Heathcote geology; vineyard locations by VineFinders

Heathcote is a wine-growing region of Victoria known for its deep, red soil, which produces highly-regarded shiraz grapes. A map of the region’s geology presents a mystery, in that the Cambrian bedrock —from which this rich, red soil comes— does not actually underlie the vineyards. In fact, the Cambrian rock on the ridgeline has been eroding for millions of years under the forces of wind and rain, delivering the region’s characteristic soil to the vineyards below. The map illustrates this relationship using black dots to represent the vineyards and the brown on the ridge to represent the Cambrian sedimentary rock.