Western Victoria">Victoria is a viticultural zone located, rather obviously, in the western half of Victoria, in eastern Australia. To be more accurate, and to fit more completely with its Northern neighbor, North West Victoria, the zone is better described as South West Victoria. The zone's finer viticultural land is located away from the coastline on the northern edge of the zone, where the Henty, Grampians and Pyrenees wine regions are located.
The Western Victoria zone encompasses the historic cities of Ballarat and Ararat, with their traditional streets of Victorian buildings which tell of the region's gold-mining history.
To the west are the jagged peaks of the Grampians National Park, while to the north lie the gentler slopes of the misleadingly-named Pyrenees.
South and west of Ballarat are expansive coastal plains, which reach right to the Southern Ocean coastline. They culminate in the Great Otway National Park and the Otway Ranges, which lead up to the southern edge of Long">Geelong. This southern end of the zone experiences lower temperatures and higher rainfall than almost any Part of Victoria, and is not known for its wineries.
The northern part of the zone, however, has a warmer, drier Climate and has long proved itself as a wine-producing area with production dating back to the 1850s.
The long-established western Victorian vineyards of Seppelt and Best's have been joined in recent decades by a New raft of boutique wineries, nearly all producing cool climate styles as this is one of Australia's coldest viticultural zones. Sparkling wine has been a major specialty for the zone. It was in the Grampians' Great Western sub-region that the iconic sparkling Shiraz wine style was first developed back in the 1890s.
Merlot noir is a grape variety that originated in France (Bordeaux). It produces a variety of grape specially used for wine making. It is rare to find this grape to eat on our tables. This variety of grape is characterized by small to medium sized bunches, and medium sized grapes. Merlot noir can be found in many vineyards: South West, Languedoc & Roussillon, Cognac, Bordeaux, Loire Valley, Armagnac, Burgundy, Jura, Champagne, Rhone Valley, Beaujolais, Provence & Corsica, Savoie & Bugey.
red wines from the region of Western Victoria go well with generally quite well with dishes of beef, lamb or game (deer, venison) such as recipes of homemade italian lasagna, lamb tagine with peppers and artichoke bottoms or roast duck breast stuffed with foie gras confit.
On the nose in the region of Western Victoria often reveals types of flavors of black fruit, red fruit or earth and sometimes also flavors of vegetal, spices or oak. In the mouth in the region of Western Victoria is a powerful with a nice balance between acidity and tannins.
When I started my nomadic winemaking project, in 2018 at Niepoort Vinhos in Portugal’s Douro region, I had no idea how large a part Spain would go on to play – I certainly never intended to make it the locus of my project. So how did it happen? Yes, there was an element of chance and taking opportunities where they arose. But also, among the talented winemakers to whom I pitched collaborations, I sensed an openness and a readiness to collaborate which seemed particular to Spain. Held in June las ...
After a three-year hiatus, the Decanter Fine Wine Encounter London returned with a bang on Saturday 5 November for its 25th anniversary, and what an iconic wine tasting experience it was for everyone that attended. We were reminded of the joy that comes with shared experiences, of the collective passion for fine wine, and we are grateful to everyone, including our prestigious producers, wine experts, and valued attendees, who came together to create this incredible day. See photo highlights from ...
A delegation of wine producers from Victoria’s King Valley met with members of the Australian parliament in Canberra to reinforce their campaign to maintain access to the Prosecco name. Their visit follows fresh talks between Australia and the EU on a possible free trade deal, which may impact who gets to use the term Prosecco for sparkling wines in the Australian market. A spokesperson for Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade told the Sydney Morning Herald that EU negotiato ...
