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Great Southern Wine Region

Australia’s biggest State extends the western third of the continent, although the winemaking regions are almost entirely situated in the south-western tip of the State. The South-Western Wine regions are considered Australia's most isolated wine-growing areas.

The Swan Valley established in 1829 by Thomas Waters is the historical centre for wine production in Western Australia, however the states cooler climate south-western wine regions such as Margaret River, and The Great Southern are considered to be more significant due to the Swan Valley being noted as one of the hottest viticultural regions in the world. Partly because of this, and as a reaction to the emergence of the Margaret River and Great Southern regions spanning the far south western corner of the state a large number of producers have deserted the area with the numbers of vineyards shrinking. In the year 1970, 90 percent of the state's wine was made from grapes grown in the Swan Valley; by 1980 the figure was 59 percent; by 1996 it was 15 percent and still falling.

Despite having only around 7 percent of Australia’s vineyards and a mere 3 percent of grapes crushed. The winemaking regions of the South-West of the state attract a large amount of media attention.

History

The international definition and recognition of this area as a distinct and unique wine growing area goes back to 1859, when original settler George Egerton-Warburton planted vines on his St Werburgh's property near Mt Barker and bottled his first vintage two years later. However, the first real commercial foundations were laid in the late 1930’s by horticulturalist Bill Jamieson. His extensive knowledge of the area's soils and climate was augmented by the research of Californian Professor Harold Olmo in 1955 during a government-sponsored trip to Western Australia and by Dr John Gladstones in 1963. A year later, Jamieson and Houghton's famous winemaker Jack Mann, went to Mt Barker and the first experimental cuttings were planted in 1965 at Forest Hill.

The Great Southern

The Great Southern (wine region) is Australia's largest wine region a rectangle 200 kilometers from east to west and over 100 kilometers from north to south. It has five nominated subregions for wine, namely the Porongurups, Mount Barker, Albany, Denmark and Frankland River under the Geographical indications legislation as determined by the Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation. The vineyards spread throughout the area have significant variations of climate however the region is the coolest of Western Australia’s viticultural areas; with a similar maritime influenced Mediterranean climate to Margaret River although with slightly less rainfall. This diverse region is known for Riesling, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Shiraz, and Malbec.