Southern New South Wales is an Australian wine zone covering a roughly rectangular area around the capital, Canberra. Stretching for approximately 100 miles (160km) North and south of Canberra, the zone reaches right down to the southern edge of New South Wales, where it meets the eastern edge of Victoria">Victoria. Although not traditionally known as a source of prime Australian wines, the zone is home to some of the country's most promising new wine regions, often producing cooler Climate wines from relatively high altitude Vineyards.
As a Young wine region Australia's most popular Grape varieties dominate its vineyard inventory.
Shiraz, Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon have led the way in the early years of the 21st century, with Shiraz increasing its dominance. As with the whole of New South Wales, Aromatic whites Viognier and Verdelho are growing in popularity here, with Verdelho plantings in particular increasing more than tenfold.
Canberra, the Australian administrative capital since it was sited, designed and constructed in the early 20th Century, gained its own wine-specific GI (Geographical Indication) in February 1998. Its GI covers the entire Canberra District but also contiguous parts of New South Wales, which surrounds the Australian Capital Territory.
Lying at the Center of southern New South Wales, this area is by far the most densely populated but by no means the most densely planted, producing only a small percentage of the zone's annual output.
Tumbarumba lies 120 kilometers (75 miles) south-west of Canberra, near the New South Wales border with Victoria. Here, on the inland edge of the southern Great Dividing Range, the climate is considerably drier than further east, with a classic continental climate. A northern section of the Australian Alps, the hills here are known as the Snowy Mountains; most Tumbarumba vineyards lie between 300 and 800 meters (1000 and 2600ft), making this one of Australia's most promising cooler viticultural regions.
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.
