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The Eden Valley region is located north-east of the city of Adelaide and just east of the Barossa Valley. Overall growing season temperatures are significantly lower than those of the Barossa Valley, and the final stages of ripening and harvesting take place in much cooler conditions.  

The GI region is 591 km2 in size and has a total of 2169 hectares of vineyards. The main varieties grown in the region are Riesling, Shiraz, Chardonnay, and Cabernet Sauvignon

Eden Valley Regional Snapshot 2022-23

Regional Snapshots are one-page profiles updated annually of individual Australian wine regions. They provide at-a-glance summary statistics on: climatic characteristics, viticulture data, winegrape production, and winegrape price and export sales data for wine, compared against the same statistics for the whole of Australia.

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2,169 ha
Total Vineyard Area
-34.776
Latitude (southernmost point)
219-632m
Altitude
229mm
Growing season rainfall

Cabernet Sauvignon

The Cabernet Sauvignon produced from vineyards around the Eden Valley village is of the highest quality, with perfectly ripened cassis-accented fruit flavours. These contrast with wine from higher, cooler sites that have more elegant undertones of green leaf and dark berry characters. 

Chardonnay

Chardonnay is a relative newcomer, with the first commercial vineyards in South Australia being established at Mountadam in 1973. The variety has proved to be highly successful and rich complex wines are being produced; their flavours range through a classic array of melon, fig and cashew. 

Riesling

The Eden Valley also has a proud Riesling tradition and is the most important white grape of the region. The wines have strong lime juice aromas with great intensity of flavour on the palate. As the wines age, marmalade and toasty nuances appear on nose and palate. Good Eden Valley Riesling will take ten years or more to reach its peak. 

Top varieties grown in Eden Valley
Climate
  • Altitude, aspect and slope are all important in determining mesoclimate in this hilly region. Therefore, at an altitude of around 500 metres (1640 feet) the Pewsey Vale, Heggies and High Eden vineyards at the southern end of the Eden Valley are considerably cooler than the more northerly Henschke vineyards at an elevation of 380 to 400 metres (1247 to 1312 feet) around Keyneton. 
  • Overall growing season temperatures are significantly lower than those of the Barossa Valley, and the final stages of ripening and harvesting take place in much cooler conditions.  
Soil
  • Rolling, exposed hills with moderately steep gradients are commonplace and the correct match of site and variety is critical. As one might expect, given the varied terrain, there are a number of soil types. The most common range from grey to brown in colour, and from loamy sand to clay loams. Ironstone gravels, quartz gravels and rock fragments are present in the surface and subsurface. 
  • These are well suited to dry land viticulture but there are also patches of weaker sandy soils on the slopes, underlain by weathered mica-schists, which have reduced water-holding capacity. 

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This content is restricted to wine exporters and levy-payers. Some reports are available for purchase to non-levy payers/exporters.