Wine country: the Barossa Valley varieties to know

There is nothing more quintessential than a glass of Australian shiraz. Known as our “national grape”, it’s the wine that put Australia on the international wine-drinking radar and it’s grown in every wine region across the country.

But in any word association game, when you think Australian shiraz, chances are you immediately think Barossa. With a vine history dating back to 1842 (from original French cuttings), the Barossa has some of the oldest continuing shiraz vines in the world.

Stretching from the Barossa Valley and the Eden Valley sub-regions, warm and cool climate growing conditions live side-by-side. This diversity of temperatures within the GI (Geographical Indicator) creates an incredible variety of shiraz, grenache and other classic red varietals across the 11,609 hectares of vineyards planted.

Another member of the First Families of Australian wine and working with legacy vineyards is the Henschke family, with viticulturist and matriarch Prue leading the charge to produce some of the most iconic single-vineyard wines in the region, alongside husband Stephen (and the rest of the clan). Prue and Stephen explain: “Seeing the differences in shiraz is such a new thing; we see it distinctly in our Mt. Edelstone and Hill of Grace wines. The former has classic Eden Valley characters of bay leaf and spice, and the latter has slightly riper and more perfumed notes – and the sites are only four kilometres apart.”

Change is afoot in this classic region. As Glastonbury explains: “We’re a traditional and old region that’s also showcasing new winemaking methods. We’re constantly playing with other varieties and clonal diversity.” So it looks like the Barossa still has plenty more years of life, grape growing and winemaking potential left in it yet.