Riverland South Australia

Samantha Payne explores a misunderstood wine region that’s earning international renown.

- Samantha Payne

Drive two hours north-east of Adelaide and you’ll find yourself in a wine region that crushes more than a quarter of Australia’s wine grapes each year. While it doesn’t boast the history of neighbouring Barossa, or have the flash of McLaren Vale, the Riverland’s contribution to Australian wine is no less important than its neighbours.

When you first look at the list of Riverland winemakers, it’s a Who’s Who of big names producing upwards of a half a million cases of wine annually, which often leads to the assumption that the region produces a high-volume of low-quality wine. This couldn’t be further from the truth. It’s this misconception (and very affordable land prices) that has led award-winning viticulturist Ashley Ratcliff to champion the region and build a groundswell of excitement about fruit from the Riverland for more than a decade.

Ratcliff makes wine under the Ricca Terra label, but also supplies fruit to wineries across the country – a process that he oversees closely to ensure quality. “We control every step of the process,” he says. “The vines are hand-pruned and grapes are handpicked.” This extra effort has gone a long way in changing attitudes towards Riverland fruit.