Victorian Wine Regions

With 21 wine regions, Victoria is home to more regions, innovative wineries and distinct climates than any other state in Australia. In each Victorian wine region, there is unique soils, great winemakers and a production of wines that are as diverse and stunning as the regions.

Victoria’s First Wine Region…

Sitting along the Eastern side of Melbourne, the Yarra Valley hosts mountains on either side like a pair of welcoming, open arms as it follows the iconic Yarra River across the valley floor, connecting it all the way into the heart of Melbourne. First belonging to the Wurundjeri people, it is a traditional land of cultural significance that has now gone through vast agricultural expansions to give birth to one of Australia’s top wine regions. 

History

In 1838, the Yarra Valley became the site of Victoria’s first vineyard, Yering Station, as the vines were planted in the rich soils of the Valley. Between 1863 and 1875, the Kulin people transformed 4,850 acres of Coranderrk Station bushland into one of the most productive spots in the Yarra Valley, and by 1900 plantings reached over 400 hectares. Yet when the economic depression hit, production ceased for decades. This lull lasted until the late 1960s, where it was replanted and began to rebuild, with around 40 new wineries established in the 1990s. Today over eighty wineries present the Yarra Valley’s breadth and talent, producing wines that continue to push the limits on winemaking and bolster the region’s reputation for world-class quality.

Terroir

With over eighty vineyards dispersed throughout Healesville, Coldstream, Yarra Glen, Seville and Lilydale, the Yarra Valley is Australia’s premier cool-climate region. Being a cool climate region it is one of the southernmost appellations of the Australian mainland, and therefore exposed to Southern Ocean weather patterns. Alongside the weather, the variations in altitudes and soils throughout the Valley also ensures that the 2,800 hectares of vines in the region benefit from various unique microclimates. With a seven-month growing season and annual rainfall averaging between 550-750mm, the Yarra Valley is colder than Bordeaux but slightly warmer than Burgundy.

In the north, soil is grey-brown sandy loam with a mix of rocky clay sub-soil. Derived from the ancient sandstone of the Great Dividing Range. It’s relatively acidic, low in fertility and well drained. South of the Yarra Valley is younger and more fertile, featuring intensely red volcanic soil.

Varietals

Renowned for Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, and méthode traditionnelle sparkling, the Valley produces a stunning selection of wines. Pinot Noir is one of the premier red varieties of the region, ranging from light to medium-bodied with typical flavours of plum, strawberry and cherry. Alongside Pinot, the Chardonnay varietal grows just as successfully in the Yarra Valley’s cool climate. The resulting wines host typical flavours of white peach, melon and fig. 

What further sets the region apart is its Burgundian influence of Terroir, influencing winemakers across the Yarra Valley to focus on single vineyard production to showcase the difference in soils and vines between one plot and the next. In the Yarra, numerous producers make multiple single-vineyard Chardonnay and Pinot Noirs, far more than anywhere else in Australia.