Coonawarra

SOUTH AUSTRALIA 

Coonawarra is Australia's top red wine area specialising in Cabernet Sauvignon of great complexity and elegance.

The area is centred around a strip of Terra Rossa soil over a shallow limestone 'ridge' in the southern part of South Australia's Limestone Coast wine zone also known as the ‘Coonawarra Cigar’.  The climate is cool with a heat summation of 1300-1500 degree days depending on the season.

Pepper Tree's Coonawarra vineyard comprises 8 ha of Cabernet and 4 ha of Merlot and is located midway between the town of Penola and Coonawarra. Soils consist of thin dark brown to dark grey clays interspersed with broken limestone fragments. The shallow soil overlies soft crumbly limestone at depths of as little as 10cm so that the vines effectively grow in limestone rock. The shallow soils restrict vigour and this, coupled with rigorous canopy management, allows us to control berry size and bunch numbers and thus eventual crop load.  

AREA PLANTED	12 Ha (30 acres)	ELEVATION	55 - 60 metres
CLIMATE		DEGREE DAYS	1300 - 1500
		SUNSHINE HOURS	1580
SOILS	Thin rocky dark brown/grey clays over crumbly limestone - vines grow mainly in limestone rock
MAIN VARIETIES	RED
	Cabernet Sauvignon      8 Ha
	Merlot                            4 Ha
	Petit Verdot                    0.4 Ha

 

COONAWARRA SOIL STRUCTURE