Great Southern (wine region)
| Wine region | |
The largest GI wine region of Australia | |
| Country | Australia |
|---|---|
| Sub-regions | Porongurups, Mount Barker, Albany, Denmark and Frankland River |
| Soil conditions | The main soils are similar to that of the Margaret River (wine region); lateritic gravelly sandy loams (marri country) or sandy loams from granite and gneissic bedrocks. Typically brown to grey-brown in color, with the percentage of clay varying from one location to another. |
| Size of planted vineyards | 5,775 acres (23 km2) |
| Varietals produced | Riesling, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, pinot noir, Shiraz, Merlot, Malbec, Cabernet Franc and Verdelho. |
| No. of wineries | 48 |
The Great Southern wine region is in Western Australia's Great Southern region. It comprises an area 200 kilometres (120 mi) from east to west and over 100 kilometres (62 mi) from north to south, and is Australia's largest wine region.
It has five nominated subregions for wine, 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 known for production of high quality vines have significant variations of terroir and climate dictated in part by the distance 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.