NA ="Coonawarra, Rocky Castle,";
FE1[0]=" Located 381 km from Adelaide, Coonawarra is one of Australia's (and South Australia's) best-known grape growing and wine producing areas. Coonawarra lies within South Australia's Limestone Coast Zone. The region nudges the Victori";
FE2[0]="an border 380km south east of Adelaide. The town's name probably derives from an Aboriginal word meaning 'wild honeysuckle'. First planted to vines in 1890, the Coonawarra district has evolved through three historical periods. The";
FE3[0]=" first was the era of the Penola Fruit Colony and the early settlers, who accepted the challenge of Scottish founder John Riddoch, and generally prospered until the time of the First World War. Then came the dark ages of the Depre";
FE4[0]="ssion and two World Wars. During this period the original cellars were converted to a distillery, and the Redman family alone were able to maintain a continuous tradition of table wine production. Samuel Wynn eventually recognised";
FE5[0]=" the quality of these wines and initiated the renaissance of the region, by purchasing the original cellars in 1951. This third historical period witnessed the appreciation by many other investors of the truly great attributes of ";
FE6[0]="this small, yet magic tract of terra rosa soil. Today it boasts some of the most expensive viticultural land in Australia. Coonawarra, as a wine region, owes its existence due to its proximity to any major market but to its unique";
FE7[0]=" geological and climatic features - ideal for growing vines bearing the highest quality grapes available for making wine. Coonawarra has become synonymous with Cabernet Sauvignon. It's the star performer on the Terra Rossa. Overal";
FE8[0]="l the region produces quality reds from Shiraz, Petit Verdot, Pinot Noir, Malbec and Merlot grapes. White grape varieties include Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Riesling and Semillon. Tourism, although limited by the region's isolat";
FE9[0]="ion from a major city, is fostered by events such as the Coonawarra Cabernet Celebration and Barrel Auction and the annual Coonawarra Cup held at the Penola Racecourse.";
LA1[0]=" At first glance the Coonawarra appears completely flat, but in fact the red soil is situated on a slight, but all important, ridge; it is no accident that the main road passes through its centre, marking the route followed by the ";
LA2[0]="bullock drays of the nineteenth century seeking firm ground in winter and spring. Meaning literally 'red earth', the terra rossa is a low, cigar-shaped ridge of soil some 15 kilometres long and up to 1 km wide. It is, in fact, a s";
LA3[0]="ection of old seacoast. The terra rossa of Coonawarra is Australia's most famous soil, although it is not unique to the region (many parts of the Limestone Coast Zone have similar soils, hence its name). Vivid red in colour, it is";
LA4[0]=" either a friable, subplastic clay or a shallow friable loam derived from and lying on top of a bed of soft limestone. In reality there are three main soil types within Coonawarra: terra rossa (red or red-brown soil), which always";
LA5[0]=" overlies limestone, is on the highest ground and shows no distinct layers; rich black clay rendzina soils over limestone which are located to the west of the terra rossa strip, and sandy, podsolic and solodic soils over clay to t";
LA6[0]="he east, which is poor soil for wine grapes. The layer of terra rossa topsoil is rich and free draining but thin - from just 5 cm to 100 cm deep. It is one of the best soils for growing vines in Australia. Beneath the terra rossa ";
LA7[0]="soil is a band of calcrete: calcium carbonate leached out of the topsoil and redeposited immediately above the limestone. This layer, up to 15 cm thick, is usually broken up before vines are planted so that roots can go deeper. Ne";
LA8[0]="xt is a layer of porous limestone up to 2m thick and below that the abundant water table. This water is used for both frost control and supplementary water of the vines. The frost control pumps require a minimum of 450,000 litres ";
LA9[0]="per hour to achieve the necessary control and most bores in Coonawarra are capable of delivering this amount. The application of water to the vines ensures that the temperature on the vine leaf or bud does not fall below freezing.";
CL1[0]=" The Coonawarra is located only 100 km inland from the sea and so the climate is predominantly maritime, and resembles that of Bordeaux, but it is the extensive cloud cover that moderates the most important ripening period temperat";
CL2[0]="ures, which sets it apart from other wine regions. Coonawarra's climate is cool - it is South Australia's southernmost wine region, only 80 km from the cool southern ocean and cold Antarctic winds. The winters are cold and wet wit";
CL3[0]="h most of the annual rainfall falling in the winter months. Spring is cool and often frosty. The summers are mild, although some intermittent bursts of hot weather occur. Autumn is long and cool and as a consequence of the extende";
CL4[0]="d ripening season. In many respects this is similar to the Medoc region of Bordeaux. Because of this cool climate there is a long cool ripening period that builds up the intensity of flavours slowly in the grape and ensures a bala";
CL5[0]="nced acidity. The result is wines renowned for their richness, intensity, depth of flavour and excellent longevity. The annual rainfall is 650mm, of which 282mm falls during the growing season (October through to April).  Harvest ";
CL6[0]="is between mid March through to late April, and in some seasons into early May.  White grape varieties are generally harvested a few weeks earlier than the reds.  The regions key climate features are. Annual rainfall -- 650 mm; Me";
CL7[0]="an January Temperature -- 19.6 C; Sunshine hours per day -- 7.8; Growing season rainfall -- 282 mm.";
CL8[0]="";
CL9[0]="";
HI1[0]=" The first Europeans into the area were the Austin brothers who arrived in 1840 and established a run of 109 square miles based on what is now Yallum Park John Riddoch purchased Yallum in 1861. He acquired 35,000 acres on which he ";
HI2[0]="ran 50,000 head of sheep. In keeping with his exalted status he lived like a local lord (as can be seen for the richness of Yallum Park). Around 1890 Riddoch formed the Coonawarra Fruit Colony and 2,000 acres from Yallum Park were";
HI3[0]=" subdivided into smaller holdings of 10-30 acres, which were sold, at very reasonable terms, to a group of farmers with the express idea that they all became vineyards and orchards. It was out of this that the Coonawarra vineyards";
HI4[0]=" grew. The vineyards were more successful than the wineries but wine wasn't really part of the Australian diet. Then came the dark age of the Great Depression and the two World Wars in the early 1900's. During this period Riddoch'";
HI5[0]="s original Cellars were converted into a distillery, and the Redman family alone were able to maintain a continuous tradition of table wine production. Samuel Wynn eventually recognised the quality of these wines, and initiated th";
HI6[0]="e renaissance of the district by purchasing the cellars in 1951. Until this time the only table wine made in Coonawarra was Redman's Shiraz, which had been sold in bulk to Woodley Wines since 1920. Woodley bottled some of the wine";
HI7[0]=", and sold the rest in bulk to other South Australian wineries. From 1952 Redman started selling to those companies direct, while continuing to supply Woodley with its requirements for bottling (and which gave rise to the famous T";
HI8[0]="reasure Chest series). Thomas Hardy, Reynella and Leo Buring and Yalumba were among the first purchasers of Redman's wine; in 1953 Ronald Haselgrove of Mildara joined the queue, and - unable to purchase as much as he needed - comm";
HI9[0]="issioned Bill Redman to find a suitable vineyard block and develop a vineyard. This was done in 1955, and Penfolds followed suit in 1957. The quest for land was on in earnest, and it continues to this day.";