Remember Padthaway which dates to 1964 and now has lost all recognition.
The origins of the South Australian wine industry are based on warm climate regions which following the settlement of Adelaide in 1836. They developed to the south, east and north of Adelaide and include such famous names as McLaren Vale and the Barossa Valley. As the focus switched from making fortified wines to table wines in the 1950s the view developed that cooler regions, making a more European style, were needed. Plantings began in the south-east of South Australia in the 1960s building on the knowledge of Coonawarra and red soils. The enthusiasm to expand the Australian wine industry was based on an endless blue-sky view. This seemed OK until 2010 when exports began faltering. The large South Australian land area from the mouth of the Murray River east to the Victorian border is called the Limestone Coast while I often refer to it as the Great Southeast. This vast region covers the districts of Coonawarra, Padthaway, Robe, Wrattonbully and many more and there are 15,700 hectares of vines and 250 growers. No way can all they grow be sold. Buying wine from districts or regions that have high quality vineyards yet have fallen from popularity is an essential part of the Glug business model. We are convinced that enough customers exist who will make rational buying decisions by understanding that out of favour does not mean low quality. It simply means the unthinking crowd have moved on and wines, like gold nuggets, are sitting on the ground waiting to be picked up. Recall Padthaway is further north than Coonawarra and warmer, so the wines are riper.
