EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The proposed Geographic Indication "Shoalhaven Coast" occupies a narrow strip (nowhere more than 35 Km wide) on the southern coast of New South Wales. The area is bounded generally to the north by the northern limit of the Shoalhaven River catchment area, to the east by the Pacific Ocean, to the west by an irregular escarpment forming the eastern edge of the Great Divide and, to the south, by the southern margin of the regionally significant geological feature known as the Sydney Basin.

The geology of the region is dominated by sandy and silty sediments of the Permo-Triassic Sydney Basin that produce soils generally of moderate fertility with areas of more fertile soil overlying localised volcanic bedrock. The climate and erosional characteristics have combined to produce limited topsoil profiles underlain by clay at no great depth. The climate of the region is typically warm maritime with mean January temperatures in the 20 - 220C range, a low and consistent mean annual (temperature) range, a relatively low number of cloud-free days and a high relative humidity.

The traditional uses of the area have been timber-getting and dairying, with tourism now a major economic factor.

The proposed GI name has no prior traditional use. However the region is approximately coincident with the Shoalhaven City Council area, but also including a small portion of the Kiama area to the north that is the northerly extension of the coastal drainage basin of the Shoalhaven River. Winegrape growing and winemaking have been established around Nowra and Berry for more than a decade and the area has traditionally been known as the “Shoalhaven”. However with the growth of the industry taking it beyond traditional borders there is now a need to recognise, in the name, the wider geographic spread of the grape-growing attributes of the Shoalhaven region.