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There are many benefits to heading off the beaten track and exploring some of Australia's less visited wine regions, writes Winsor Dobbin.
Wine lovers who plan on heading for South Australia would probably opt to first visit the Barossa and McLaren Vale, or maybe the Adelaide Hills, Clare Valley or Coonawarra.
Most visitors to Western Australia would have Margaret River as their top wine destination, while in Victoria the Yarra Valley and Mornington Peninsula are the major drawcards.
All of which means that anyone heading for Langhorne Creek, the Great Southern and King Valley will find themselves far away from the madding crowds and perhaps find their tasting conducted by the winemaker or grape grower. You can often find cellar doors where you are only visitors, and the kids have plenty of space to run around.
LANGHORNE CREEK
A South Australian wine region that is often overlooked in favour of its more famous neighbours is little Langhorne Creek, which is less than an hour from Adelaide with a lovely country ambience.
The tiny hamlet, population 668 at the last census, is where Wolf Blass sourced the fruit for many of his early trophy winners, and the region still produces grapes for leading labels including Jacob's Creek, George Wyndham, Rosemount Estate and Wolf Blass.
Over 85% of the fruit grown in over 6,000 hectares of vines is onsold, meaning you rarely see Langhorne Creek on wine labels.
"The problem we have in gaining recognition is that so much of the fruit produced here is used by the big companies, or in blends that often don't even mention Lang horne Creek on the label," said Greg Follett from Lake Breeze, one of the outstanding local producers, at a recent media event.
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"When people visit us they learn about out region, characters and places–and that's why we are putting lots of energy into increasing the awareness of
Langhorne Creek and its consistently great wines."
Langhorne Creek has a wine history dating back to 1850. It is best-known for cabernet sauvignon and shiraz, which account for 70 per cent of production but over recent years, considerable experimentation has occurred and a large range of grape varieties are grown, including malbec.
Langhorne Creek is on the banks of the Bremer River, which flows into Lake Alexandrina. In winter, the river frequently floods across the vineyards, providing
natural irrigation to the rich, deep soils.
Among the labels and cellar doors to look out for are historic family-owned Bleasdale, Bremerton, Lake Breeze, Brothers in Arms (where the Metala vines are some of the oldest in the country), and Temple Bruer, one of the country's leading organic producers.
GREAT SOUTHERN
Western Australia's Great Southern wine region is the most remote in Australia bar none–but it produces some of the best-value wines and offers a range of cellar door tasting opportunities.
Close to the Southern and Indian oceans, the Great Southern has warm and sunny days during the growing season, but cool - sometimes cold - nights. The moderate temperatures slow the ripening of grapes and produce wines of excellent balance.
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The Great Southern is the largest appellation in mainland Australia (second only to Tasmania overall) and it stretches unevenly over an area of 150km from
north to south and 100km across east to west.
There are five very different sub-regions: Albany, Denmark, Frankland River, the Porongurups and Mount Barker.
Albany and Denmark are maritime sub-regions, close to the oceans, while the inland sub-regions comprise warmer Mount Barker, Porongurup and Frankland River. Wherever you are in this remote region, however, you are around 400 kilometres and a five-hour drive from the state capital of Perth–meaning no one finds themselves here by chance.
You can travel just 50 kilometres in this part of the world and you will find growing conditions that are completely different, says Coby Ladwig, winemaker at Rockcliffe in Denmark.
Great Southern riesling, usually citrusy with brisk acid, is exceptional and rivals that of Clare and Eden. Plantagenet winemaker Chris Murtha describes them asintense and pure.
Shiraz from the region is also on the upswing and the good news for consumers is that wines from the Great Southern are generally more affordable than those from Margaret River–although a lot of Great Southern fruit does head further west to be used in blends.
Frankland River, home to Frankland Estate, Alkoomi and Ferngrove is the Great Southern's riesling hot spot–thanks to its warmish days and cool nights.
Given the high profile of wineries like Castle Rock, Galafrey, Forest Hill, Rockcliffe and others, it seems amazing the Great Southern wine industry is so young compared to much of the rest of Australia.
It was only in 1975 that Plantagenet Wines purchased an apple-packing shed in Mount Barker and converted the building into a winery that made the region's first commercial wines. Today the wine industry is thriving and the Great Southern produces 37% of all the wine grapes in Western Australia.
At small wineries like family-owned Galafrey in Mount Barker you can meet Henry, the winery dog, who will greet you at the car park and escort you to the cellar door, while at organic producer Oranje Tractor, outside Albany, you can enjoy a home-made pizza on the deck with the winery workers.
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KING VALLEY
The lush King Valley in north-east Victoria used to be tobacco-growing country but today families with Italian heritage have made it one of the most interesting wine regions in the country.
From prosecco, the traditional sparkling wine style of the Veneto, to sangiovese, the stand-out red grape in Tuscany, the King Valley has become Australia's capital of Italian varietals.
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The major names here include Pizzini, Dal Zotto and Chrismont, all of whom make Italian varietals along with more traditional wine styles.
Sangiovese, the main grape of the great Chianti Classicos, has struck a particular chord with the Pizzini family, who now make no fewer than six different styles from the one grape variety.
The Pizzinis recently launched the Pizzini Sangiovese Series, a full range of wines primarily made from sangiovese.
Among the key experiences are tasting the latest releases at Dal Zotto Wines' family-friendly cellar door, including Otto Dal Zotto's excellent prosecco (he originally came from the Veneto).
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The Trattoria, which is only open at the weekend, showcases great Italian cuisine, while Whitfield's Mountain View Hotel serves terrific gourmet meals. Chrismont will soon throw open the doors to an impressive new development with sweeping views.
Other producers to look out for include John Gehrig, Sam Miranda (with a very spiffy cellar door), Symphonia and Wood Park.
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