Fleurieu is a wine zone located South of Adelaide, the administrative capital of South Australia, which takes its name from the French explorer Charles Pierre Claret de Fleurieu. Across the zone Shiraz is the most common Grape variety, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc are among the supporting cast.
Five wine regions can be found within its boundaries: Currency Creek (to the west of Lake Alexandrina), Kangaroo Island, Langhorne Creek (between Lake Alexandrina and the town of Strathalbyn), McLaren Vale (in the northwest of the peninsula) and Southern Fleurieu (located on the peninsula and a section of the Mount Lofty Ranges).
Overall, the Climate of Fleurieu is heavily affected by its proximity to the sea, producing a predominantly Mediterranean influence.
The seasons are characterized by milder temperatures than those experienced in some of South Australia's inland and high-altitude regions. The five regions within the zone have variable mesoclimates, dictated by their elevation and proximity to the coast. These conditions combine to make the peninsula an area which can support a variety of grape types.
Most certainly of Italian origin, more precisely from Sicily where it is very well known. It should be noted that a certain number of Italian grape varieties bear the synonym or name "calabrese", whether or not followed by an epithet, and care should be taken not to confuse them. Calabrese is also known in the United States, Italy, Bulgaria and Malta. In France, it is virtually absent from the vineyard, although it is listed in the Official Catalogue of Wine Grape Varieties, list A1.
red wines from the region of Fleurieu go well with generally quite well with dishes of beef, mature and hard cheese or lamb such as recipes of vegetable noddles, franco-comtois beef or rack of lamb with herbs.
On the nose in the region of Fleurieu often reveals types of flavors of oaky, vanilla or black cherries and sometimes also flavors of plum, raspberry or red currant. In the mouth in the region of Fleurieu is a powerful with a nice balance between acidity and tannins.
