More wineries to be permitted in the Adelaide Hills

More wineries will be permitted in the Adelaide Hills region under proposed new changes that the state government says will further establish South Australia as the ‘wine state’. The government has announced it will be consulting on possible changes to planning rules to allow further ‘controlled, safe growth of best-practice wineries, cellar-doors, and associated restaurants’ in the Adelaide Hills and surrounds.

In 2001 the Government prevented the further growth of wineries in sensitive areas of the Adelaide Hills area – particularly in the Mount Lofty Ranges Watershed area, pending studies on the potential impact of wineries on the water supply. Currently only ten wineries are allowed in this area, with eight already established.