South Australia known as Australia’s wine capital is, along with South East Australia, a huge provider of general wines. It dominates the industry with 44 per cent of the nation’s vineyards, is responsible for 47 per cent of the annual crush and makes 48 per cent of the annual wine output (it is a net buyer of grapes and bulk wine from the other States).

The bulk of the grapes are grown in large vineyards alongside the banks of the Murray River, which provides the one thing that Australia’s vineyards are short of – water. This area has some of the most efficient, intensive grape growing in the world.

But South Australia includes within its borders some of the most famous areas of quality wines such as Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale, Eden Valley and Clare Valley and some of the oldest vines from an area that escaped phylloxera.