Charlemagne Wine Club - 2003 Tastings

Monday 20th October 2003
Australia – ‘the Hills are alive’ presented by David Carter
Can it really be that another Olympic Games is almost upon us and you still haven’t heard of all David’s exploits after Sydney 2000, around the wine regions of Australia. As our intended speaker is temporarily unavailable this seems like a good excuse for some more ramblings.
The Adelaide Hills is a less well known area of South Australia where grapes were first planted in 1839. Situated at the foot of these lumps of rock which rise to a point 727 metres above Adelaide is the original vineyard site planted by Dr Christopher Rawson Penfold which to this day, still produces the excellent Magill Estate Shiraz. The hills above are cooler and receive more rainfall than the city below, so the wines favour a cooler climate style.
Many well known winemakers have moved to the Hills in search of the perfect sites for Chardonnay and Pinot Noir but have also found that other varietals such as Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon are suited to particular microclimates within the region.
The wines are still being assembled but the likely line up of producers may include: Ashton Hills; Starvedog Lane; Nepenthe; Tim Knappstein Lenswood; Jeffrey Grossett; Henschke; Paracombe; Chain of Ponds; Pike and Joyce; Shaw and Smith; Petaluma.