Top 100 red wines of The Peninsulas

Discovering the wine region of The Peninsulas

The Peninsulas is an Australian wine zone covering the Central portion of the South Australian coast. The name refers to the two peninsulas which form the western and eastern arms of the Spencer Gulf – the Eyre and the Yorke respectively. The wine zones of Australia provide producers with a broader GI (Geographical Indication) for their wine label in comparison to the regions and subregions. The Peninsulas GI was created as a wine zone in 1996.

It is the most westerly official viticultural area in the eastern half of Australia. Between here and the vineyards of Western Australia Lies 1,000 miles (1,600km) of arid, almost entirely treeless land known as the Nullarbor Plain. To the east of The Peninsulas is Adelaide, surrounded by such well-known wine regions as the Clare, Eden and Barossa valleys. At its immediate Northeast corner is the Southern Flinders Ranges region, known for producing premium-quality Shiraz.

The Peninsulas zone spans 320 kilometers (200mi) from east to west and only a little less from the northern border to the southern tips of the peninsulas. Given this large catchment area, it is impossible to summarize the zone's Climate and soil types. That being said, vineyards closer to the water are more temperate than those further north and inland, and have higher levels of humidity. Australia's terra rossa soils are present in various parts of The Peninsulas and are joined in the west by a significant limestone presence.