Vinehealth Australia has analysed key changes to South Australian vineyard plantings between 1 May 2023 and 30 April 2024, based on the data held in the Register of all vineyards of 0.5 hectares or larger.
At 30 April, 76% of the state’s area under vine was planted to red winegrape varieties and 24% to white winegrape varieties. This colour split has remained similar for the past five years (Figure 1). Varieties planted for wine production comprise 99.8% of total planted vineyard area on the Register.
Shiraz remains the most widely planted variety with 28,000 hectares under vine, followed by Cabernet Sauvignon with 17,000 hectares and Chardonnay with 8,000 hectares. These three varieties comprise 72.8% of the state’s total vineyard area.
The area of each grapevine variety on the Register at 30 April 2024, compared to the same time in 2023, has highlighted some notable changes. The largest positive change in vine area by variety was in Pinot Noir (+136 ha), followed by Sauvignon Blanc (+86 ha) and then Grenache (+61 ha) and Pinot Gris (+57 ha).
Pinot Noir and Grenache have been the only two varieties to see a year-on-year positive change in area over the past four years, which placed them within the top five highest changes in each of those years. The past year was the first time in the last four years that there was a positive change in Sauvignon Blanc area under vine on the Register, big enough to place it in the top five for the year (Table 1).
The largest negative change in hectares by variety over the past year has been in Cabernet Sauvignon (-624 ha) followed by Shiraz (-359 ha) and Merlot (-197 ha) (Table 2). Considering the large areas planted to these varieties across the state, however, the area change in the last year only represents a very small percentage change for each of these three key varieties. The negative changes are likely indicative of current oversupply in red winegrapes.
Chardonnay has been the only variety in each of the last four years to see a year-on-year negative change that has placed it within the top five negative changes in each of those years; however, Chardonnay is still by far the most widely planted white varietal in the state.
The decreasing favour of red winegrapes has been evident over the past four years. The number of white varieties that have made the top five largest positive changes in area has increased from zero to three over the past four years (Table 1). On the other hand, the number of white varieties that have made the top five largest negative changes in area has decreased from five down to one over the past four years (Table 2).
Note: the varietal area changes reported above were those identified by comparing the planting areas on the Register as at 30 April each year. The historical data sets included in this analysis have not been adjusted to reflect any new vine plantings or vine removals that occurred in these years but were not advised at the time and then subsequently reported in a future year. Accordingly, there may be some discrepancy between varietal planting changes reported above, compared to that reported in the South Australian Winegrape Crush Survey.
Table 1. Top 5 varieties for each of the past four years that show the largest positive change in planted area on the South Australian Register.
| 30 April 2021 | 30 April 2022 | 30 April 2023 | 30 April 2024 | ||||
| Variety | Ha | Variety | Ha | Variety | Ha | Variety | Ha |
| Shiraz | 341 | Shiraz | 102 | Fiano | 38 | Pinot Noir | 136 |
| Cabernet Sauvignon | 135 | Grenache | 57 | Pinot Noir | 23 | Sauvignon Blanc | 86 |
| Grenache | 36 | Pinot Noir | 35 | Pinot Gris | 14 | Grenache | 61 |
| Mataro | 12 | Black Corinth | 21 | Grenache | 13 | Pinot Gris | 57 |
| Pinot Noir | 12 | Fiano | 17 | Sangiovese | 13 | Fiano | 36 |
Table 2. Top 5 varieties for each of the past four years that show the largest negative change in planted area on the South Australian Register.
| 30 April 2021 | 30 April 2022 | 30 April 2023 | 30 April 2024 | ||||
| Variety | Ha | Variety | Ha | Variety | Ha | Variety | Ha |
| Chardonnay | (145) | Chardonnay | (98) | Cabernet Sauvignon | (241) | Cabernet Sauvignon | (624) |
| Sauvignon Blanc | (53) | Cabernet Sauvignon | (91) | Shiraz | (133) | Shiraz | (359) |
| Semillon | (32) | Merlot | (70) | Merlot | (69) | Merlot | (197) |
| Muscat Gordo Blanco | (28) | Semillon | (34) | Chardonnay | (45) | Chardonnay | (130) |
| Colombard | (26) | Colombard | (32) | Muscat Gordo Blanco | (28) | Petit Verdot | (44) |