Barossa Fun Facts

• It was supposed to be named Barrosa, after a town in Spain, but there was an error and it ended up being named Barossa.
• A surveyor, Colonel William Light named the Barossa Valley in 1837.
• Barossa Valley has 7 towns and the three main towns in the region are Nuriootpa, Tanunda and Angaston.
• Settlers from England and Germany first came to Bethany in 1842 and the first settlers to arrive are from Germany, hence Barossa Valley has a lot of German heritage.
• The Barossa Valley is famous for producing world class wine from shiraz grapes.
• The total vineyard area is 11,156ha.
• The Barossa Valley Vintage Festival, which started in 1947 and held biennially since 1965, is the longest running community festival in South Australia and even entire Australia.
• Barossa Valley is often called “Australia’s most famous wine region”.
• The climate in the valley is often hot and dry and rainfall is minimal all throughout the year and of course this is desirable for winemakers as too much rainfall can lead to oversaturated grapes and thin wines.
• Barossa Valley has some of the world’s oldest vines dating back to 1850s.