Big Rivers is a GI (Geographical Indication) created in 1996 which refers to several Australian wine regions in western NewSouthWales and northwestern Victoria. The entire southwestern quarter of New South Wales is covered by the zone, whose name is a reference to the famous Murray and Darling rivers and the lesser-known Lachlan and Murrumbidgee Rivers (the latter means Big Water in the local Aboriginal language). Big Rivers measures 650 kilometers (400 miles) across, and produces around 75 percent of New South Wales' wine, and is one of Australia's most prolific wine-producing areas.
Riverina is the largest of Big Rivers' four wine regions.
This vast, almost perfectly square area covers 4000 square miles (10,360 square km) of central-southern New South Wales. It is a reliable source of many millions of hectoliters of wine every Vintage, most of which is from high-yielding vines and is destined for sale in bulk. At the centre of Riverina is the well-known wine production town of Griffith.
The second-largest region is Murray Darling, which stretches from the Victorian border with South Australia in the west, to Balranald in NSW in the east.
Perricoota occupies a southern enclave of New South Wales and is small compared to its huge Big Rivers neighbors. Finally, Swan Hill, like Murray Darling, straddles the New South Wales-Victoria border.
It is difficult to usefully describe the growing conditions of such a large area, but the general pattern involves a continental Climate, hot and Dry with low rainfall. This leaves Big Rivers relatively free of fungal diseases that might otherwise reduce the region's all-important yields.
Cabernet Franc is one of the oldest red grape varieties in Bordeaux. The Libourne region is its terroir where it develops best. The terroirs of Saint-Emilion and Fronsac allow it to mature and develop its best range of aromas. It is also the majority in many blends. The very famous Château Cheval Blanc, for example, uses 60% Cabernet Franc. The wines produced with Cabernet Franc are medium in colour with fine tannins and subtle aromas of small red fruits and spices. When blended with Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, it brings complexity and a bouquet of aromas to the wine. It produces fruity wines that can be drunk quite quickly, but whose great vintages can be kept for a long time. It is an earlier grape variety than Cabernet Sauvignon, which means that it is planted as far north as the Loire Valley. In Anjou, it is also used to make sweet rosé wines. Cabernet Franc is now used in some twenty countries in Europe and throughout the world.
wines from the region of Big Rivers go well with generally quite well with dishes of beef, pasta or lamb such as recipes of millet with gruyere cheese, capellini with vegetables or irish stew with beer.
Charles Lamboley, marketing and communication director from Vignerons des Terres Secrètes, explains the differences between the appellation Mâcon-Villages and Mâcon plus a geographical denomination. This video is taken from the “Rendez-vous avec les vins de Bourgogne” program (March 2020). The Bourgogne Wine Board (BIVB) invites you to enjoy this video in which Jean-Pierre Renard, Expert Instructor at the Ecole des Vins de Bourgogne, explains the topographical and geological characteristics of t ...
Nicolas Ferrari, from Domaine Ferrari, explains how the Irancy Village appellation has been created over the years. He also reveal the ageing capacity of the appellation and invites us to be patient “ Our patience is always rewarded with an Irancy”. This video is taken from the “Rendez-vous avec les vins de Bourgogne” program (June 2020). Our social media: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BourgogneWines Twitter: https://twitter.com/BourgogneWines/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vin ...
Sequence from the video « At the heart of the Mâcon terroir » which offer a stroll at the heart of the Mâcon terroir. It offers a focus on Mâcon-Milly-Lamartine, one of the 27 geographical denominations of the Mâcon appellation. Travel through the terroirs of the Mâcon appellation by watching the full video : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GF20y1aBZh8 Both are available in French and English. Our social media: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BourgogneWines Twitter: https://twitter.com/Bour ...
