Kangaroo Island is one of South Australia’s most renowned tourism destinations, well loved domestically and internationally. Its wild Southern Ocean environment is a major attraction, remote, unspoiled and
invigorating for the soul. Its food and wine go hand in hand with such a pristine reputation.
Kangaroo Island is, surprisingly for many, a recognised wine region – one of 18 official geographical indicators in South Australia alone. The appellation takes in the whole island, which measures 155km east to west and 55km north to south, though just 144 hectares are reported planted to wine grapes, yielding a tiny crush recorded in 2024 by Vinehealth Australia of only 127 tonnes in close to a 2:1 ration of reds to whites. Mind you, only four producers responded to this year’s annual survey, so the figures might not accurately reflect the real amounts.
For comparison’s sake, Kangaroo Island is just a small player in the numbers game. McLaren Vale, for instance, had 7383 hectares under vines and crushed more than 28,000 tonnes in 2024. Langhorne Creek 23,000 tonnes from 5777 hectares. Most of the vineyards are situated from the central districts, southwest of the main town Kingscote, through to the eastern Dudley Peninsula. The aforementioned wild ocean surrounding the island is the major influence on the growing conditions across the board, essentially creating a cooling effect and lengthened ripening period that benefits the quality of the fruit. However, significant differences in topography, soil types, weather patterns, and rainfall impact fruit variation and wine styles. Irrigation, if used, depends on surface water dams.
There also are specific challenges to the Kangaroo Island appellation, with major threats to grapes of possums and birds – crows and eagles especially – forcing growers into total netting regimes. The logistics of being remote from the mainland is a major cost imposition, though the bigger producers remain committed because they have great faith in the region’s qualities.
The maritime climate benefits the Bordeaux varieties such as Cabernets Sauvignon and Franc, the latter championed by The Islander Estate Vineyard’s Yale Norris. He also considers Semillon as the best white on the island, which he crafts as a single variety style and in a ‘Bordeaux blend’ with Sauvignon Blanc.
Joch Bosworth from Springs Road considers the island’s Chardonnay to be a genuine star, while his two traditional red varieties, Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz, sit in a style space he describes as ‘between McLaren Vale and the Adelaide Hills’. He notes that there’s a distinctive dried herb character in his reds.
The key factor to emphasise is that there is a growing legitimacy to the region as respected producers attract increased attention through improved wine quality, and so add to wine tourism opportunities on the island. Another project, known as Guroo Wines, instigated by Stoke Wines’ proprietor Nick Dugmore, has invited respected winemakers such as Charlotte Hardy (Charlotte Dalton Wines), Stephen George of Ashton Hills fame, and Sue Bell from Bellwether Wines in the Coonawarra to work with Kangaroo Island fruit to highlight its qualities to a wider audience.
While small in stature, the wine identity of Kangaroo Island is gathering momentum. Everyone involved there accepts its logistical challenges, while noting the incredible potential for its wines to make a more celebrated mark in the island’s already high profile reputation.
