COONAWARRA, SOUTH AUSTRALIA

This acclaimed wine region goes all-out during a month-long celebration of cabernet sauvignon.

Golden soil might get its own line in our national anthem but it doesn’t hold a candle to the world-renowned terra rossa (Latin for “red earth”) that runs through the Coonawarra wine region on South Australia’s Limestone Coast. The viticultural equivalent of striking oil, this 25-kilometre strip of nutrient-dense topography near the Victoria border has yielded some of our nation’s greatest wealth for toil: big, bold cabernet sauvignons that hold their own – and their age – against some of the best in the world.

Never is the region’s varietal pride more evident than during October, when spring heralds the Coonawarra Cabernet Celebrations. Established almost 20 years ago, the program evolved to its month-long format in 2015 and now attracts close to 10,000 oenophiles each year. With more than 70 experiences wedged into 31 sun-soaked days, a highlight – and festival organiser Ockert Le Roux’s favourite – is the Coonawarra Regional Cabernet Decade[nce] event. “It showcases the exceptional ageability of our cabernet,” says the Coonawarra Vignerons executive officer. “It’s a combined tasting experience and we invite a number of wineries to showcase their current-release cabernet sauvignon alongside a back-vintage wine of at least 10 years. Hosted by Hollick Estates and paired with a gourmet dinner, it’s really a very special evening.”

Other opportunities to indulge include a collaboration between Rymill Coonawarra winery, Mayura Station and Pirate Life Brewery, where guests will enjoy a four-course dinner championing Mayura’s full-blood Wagyu, paired with wine and craft beer. Families aren’t forgotten, either: the Nature Play sessions at Bellwether give parents the chance to indulge in a wine flight on the deck while the kids explore a tree house in an ancient red gum or feed Gerado, the resident donkey.