Western Australia's vast and spectacular Great Southern wine region is among the largest and most diverse in the country, producing an incredibly varied range of wine styles. Vineyards are a relatively recent addition to traditional pastoral, dairy and orchard industries, with the first experimental vines established in the 1960's following recommendations from renowned viticulturalists Professor Harold Olmo and Dr John Gladstone.
Located where the Indian and Southern oceans meet, the region runs along the south west coast for more than 200km and stretches north back into the hinterland for well over 100kms. It consists of five sub-regions registered under Australia's Geographical Indications legislations: Mount Barker, Porongurup, Frankland River, Albany and Denmark. Each sub-region has its own micro-climate and specialises in different varieties, but the one variety that performs in virtually every corner is Shiraz.
The Great Southern's long, slow ripening period produces Shiraz wines of great elegance, fruit intensity and textural complexity. Great Southern Shiraz characters can range from white to black pepper, blackberry, raspberry and ripe plum to spices and herbal notes of rosemary and tarragon.
WA's coolest wine-growing region, the Great Southern boasts the warm days and cool nights that are so beneficial for premium wine-grape growing. The regional rainfall average is a relatively low 600-750mm per annum, helping promote more intense fruit flavours.
Denmark and Albany exhibit strong maritime influences but continental influences, particularly temperature variability, increase significantly in the imland sub-regions.
Soil type varies from gravelly sandy loams with good drainage to granite and gneissic sandy loams, to the highly fertile rich karri loams around Denmark that require careful vine management. Fertility and typical yields are moderate to low in most other areas, encouraging excellent fruit intensity.
Participating wineries in this Shiraz promotion include :
Alkoomi Wines, Castle Rock Estate, Chatsfield Wines, Ducketts Mill, Duke’s Vineyard, Ferngrove, Forest Hill, Gibraltar Rock Wines, Gilbert Wines, Goundrey Wines, Harewood Estate, Howard Park Wines, Ironwood Estate Wines, Jinnunger, MadFish Wines, Marri Brook Wines, Matilda’s Estate, Montgomery’s Hill, Moombaki Wines, Old Kent River, Oranjie Tractor, Plantagenet Wines, Shepherd’s Hut Wines, 3 Drops, Traolach Xabregras, Trevelen Farm Wines, West Cape Howe, Wignalls Wines, Yilgarnia, Zarepath Wines.
One of the things to note is that many wine companies situated in other wine regions of W.A source grapes from this region because of our unique ability to produce a wide range of varieties of exceptional quality. Prime examples amongst others are Shiraz, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot and Chardonnay.