It means a great deal to be able to use the name ‘Coonawarra’ on a wine. The public and the wine industry are naturally showing great interest over the determinations of the Geographical Indications Committee (GIC), the industry body responsible for regional delineation, concerning which vineyards will in future be able to apply the word ‘Coonawarra’ on their wine labels. Any boundary around Coonawarra has to compromise something, yet it is important for the image of the Australian wine industry that the best compromise be reached, and quickly. Simply put, the debate has gone on for long enough and the longer it takes to fix it, the more complicated it is becoming to find the elusive solution. Coonawarra is well known for its consistent and even climate, its broad expanses of mechanised vineyards, but most importantly for its soil type, the terra rosa about which we all hear so much. At best a half-metre-thin cover over a hard limestone crust, itself over a thick layer of calcareous clay, Coonawarra’s red soil has an indistinct border with surrounding soil types. Some people would be surprised to learn of the extent to which other soil types pervade the planted area. But there’s little argument: the red soil is a marketable commodity and it is directly associated with the name of Coonawarra. But the issue cannot be decided upon by soil alone. History rears its head, with some justification. The original area within which growers could use the name of Coonawarra was, for better or for worse, delineated by two local government boundaries, the Hundreds of Comaum and Penola, two rectangular blocks on a map laid northwards of Penola itself. Regardless of soil types, those vineyards within this area which have always been called ‘Coonawarra’ still deserve that right, so the present Coonawarra winemakers believe. Any answer must include a political component. The Coonawarra Grapegrowers Committee, a subcommittee of the Viticultural Council of South-East South Australia, submitted a proposed border for Coonawarra to the GIC late last year. The line included all those vineyards existent in the two Hundreds at the time of submission, but represents a smaller area than the two Hundreds themselves, within whose borders the new Coonawarra boundaries would entirely lie. On the western edge the proposed line extends beyond the railway which runs approximately north-south to the east of the Coonawarra township, while a slight eastern blip takes into account the vineyard developed by Wynns winemaker, Peter Douglas. Petaluma’s Sharefarmers development, itself in the Hundred of Joanna, has never formally been given ‘Coonawarra’ status. It is not included in the submission, although it lies directly adjacent to the border with the Hundred of Comaum. Imperative to the submission is that nobody is being left out of the original designated Coonawarra region. Petaluma’s ‘Evans’ vineyard is an undisputed inclusion in the submission. Making the process more complicated is the small number of outcrops of similar soils close to the Coonawarra township, whose climatic conditions are virtually identical to those of the established vineyard strip. The St Marys Vineyard is around 15-17km from the Coonawarra township, yet is located on the next limestone ‘ridge’ westwards from that on which the Coonawarra vineyards are more or less established. Presently an isolated vineyard, St Marys has no appellation as such, since a minimum of five wineries or a total crush of 500 tonnes is required for the granting of an independent approved sub-regional name. Mildara Blass own a 180 acre vineyard at Robertson’s Well, a large landholding in the Hundred of Joanna, north of Coonawarra. The company has used the Robertson’s Well name for a branded Coonawarra cabernet sauvignon and a multi-regional chardonnay, which is not branded as a Coonawarra wine. Mildara Blass has no intention of changing the receipe for the Robertson’s Well red, which will always be sourced from its Coonawarra vineyards. The new vineyard is largely intended to supply wines for export. The company is also an equal partner in a 600 acre development at Koppamurra, around 35 km from the Coonawarra township. The long-established ‘Riddoch Estate’, formerly owned by Patrick Pender, is a small development which has traditionally used the Coonawarra name for its wine. Planted on soils which bear some resemblance to those of Coonawarra, it is not found within the official submission. It will do the Coonawarra name the power of good to have this issue resolved quickly, although it is perhaps fanciful to imagine that a solution will be achieved without a further negotiation. Given the importance of Coonawarra to consumers of Australian wine all over the world, let’s hope that clear heads prevail.
