Langhorne Creek Wine Region
Langhorne Creek – Click to Enlarge
Less than a one-hour drive from Adelaide, Langhorne Creek is one of the best-kept secrets in Australian viticulture. It is one of Australia’s oldest wine regions, home to fifth-generation winemaking families, yet is often overshadowed by big brother the Barossa Valley.
The region sits on the Fleurieu Peninsula, nestled between the Adelaide Hills and Lake Alexandrina, and forms part of the Fleurieu wine zone in South Australia on the west side of the lake. The region shares this zone with Kangaroo Island, Currency Creek, McLaren Vale and Southern Fleurieu.
Langhorne Creek has a cool maritime climate, due in part to the winds that come across Lake Alexandrina, making it cooler than many other South Australian wine regions. This wind is locally known as the ‘Lake Doctor’. The wind carries its cooling effect across the lake directly from the Antarctic and Southern oceans. As there is no land to warm or moderate the wind before it reaches the vines, its influence on the climate is dramatic, moderating summer heat and mitigating winter frosts. Summers are warm and dry, winters are cold and most rain falls during winter and spring.
Langhorne’s long viticulture history began in 1836 when Frank Potts arrived in South Australia, acquiring 130 hectares in 1850 when the land was subdivided. 10 years later Frank planted a little over 30 acres of Shiraz and Verdelho on either side of the Bremer River. Five generations later and the Potts family still preside over Bleasdale Wines, where you can experience one of our favourite wines ‘The Powder Monkey’. The name is affectionately taken after Frank became a ‘Powder Monkey’ in the British Navy, whose duty was to carry bags of gunpowder to the guns.
Many other families have now grown grapes in the region for six generations; the Folletts of Lake Breeze, the Case family of Kimbolton and the Adams family of Brothers in Arms. Other grape growers from pioneering farming families in the region supply premium fruit from historic vines including the Cleggetts, Wenzels and Borretts.
