Wine regions

The process of formally mapping Australia's wine regions is all but complete, although will never come to a complete halt - for one thing, climate change is lurking in the wings. The division into states, zones, regions and subregions follows; those regions or subregions marked with an asterisk are not yet registered, and may never be, but are in common usage. I have given up any attempt to make sense of the Hunter Valley Zone. Thus you will find no mention of the Lower Hunter Valley, in its place simply Hunter Valley.

I am still in front of the game with Tasmania, dividing it into Northern, Southern and East Coast, and, to a lesser degree, have anticipated that the Darling Downs and coastal hinterland region of Queensland will seek recognition under this or some similar name. In similar vein, I have included Ballarat (with 16 wineries); the promising Mount Gambier district, which has already produced a trophy-winning Pinot Noir and excellent Sauvignon Blanc (four wineries); and the equally promising Southern Eyre Peninsula (three wineries).

An intriguing addition is the proposed Mountain Foothills GI, not as a subregion of Orange, but a region in its own right (its original application was as a subregion to be called Orange Foothills).