Yarra Valley Wine Region

The Yarra Valley sits an hour east of Melbourne, in hilly country between the city and the Great Dividing Range. It is cool by Australian standards, which suits Pinot Noir and Chardonnay and makes it one of the country's main sources of traditional-method sparkling wine; a French Champagne house set up here in the 1980s and others followed. Vines were first planted in the 1830s, gave way entirely to dairy farming by 1937, and were replanted from the 1960s. The valley has grown a food economy alongside the wine, with cheese makers, berry farms, cider and produce stalls along the roads between Coldstream, Yarra Glen and Healesville. Balloons go up over the valley floor at dawn on still mornings.

History

The Yarra Valley was Victoria's first wine region: the Ryrie brothers, bringing cattle south from Sydney, planted a vineyard at Yering Station in 1838, the Swiss-born Paul de Castella took it over in 1850 and made it the centre of the district, and in 1863 Hubert de Castella founded St Huberts and Frédéric Guillaume de Pury Yeringberg; in 1889 Yering Station won the grand prix at the Exposition Universelle in Paris. Economic decline, the threat of phylloxera and changing tastes followed, and by 1937 the valley had turned entirely to dairy farming, until Reg Egan founded Wantirna Estate in 1963, the botanist Bailey Carrodus planted Yarra Yering in 1969, the critic James Halliday founded Coldstream Hills in 1985, and Moët & Chandon opened Domaine Chandon in 1986 (Wikipedia, Yarra Valley wine region).

What to look for

• The sparkling houses - traditional-method producers using the cool climate for base wine.
• Pinot Noir and Chardonnay cellar doors - the region's two serious varieties, tasted across a range of sites.
• The valley food producers - cheese, berries, cider and preserves sold at farm gates between the vineyards.
• The wildlife sanctuary at Healesville - a long-established collection of native Australian animals at the valley's edge.

When to go

Autumn, roughly March to May, brings the vintage and colour on the vines. Spring is green and quiet. Winter is cold, wet and often foggy, which suits a fire and a tasting room but not a full day outdoors. Weekends are much busier than weekdays and popular cellar doors take bookings. Balloon flights go at dawn and cancel readily in wind.

Things to know

Being an hour from a large city means weekend traffic, coach groups and bridal parties, and some cellar doors feel like function venues. Tasting fees are normal. The valley is spread out and a designated driver or a tour is essential given strict enforcement. Winter fog can sit all day and hide the views entirely. It is scenic rather than dramatic, and visitors expecting European vineyard landscapes leave flat.

Nearby

The Dandenong Ranges, the Healesville sanctuary and the forests toward Marysville.