Wine Tasting In Australia – The Yarra Valley

I rarely post about anything not related to Domaining but I thought it would be fun to share my experiences today with all of my readers. I am currently in Melbourne Australia and while I have a hectic work schedule I had a chance to spend my Sunday wine tasting in the Yarra Valley just outside of Melbourne.

For those who don’t know, I absolutely love wine and really enjoy learning about wine from different parts of the world. I grew-up about 45-minutes outside of Napa and have been tasting in Napa Valley more times than I can count! Since I love wine and love sharing my experiences I thought I’d share just a little bit of what I learned today with all of you!

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While Australia is known for its Shiraz, the Yarra Valley is known for its Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The Yarra Valley is the leading cool climate Australian wine region and can thus produce a wide range of classic wine styles. The region is cooler than Bordeaux but warmer than Burgundy.

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The soil in the middle of the valley are ancient, mountain-derived sandy clay loams with bits of broken sandstone. Throughout the rest of the valley the soil is younger and highly friable.

It rains mostly during the winter and spring with a cool and dry summer. Harvest in the Yarra Valley usually begins in mid-March with Pinot Noir and ends with Cabernet Sauvignon in early May. The season itself lasts for around seven months.

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Today I had the chance to visit De Bortoli, Giant Steps, and Chandon (which has three other vineyards one of which is in Napa and I’ve been to many times!). At Chandon I liked the 08 Chardonnay the most, at Giant Steps the Merlot won me over and De Bortoli had a great Chardonnay but I can’t remember the year.

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Let me know if you like these kinds of posts as I’m happy to share my wine-tasting/travel adventures with all of you from time to time!

Morgan Linton

Morgan Linton