page_title: Barossa Valley (wine)
section_title: Viticulture and winemaking
hierarchical_section_title: Barossa Valley (wine) / Viticulture and winemaking
caption_attribution_description: Red wine grapes growing the Australian wine region of the Barossa Valley.
context_page_description: The Barossa Valley wine region is one of Australia's oldest and most premier wine regions. Located in South Australia, the Barossa Valley is about 56 km northeast of the city of Adelaide. Unlike most of Australia whose wine industry was heavily influenced by the British, the wine industry of the Barossa Valley was founded by German settlers fleeing persecution from the Prussian province of Silesia. The warm continental climate of the region promoted the production of very ripe grapes that was the linchpin of the early Australian fortified wine industry. As the modern Australian wine industry shifted towards red table wines in the mid-20th century, the Barossa Valley fell out of favor due to its reputation for being largely a Syrah from producers whose grapes were destined for blending. During this period the name "Barossa Valley" rarely appeared on wine labels. In the 1980s, the emergence of several boutique families specializing in old vine Shiraz wines began to capture international attention for the distinctive style of Barossa Shiraz, a full bodied red wine with rich chocolate and spice notes.
context_section_description: Most of the Barossa Valley makes extensive use of irrigation to supplement the region's low rainfall supply during the growing season. However, concerns about water supply in the late 20th and early 21st century led to the development of strict regulations on the numbers and locations of irrigation boreholes as well as the amount of water that can be used by vineyards. Some of the region's oldest vineyards, especially those on the slightly cooler west side of the valley, practice dryland farming. The increased water stress of the practice, coupled with the naturally reduced yields of old vines, tends to produce the most deeply concentrated grapes in the valley which often go into the Barossa Valley 's most expensive and sought after wines. Harvest usually begins in February and may be conducted in the cooler temperatures of night to help maintain acid levels.
  The generally hot climate of the Barossa Valley usually means that the grapes become ripe very easily with high levels of sugars and low levels of acids. Winemaking in the Barossa Valley often utilizes the process of acidification in order to add balance to the wine. The high alcohol levels from the fermented sugars may be offset by various winemaking practices including reverse osmosis and adding water to the must. Historically, winemakers in the Barossa Valley have utilized very short maceration periods that limit the amount of time that the wines spends in contact with the skin. Often the wine is racked off the skins into oak wine barrels before fermentation is even completed. While this does mean that supplemental tannins might need to be added, this short maceration often leaves the wines with a smooth mouthfeel. The extensive use of oak is also a characteristic of Barossa Valley winemaking with American oak, with its more aggressive dill and coconut aroma notes, often used more than French oak.
caption: Grapes in the Barossa Valley can get very ripe with high sugar and low acid levels.
exif: {"Image ImageDescription": "OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA", "Image Make": "OLYMPUS IMAGING CORP.", "Image Model": "u-miniD,Stylus V", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "314", "Image YResolution": "314", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "OLYMPUS Master 2.11W", "Image DateTime": "2009:04:12 08:53:43", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image ExifOffset": "276", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "2394", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "13703", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/80", "EXIF FNumber": "49/10", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "64", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0221", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2009:03:17 11:35:53", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2009:03:17 11:35:53", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "361/100", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF LightSource": "Unknown", "EXIF Flash": "Flash fired, auto mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "288/25", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "1853", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "1390", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "2262", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Custom", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "1", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF GainControl": "None", "EXIF Contrast": "Normal", "EXIF Saturation": "Normal", "EXIF Sharpness": "Normal"}