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.
Sémillon blanc is a grape variety that originated in France (Bordeaux). It produces a variety of grape specially used for wine making. It is rare to find this grape to eat on our tables. Note that this grape variety can also be used for the elaboration of eaux de vie. This variety of vine is characterized by large bunches of grapes, and grapes of large size. Sémillon Blanc can be found in several vineyards: South-West, Languedoc & Roussillon, Cognac, Bordeaux, Armagnac, Provence & Corsica, Loire Valley, Rhone Valley, Savoie & Bugey, Beaujolais.
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 chicken bonne femme, shrimp risotto with curry or chicken chawarma.
