Yarra Valley: exploring this important Australian wine region
The Yarra Valley was for a long time the land of the Wurundjeri people, and the history of human occupation here goes back some 30 000 years. Wine didn’t come here until 1838, with a Scottish settler who planted vines on what is now Yering Station. But this was a region that fizzled out less than a century later.
In 1973, Dr Bailey Carrodus produced the first commercial vintage from the Yarra since 1922. His winery, Yarra Yering, has gone on to establish its reputation as one of Australia’s great small wineries. Dr Carrodus died in 2008, but his work has carried on and Yarra Yering is making wines in the same ageworthy style that he did.
Yarra Yering, weren’t alone in this Yarra revival. Guill de Pury resurrected Yeringberg, one of the region’s pioneering properties around the same time, planting 5 hectares of vines in 1969 and then beginning to make wine in 1974.
And then there’s another classic Australian winery that began at the same time. John Middleton was a medical man, and in 1971 he planted 25 acres of vines. Over a while he established a stellar reputation, with the winery’s small (3000 case) production selling out quickly each year.
Other pioneers of the Yarra revival include Peter McMahon (Seville Estate) and Reg Egan (Wanterna Estate).
So what happened to this wine region that caused a 50 year gap in production? Winegrowing in the Yarra suffered a downturn in fortunes, and the last big vineyards were pulled out in 1922. This was because Australia largely lost interest in table wines, opting for fortifieds and beer instead, coupled with the depression. Most of the vineyards were abandoned and the properties maintained for grazing.
Now this is one of Victoria’s most significant wine regions. It’s a great place for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay (by far the most widely planted grapes), but also has some warmer sites that suit other red varieties such as Shiraz and even Cabernet Sauvignon. They are coming more into play as it gets warmer.
Currently, there’s a real shortage of Chardonnay in the Yarra Valley. The emergence of phylloxera here has meant that there are 12000 hectares that need replanting in the next few years, and it’s going to cost a lot of money to do it. Chardonnay is in high demand, but for a while there will be a shortage. While some parts of the valley have become too warm for high-end Pinot Noir, Chardonnay is a bit more resilient in the face of rising temperatures.
Located east of Melbourne, within easy day-tripping or even commuting distance, this is quite a large region, with some climatic variation. The mean January temperature is 18.9 C, which is quite low for Australia’s wine regions, and there are just under 600 mm of growing season rainfall, making dry farming possible. The vineyard area is currently 2800 hectares.
Altitude and aspect are the main factors here for vineyard characters. The higher you go, the cooler it is, and altitude here ranges from 17 m to 1300 m, although vineyards aren’t planted this high.
There are some very exciting wines coming out of the Yarra, and I visited in November 2024 to find out more, supplementing my notes with further tastings in London.
YARRA VALLEY
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Oakridge
- 3 Tarrawarra
- 4 Jayden Ong Wines
- 5 Yarra Yering
- 6 Bobar with Tom Belford
- 7 Giant Steps
- 8 Mac Forbes
- 9 Rob Dolan
- 10 Timo Meyer
- 11 Luke Lambert
- 12 Other Yarra wines tasted
