Victoria Flashcards
climate
Cool on the coasts – breezes from antarctica (port phillip zone around melbourne on avg colder than bordeaux or brugundy in winter). More continental in inland zones of NE Victoria, NW Victoria and Central Victoria, w large diurnal shift
yarra valley
oldest wine region in victoria (notable producers, mount mary, and moet & chandon’s Australian Domain Chandon), known for pinot but also cab, chard and shiraz (often co-fermented with viognier)
mornington peninsula
south of melbourne, cold and windy. Pinot noir, pinot gris and chardonnay (too cool for cab sauv)
Murray Darling and Swan Hill
in NW Victoria, shared with NSW. Industrial sized vineyards, dominated by Chard and Shiraz.
Central Victoria
only slightly cooler – red grapes, particularily shiraz thrive here. Bendigo, Heathcote and Goulburn Valley Gis.
Tahbilk
producer in Nagambie Lakes subregion of Goulburn Valley (Central Victoria), protected its vineyards from the pest and today produces a flagship Shiraz from vines planted in 1860. The estate also boasts the oldest Marsanne vines in Australia, and possibly the world.
NE Victoria Zone
Rutherglen and Glenrowan are famous for sweet fortified wines. A fortified “Topaque” (formerly “Tokay”) style is produced from Muscadelle grapes. Rutherglen’s aged, fortified Brown Muscat (Muscat à Petits Grains Rouge) wines are incredibly rich, sweet, and raisinated, with the more mature wines displaying marked rancio character.
Muscat of Rutherglen Network
producers’ syndicate established in 1995, has developed a voluntary four-tier classification system for the wines based on age, sweetness, and complexity. The ages and residual sugar ranges for each category are indicative of each classification, but not absolute. Producers are responsible for classifying their own wines, based on taste alone, and member wines are denoted by the inclusion of a stylized “R” logo on the label.
