Lane Vineyard—Arneis, Cabernet Franc, Gamay, Pinot Blanc, Sangiovese, Tempranillo
The Other Wine Co—Arinto, Barbera, Savagnin
The Pawn Wine Company—Bastardo, Fiano, Gruner Veltliner, Montepulciano, Petit Verdot, Sangiovese, Tempranillo
Tilbrook Estate—Sangiovese
TK Wines—Gewurztraminer
Tomich—Gruner Veltliner, Zinfandel
Top Note Vineyard—Red Semillon
Totino Wines—Sangiovese
Turon Wines—Gamay
Unico Zelo—Barbera, Dolcetto, Fiano, Greco, Montepulciano, Nebbiolo, Nero d'Avola
Vella Wines—Gamay, Gewurztraminer, Pinot Blanc
View Road Wines—Aglianico, Fiano, Nero d'Avola, Sagrantino, Sangiovese
Vintage Longbottom—Sangiovese
Watkins Wines—Sangiovese, Tempranillo
Worlds Apart—Gamay, Nero d'Avola
XO Wine Co—Barbera, Cortese, Fiano, Gamay, Nebbiolo, Tempranillo
Yacca Paddock Vineyards—Arneis, Dolcetto, Durif, Tannat, Tempranillo

Note: Many Australian wineries use grapes grown outside the region where the winery is are based. Some of the varieties listed above many not have been actually grown in this region.

These varieties are some oof the 190 grown in Australia. They are all featured in the new book Beyond Shiraz. The book is available in Kindle format (for your phone) or as a paperback

Details Here

Some images of South Australian Wineries

Visiting the Adelaide Hills region

Autumn colours at Golding Wines in the Adelaide Hills Wine Region

The boundaries of this region are virtually at the suburban fringe of Adelaide and thus can be visited as an enjoyable day trip from the city of Adelaide.

There are plenty of boutique wineries with cellar door sales, many with bars, cafes and restaurants, interspersed among other small scale artisan food outlets, historic buildings, various accommodation and restaurants.

You may wish to stay overnight in the hills, rather than returning to the city.

Vinodiversity recommends the Hotels Combined booking service to find the best deals across a range of accommodation types. See these boutique hotels in Hahndorf for somewhere to stay.