McLaren Vale, approximately 35 km directly south of the Adelaide CBD (), refers to the suburb of McLaren Vale (postcode 5171), the township of McLaren Vale (which has not been engulfed by urban sprawl due to the hilly terrain) and the wine region which lies mostly within the suburb's borders.

McLaren Vale was named after either David McLaren, the Colonial Manager of the South Australia Company or John McLaren (unrelated) who surveyed the area in 1839. Gloucester and Bellevue were established in the 1840s by British pioneers, the two villages eventually merging in 1923 and adopting the name of the valley. John Reynell and Thomas Hardy planted grape vines in 1838 and the present-day Seaview and Hardy wineries were in operation as early as 1850, although initially the region's main economic activity was the growing of cereal crops.

Today McLaren Vale has a population of about 2000 and is a popular tourist destination. The major industries are viticulture, winemaking and tourism.

External links

• McLaren Vale Wine, Grape & Tourism Association
• McLaren Vale Wineries
• South Australia Central
• South Australian Tourism Commission