Wines from Langhorne Creek
A Region of Outstanding Reds
Langhorne Creek that falls within the wine zone of Fleurieu in South Australia is enjoying a wine history that date backs to the 1860s.
It just takes a 50-minute drive from the Adelaide city to reach this fantastic wine land.
According to wine researchers, one of the best-kept secrets in Australian wine industry is that Langhorne Creek is among the country’s oldest wine regions.
Once you are here, you can escape to picturesque vineyards to spend your day among the vines tasting premium wines.
Let’s see more about this important wine region here. Keep reading…
Langhorne Creek’s Geography and Location
Geographically, it is located in the north-eastern part of the Fleurieu Peninsula, where it stretches from Lake Alexandrina towards the Langhorne Creek town on the northern side.
Today, this is thriving as one of the five wine regions forming the Fleurieu wine zone with almost 14,540 acres of land under vine cultivation.
These vineyards are found to be distributed among 24 wineries. The modern-day wine industry in the region is a blend of larger, multinational corporations and boutique wineries.
Most boutique wineries are having their own cellar doors. It’s to be noted that the region was granted the appellation as an Australian Geographical Indication (AGI) during the year 1998. Today, it is the third largest wine grape growing region in South Australia.
The Climate in Langhorne Creek
The region enjoys the climatic conditions that are affected by the onshore southerly winds from the ocean.
As one could see, the map of Australia would show the region’s close proximity to the ocean, as well as Lake Alexandrina.
Both these are significant in the vine growing conditions here.
The prevailing southerlies are found to be decreasing daytime temperature fluctuations and sunshine hours in Langhorne Creek.
The grape growing conditions are unique in the region. As Langhorne Creek sits on the flood plains created by the rivers, Angas and Bremer, it gets water from the Mount Lofty Ranges.
Overall, the region is experiencing a temperate type of climate, with moderate temperatures all over the growing season assisted by the cool breezes from the lake and southerlies.
All these factors together make the fertile plains of the region a milder wine zone with a long ripening season.
Typically, the region’s wineries are popular for warmer climates with fuller flavoured wine varietals that frequently show elements of cooler winemaking in terms of herbal notes and saline acidity.
Soils in Langhorne Creek
The fertile soils of the region are often deep, alluvial sandy loams, which vary in colours.
You can find red-brown to dark grey soil colours, with traces of black clays. Here, all the soil types are found to be promoting vine vigour, with generous canopies, as well as cropping levels.
Wines and Wine Grapes in Langhorne Creek
As the title suggests, the region is famous for its red wine varieties. The most common plantings in the region are found to be of Shiraz, which occupies almost 37% of the total vineyard area.
This is followed by the varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot.
Overall, we can see that the red wine varietals are accounting for 82% of the plantings, whereas the white wine varietals are accounting for just 18% here.
Of these, the most prominent varieties, Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon, can be varietally labelled or in other words, are allowed to be a part of multi-varietal blends.
This way, they are being used to produce wines with soft, delicate tannins with a good dispense of extract. Other red grapes grown here include Malbec and Petit Verdot.
Although the region is famous for its red wines, the region is not keeping itself from producing white wines.
It has also made a name for its quality white wine varietals, especially from Verdelho and Chardonnay.
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Tharani Rajamanickam
Winewriter
I am Tharani, I have Bachelors degree in Biotechnology. I am passionate about the wine industry and continue to explore, learn and share and I bring in a wealth of knowledge and expertise to help you keep updated with best wines in the world. Stay tuned..
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