Wine regions Australia - Kangaroo Island

Kangaroo Island   South Australia

Kangaroo Island is an idyllic natural hideaway, located off the coast of South Australia. Bordeaux style blends are proving to be one of the gems from this maritime oasis.

Kangaroo Island lies just off the coast of South Australia just two hours drive south of Adelaide.

Cape Willoughby Lighthouse overlooking Dudley Partners cellar door

It is a large island approximately 400km in circumference. The island is extraordinary for its natural history and beauty. There is a wealth of wildlife including colonies of Australian sea lions, Little penguins, New Zealand fur seals and the once endangered Cape Barren goose. Vegetation types are also many and varied with eucalyptus forests, mallee scrubland and riverine mangrove much of which resides in the Flinders National Park at the western end. At the eastern end, gentle green rolling hills, grazed by sheep is a scene more reminiscent of the Welsh Arcadia.

The island is well known for its reddy orange ironstone soils as well as sandy loams that are rather alkaline.

The climate is maritime courtesy of the great and bountiful Southern Ocean. The winds are strong, the humidity moderate; the winter is cool and wet, the summer hot and dry.

There are 28 vineyards spread throughout the island from the Dudley Partners on the east side, to Cape d'Estaing on the north coast. Most vineyards are centred in a triangle between Kingscote, the island's largest town, Pardana and Vivonne Bay. The well known Adelaide Hills winery Chain of Ponds produces the Kangaroo Island Trading Company label from grapes grown at their Florance Vineyard at Emu Bay. Lashmar Wines grows Cabernet at Antechamber Bay, Agincourt Partners produce the Woolybud label at Parndana, Neapean Wines specialise in Chardonnay and a Rookery Vineyard producers exceptional Sangiovese fruit.

There are two cellar doors, Dudley Partners on the Dudley Peninsular and Sunset Winery at Penneshaw. The Islander Estate, Two Wheeler Creek and Settler's Plateau Wines will open by appointment.

The island industry we see today is young, with most of the 170 hectares of vineyards being established post 1993. However, vines were successfully grown on the island as early as 1839 by William Giles near Kingscote. Other industry activities include research carried out by the Phylloxera Board.

The main varieties grown are Chardonnay, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Viognier, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir and Shiraz.

Tourism is very important to the economy of the island. Adelaidians flock there at every chance and it also attracts many intrastate and international travellers. It is very much a ready-made market for island wine, with distribution throughout the island's restaurants and bars. There is also wonderful cheeses, ligurian honey and of course seafood!

Each year the Bacchus inspired islanders celebrate Florasion, the flowering of the vines the last Saturday of November. Dressed in medieval garb they dance and feast the day and night away.

Harvest time: early March to mid April

Sites with more information: Kangaroo Island Secrets Explore Kangaroo Island

Sea Lion catching the breeze