New South Wales

With 24% of Australia’s vineyards (40,000 ha) New South Wales is the country second largest wine-producing region notably in the zones of Riverina, Mudgee, Orange & the Hunter Valley. Only the Hunter Valley, & potentially Orange, could probably be considered fine wine regions.

Thanks to the Murrumbidgee (River) Irrigation Area, Riverina was turned from a dust bowl into a viticultural oasis from 1899 onwards; a process accelerated after WWII with the stream of Italian immigrants into the area. Vines account for approx 10,000 has, with grain, rice and vegetables also grown. While irrigation of the red loam ensures this region’s survival, unusual bursts of rainfall during the very hot growing season enable Sémillon to develop noble rot, the region’s most planted variety. Casella Wines (owner of ‘Yellow-tail’) are based here.

Orange is a small region with a fine wine opportunity. At 900-1100 metres it benefits from the cooling influence of Mount Canobolas (1400 metres), whose basalt and limestone soils favour light whites such as Chardonnay.

The best district is the Hunter Valley, 250km north of Sydney. It is very hot but frequent cloud cover softens the impact of the sun. Excellent Sémillon  wines are produced here as well as first-rate Shiraz.