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.
white wines from the region of Mount Lofty Ranges go well with generally quite well with dishes of pork, shellfish or poultry such as recipes of coconut beans, tagliatelle with shrimps or basque chicken with chorizo.
On the nose in the region of Mount Lofty Ranges often reveals types of flavors of grapefruit, peach or lime and sometimes also flavors of lemon, non oak or earth. In the mouth in the region of Mount Lofty Ranges is a powerful with a nice freshness.
