Victoria

Victorian section of Dan Murphy's

The state of cool

With over 800 wineries, 650 cellar doors and 3,000 growers, Victoria boasts more wine regions and wineries than any other state. Such diversity spreads from the Murray Darling in the north all the way to Gippsland in the south east. Plantings began in the Yarra Valley as early as the 1830’s, and by the 1890’s produced more than half of Australia’s wine. The great Phylloxera epidemic of the late 1800’s virtually destroyed the Victorian wine industry and it didn’t fully recover until the 1950’s. Since that time Victoria has staked a claim to be the benchmark for ‘cool climate wine styles’ the envy of the rest of the country.

Chardonnay, Pinot and Shiraz…

Due to such vineyard diversity, wine styles vary considerably across the state. These include:

  • Lusciously sweet and opulent Muscats and Topaque wines from the north east at Rutherglen;
  • Elegantly balanced Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays from the Mornington Peninsula;
  • Spicy and white pepper dominated Shiraz originating from the Grampians, and;
  • All the way down to the south west and Henty’s bracing mineral Rieslings

The cuisine capital

Melbourne has long been considered the capital of food and wine culture in Australia, served by its many fine Victorian producers. The city’s cosmopolitan melting pot has nurtured an appreciation for matching of fine food and fine wine for many decades. This culture is not confined to the Melbourne CBD, and can be tasted in the many world-class restaurants attached to wineries across the state. Fine examples exist especially in the Yarra Valley and Mornington Peninsula where Yering Station, De Bortoli, Ten Minutes by Tractor and countless others provide a first class dining experience.

While some regions can require an extended drive, the Yarra Valley and both Mornington and Bellarine Peninsulas are only an hour away from Melbourne.

The Regions

a picture of the Yarra Valley

Yarra Valley

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a picture of the Mornington Peninsula

Mornington Peninsula

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a picture of the grapes in the King Valley, one of Victoria's emerging regions

Vic Emerging Regions

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