Our Region

One of the best kept secrets in Australian wine

The Langhorne Creek Wine Region

Thought by many to be one of the best-kept secrets in Australian wine, Langhorne Creek is one of Australia’s oldest wine regions.

History

Langhorne Creek takes its name from Alfred Langhorne, a cattleman who rested his cattle on the surrounding floodplains of the Bremer River after crossing it on his way to the Adelaide markets in the 1840s.

For over 120 years Langhorne Creek has been consistently supplying high quality fruit to many leading labels of wineries in other regions. “The middle palate of red wines in Australia” has been Langhorne Creek’s position amongst Australian wine producers, but over the past 15 years or so it has emerged as an incredibly strong premium wine producing region in its own right.

Today vineyards of the Langhorne Creek Region total approximately 6,500 hectares, making it Australia’s largest premium red wine grape growing region; it is red wine country.

The ‘DNA’ of Langhorne Creek is comprised of Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz and Malbec, and the uniqueness of the flood plains adds to the quality of the fruit grown in this region.

Soil and Climate

The Langhorne Creek region benefits from the natural flooding of the Bremer and Angas rivers, where nutrient-rich river silt washes down from the Adelaide Hills into the alluvial sandy loam of the surrounding floodplains.

Langhorne Creek enjoys a climate of cool, wet winters and warm, dry summers, but the principal influence on growing grapes is the micro-climate that results from its proximity to the Lower Lakes of the River Murray, and the Southern Ocean.

The Lower Lakes (Lake Alexandrina and Lake Albert) lie only a few kilometres from Langhorne Creek. They are massive bodies of fresh water, being almost four times the size of Sydney Harbour, with the Southern Ocean separated from them by a one-kilometre wide strip of land – the Coorong. As a consequence, the region enjoys a mild, maritime climate with growing conditions 3°C cooler than McLaren Vale, and only half a degree warmer than Coonawarra.

Visiting Langhorne Creek

Langhorne Creek is less than an hour south-east of Adelaide on the shores of Lake Alexandrina. A beautiful region in its own right, there are a number of interesting and welcoming cellar doors in the area. There are over 30 wine producers now in the region, with nine of these having cellar doors. A perfect day trip can be complemented with a visit through the numerous antique shops in nearby Strathalbyn.

For additional information on Langhorne Creek, please visit the Langhorne Creek Wine Region’s website.