Coonawarra wines originate from the Coonawarra wine region, situated around 380km southeast of Adelaide and close to Victoria’s border. The Coonawarra region got its name from the Scottish settler John Riddoch who planted the first grapevines. He changed the name to Coonawarra, which in Aboriginal language means honeysuckle because this plant was growing wildly in the area.
Today, just about 35 winemakers are producing incomparable red wines in the area north of Penola. These Coonawarra red wines are some of the best reds in the New World, and winemakers don’t have to shy away from comparisons with Spanish, Italian, or Burgundy red wines from the Old World, which has a significantly longer history of winemaking.
The Coonawarra area is famous for its rusty red Terra Rossa soil, where winemakers produce the best Australian red wines. In the very late 1900s, the most widely planted grape was Shiraz. This changed when Samuel Wynn bought the Riddoch family winery in 1951 and helped transform the Australian wine landscape. Since then, Cabernet Sauvignon is by far the most-produced red wine, followed by Shiraz and Merlot. However, the prevailing geology also favours white wines such as Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, and Riesling.
The area where grapes can be cultivated is relatively small and covers only a narrow 30m2 strip of land near the town of Coonawarra. As the wine-growing area lies in the heart of the Limestone Coast zone of South Australia and about 60km away from the sea, Coonawarra wines experience quite a maritime climate. This climate is similar to what you will find in the famous Haut-Médoc region in Bordeaux, France. However, these characteristics provide the ultimate growing conditions for the best Coonawarra wines.
Next to the Margaret River region in Western Australia, Coonawarra is probably one of the best-known cool-climate regions for exquisite Cabernet Sauvignon. Although way smaller in size, the Coonawarra region tops the wine region in the west with its signature red wines. Besides, the new generations of winemakers will surely finetune their red and white wines even further to keep the bar high.
What does Coonawarra wine taste like?
90% of the production is red wine, and more than half of it is Cabernet Sauvignon. For that reason, Coonawarra wines develop intense and rich flavours of dark fruit, which primarily include blackcurrant, mulberry, and plums. You can describe these Cabernet Sauvignons best as elegant French red wines with an Australian fruitiness.
Coonawarra wines typically tend to have a medium to full body, firm tannins, soft spices, and complexity of minty and herbal aromas on the palate. These characteristics are well integrated and give the wines a nice balance. You can also experience a gentle savoury and earthy minerality with these wines.
The white varieties, which make up the remaining 10%, also carry a lot of intensity and generous flavours. The produced Chardonnay shines with flavours of pear, lemon, stone fruit, and rather soft acidity levels. The region’s Riesling is more flowery on the palate and adds hints of fruity aromas.
Coonawarra wines contain these intense flavours because winemakers can utilise a warm and dry summer, followed by long and relatively cool autumn. After autumn, the grapes have to go through a cold and wet winter before spring arrives. However, spring sometimes brings ice-cold temperatures as well. In addition, the vineyards close to the sea are exposed to a cold breeze throughout the year.
This maritime influence lengthens the grape’s ripening period, which cascades down into a wide range of flavours and the wine’s overall profile. Due to the long ripening process, grapes in the region’s vineyards can collect more nutrients from the red Terra Rossa soil, a key factor. Ultimately, all of this results in impeccable red wines that make Coonawarra a famous wine region in Australia’s south.
Where can I find Coonawarra wines near me?
Unless you live in the southeast of South Australia, you probably won’t be driving multiple hours just to get your favourite Coonawarra wines at the estate’s cellar doors. Cities like Adelaide and Melbourne are already half a day’s drive away from the famous red wine region. Therefore, you will mostly rely on liquor stores or specialty stores to stock these wines. The better and more convenient option for you is to simply go online to find them.
As you are on our BoozeBud website, we believe that you already like to buy your beverages online. And our site is the perfect place for you to shop around. We offer a broad selection of Australian as well as international wines, and you can browse them by region or collection to find your favourite.
Besides, you can easily arrange the delivery of your beloved Coonawarra wines to your door thanks to our delivery services across Australia. No matter if you live in Perth, Sydney, or Brisbane.
Another benefit of shopping with us is our lowest price guarantee. We guarantee to have the lowest prices currently available online. We match our competitor’s low prices and if you happen to find a lower price for items we stock as well, simply give us a heads up so we can set this price as well. Also, keep an eye on our online-only promotions that no one can match.
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