Victorian wine

Victorian wine is

Some of the earliest commercial plantings in Victoria were near Yering and established by Hubert de Castella, a Swiss immigrant who came to the region in 1854. The devastation of France's vineyards by the phylloxera aphid opened up an opportunity to capture the British wine market which traditionally depended on French wine. In his 1886 treatise, John Bull's Vineyard, Castella ambitiously laid out his plans for Victoria to produce enough wine to supply all of England's needs. Unfortunately, before his grand plan could be fully realized, phylloxera made its own way to Australia and the viticultural setback was compounded with the development of the domestic temperance movement, as well as economic uncertainty and labor shortages during the first World War.^[1]

Early in Victoria's wine history, most of the wine industry was settled in the cool southern coastal regions around Melbourne and Geelong. At the turn of the 20th century, focus began to move to the warmer north-eastern zone around Rutherglen. The region began to establish a reputation for its sweet, fortified wines made from late harvest grapes that are shrivelled to near raisins and then spend several months (or years) aging in oak barrels stored inside a hot tin shed that acts like an oven. The unique nature of these Liqueur Muscat and Liqueur Tokay styles helped sustain that part of the Victoria wine industry until the country-wide wine renaissance of the 1950s & 1960s.^[1]

Wine regions

Since the 1960s, Australia's labeling laws have centered on an appellation system that distinguishes the geographic origins of the grape. Under these laws at least 85% of the grapes must be from the region that is designated on the wine label. In the late 1990s more definitive boundaries were established that divided Australia up into Geographic Indications (GI) known as zones, regions and subregions.^[2] The wine zones of Victoria are Central Victoria, North East Victoria, North West Victoria, Western Victoria, Port Phillip and Gippsland.^[1]

Gippsland is one of the newest and least developed wine regions in Victoria. Serious planting did not begin till the late 1970s. Located to the east of the Mornington Peninsula, the region is current dominated with Pinot noir and Chardonnay plantings.^[3] Sparkling wine has shown some potential here with the Chardonnay and Pinot noir grapes showing a bit of spiciness that adds complexity to the wine.^[4]

Central Victoria

• alcohol levels around 14-15%.^[1]
• Bendigo was historically a part of the Heathcote region but has since distinguished itself with its Cabernet Sauvignon.^[1]
• Goulburn Valley wine region stretches. from Seymour to Echuca on the Murray River, is the oldest continuously producing Victorian wine region and has been producing Shiraz, most notably at Tahbilk, since 1860. Marsanne, Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay are also widely planted.^[1]
• Beechworth. The region is known primarily for its Chardonnay, Riesling, Gewürztraminer, Pinot gris and Viognier.^[1]

• subalpine climate.^[3]
• Ovens Valley receive more rainfall and cooler temperatures. The first record of plantings in this area date to 1851 and by the 1870s, this was Australia's largest wine-producing area.^[4]
• Mondeuse, Petit Manseng, Sagrantino, Saperavi and Tannat.^[1] Post-war Italian immigration to the area led to a range of grape varietals being grown that reflected the heritage of the new arrivals. In particular, Prosecco and Sangiovese were pioneered in this region. The region is located on mountainous terrain, with a range of soil types fed by the clear King River, and receives varying degrees of rainfall depending on the location. The Brown Brothers Milawa Vineyard was established here in 1889.^[4]

• Murray Darling
• Swan Hill

Western Victoria

The geography of Western Victoria covers flat

• Grampians, with its sub region Great Western, is generally a cooler climate red wine-producing region known for juicy berry fruit Shiraz and Cabernets with distinctive eucalyptus and spice.^[1] The area has experienced some success with Riesling and sweet sparkling wine.^[3]
• Semillon, and Sauvignon blanc.^[1]
• Pinot Gris^[4] amongst others. Sauvignon Blanc from this region has a distinctive flinty dryness that is found underneath layers of tropical fruits
  .

The Port Phillip zone includes the five regions clustered around Melbourne. The climate of this more closely resembles Bordeaux than in other Australia wine regions yet it is more thoroughly planted with Burgundy wine varieties like a Pinot noir and Chardonnay. Other areas are planted with Shiraz.^[1]

• Moët et Chandon opening up Domaine Chandon Australia and producing wine under the Green Point label.^[3] The first vineyards were believed to have been planted here in the late 1830s and by the end of the 19th century, wines from the Yarra Valley were winning gold medals at European wine competitions. In the 1970s, the region experienced its own renaissance and has leveraged its close location to Melbourne to become a tourist destination for wine. The warmer climate of the Valley has shown itself suitable for Shiraz and Cabernet and has shown promise for Roussanne, Marsanne, Sauvignon blanc and Pinot gris.^[4]
• Macedon Ranges is known for its Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot wines.^[1] The area sits on predominately granite based soils that has shown some promise for the sparkling wine varieties of Pinot noir and Chardonnay. Some Shiraz wines from this region have developed cult status due to their reputation for powerful fruit, spice and soft tannins.^[4]
• Sunbury is located north-west of Melbourne and has been producing Shiraz since 1872. Is known particularly now for its Shiraz-Viognier blends that are more terroir driven than New World.^[1]
• Port Phillip Bay and has been achieving international recognition for the quality of its Pinot noir, Chardonnay, Riesling and Viognier.^[3] As one of mainland Australia's most southernly wine regions, vineyards around Geelong enjoy a long growing season influenced by maritime conditions. This helps the grape develop a complexity of flavours and depth in character for the resulting wines.^[4]
• Mornington Peninsula is located south across Port Phillip Bay from Geelong and shares a similar reputation for Pinot noir and Chardonnay but has been developing its plantings of Pinot gris.^[3] The area has a marginal climate that is influenced by maritime conditions across the hilly terrain. There are five "unofficial" sub districts on the Peninsula-Dromana, Main Ridge, Merricks, Moorooduc and Red Hill. The region is known for its medium bodied, dry wines and sparkling wines that show structure and complexity. The still wine versions of Chardonnay reflect a diversity of styles, from unoaked examples to others which have undergone fermentation and aging in new oak, in part or in total. Flavours range from citrus and white stone fruit characters to more tropical fruit flavours.^[4]

See also

• Australian wine

References

Citations