The Mount Lofty Ranges is a wine zone in SouthAustralia encompassing the wine regions of Adelaide Hills, Clare Valley and Adelaide Plains. It is named after the range of mountains to the east of the city of Adelaide.
In line with South Australia's other winegrowing areas, conditions within the zone are strongly influenced by variations in topography, including altitude, proximity to the coast and a wide array of soil types. As a result, the three Mount Lofty regions have different climatic and grape-growing conditions.
For example, the Adelaide Hills region has a distinctly cool Climate, which assists in the production of varieties such as Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling. It also specializes in Sparkling wines. By contrast, Adelaide Plains is very Warm, due to a lack of elevation, and mostly produces red wines. Clare Valley's wine production is ruled by its continental climate.
The Mount Lofty Ranges zone borders the Barossa Valley on three sides, but the Barossa and Eden Valleys fall within the Barossa Zone.
The white Chardonnay is a grape variety that originated in France (Burgundy). It produces a variety of grape specially used for wine making. It is rare to find this grape to eat on our tables. This variety of grape is characterized by small bunches, and small grapes. White Chardonnay can be found in many vineyards: South West, Burgundy, Jura, Languedoc & Roussillon, Cognac, Bordeaux, Beaujolais, Savoie & Bugey, Loire Valley, Champagne, Rhone Valley, Armagnac, Lorraine, Alsace, Provence & Corsica.
wines from the region of Mount Lofty Ranges go well with generally quite well with dishes of beef, lamb or game (deer, venison) such as recipes of beef tongue with vegetables and madeira sauce, traditional lamb couscous (from algeria) or rabbit with mustard, thyme and cream.
