South Australia (pop’n: 1.65 million) is undoubtedly the wine capital of Australia. In an area roughly 1.5 times the size of Texas, South Australians produce a little under half of all Aussie wine. Victoria, in comparison, produces only 16%. But then South Australia is the home to most of the country’s larger wineries.
The above map shows a selection of South Australian wine regions. Each possesses its own climate (and micro-climates) and soil types. Note how they cluster in the south-eastern part of the state. The northern part of South Australia is a rather desolate zone. The extremely technical reader should note that under Australia’s Geographic Indications hierarchy, the various regions coagulate into seven overarching “Zones”.