Pyrenees (Victoria)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Pyrenees is a
wine-producing region This list of wine-producing regions catalogues significant growing regions where vineyards are planted. Wine grapes mostly grow between the 30th and the 50th degree of latitude, in both the Northern and Southern hemispheres. Grapes will sometimes ...
centred on the Pyrenees ranges located in
Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...
, Australia near the town of Avoca. The Pyrenees Ranges are at the southern end of The Great Dividing Range with altitudes ranging from 300 to over 750 m (approximately 980–2460 ft). Main peaks in the range include Mount Avoca (747 m) and Mount Warrenmang (537 m).


Exploration

The explorer and surveyor Thomas Mitchell was the first European recorded to have travelled through the district on his
1836 Events January–March * January 1 – Queen Maria II of Portugal marries Prince Ferdinand Augustus Francis Anthony of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. * January 5 – Davy Crockett arrives in Texas. * January 12 ** , with Charles Darwin on board, re ...
journey of exploration. The ranges reminded him of the
Pyrenees The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to ...
in Europe where he had served as an army officer, hence the name he gave them. He found the area more temperate in climate and better watered than inland New South Wales, and he encouraged settlers to take up land in the region he described as " Australia Felix".


Wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...

Vines were first planted in the region in
1858 Events January–March * January – ** Benito Juárez (1806–1872) becomes Liberal President of Mexico. At the same time, conservatives install Félix María Zuloaga (1813–1898) as president. ** William I of Prussia becomes regen ...
. Several wine growers produced and sold wine in the region in the late 1800s and early part of the twentieth century. The pioneer of the region Edwin Horatio Mackereth had his vineyard sold to a dairy farmer in 1929 by his descendants. Another early producer Kofoeds survived until 1947. The 1960s saw the re-establishment of vineyards in the area by Nathan & Wyeth in conjunction with the French Cognac producer
Rémy Martin Rémy Martin () is a French firm that primarily produces and sells cognac. Founded in 1724 and based in the commune of Cognac, it is among the oldest cognac producers still in existence. and one of the "big four" cognac houses (along with Henne ...
planting grapes in 1963. The official planting ceremony on 1 June 1963 included Victorian Government Minister for Lands, The Minister of State Development and Avoca Shire President. Since the 1970s the region has been a significant producer of full-bodied red wines based on
Shiraz Shiraz (; fa, شیراز, Širâz ) is the fifth-most-populous city of Iran and the capital of Fars Province, which has been historically known as Pars () and Persis. As of the 2016 national census, the population of the city was 1,565,572 p ...
and Cabernet Sauvignon grape varieties. The original eight wineries of the region in the 1970s and 1980s included: Chateau Rémy (now known as Blue Pyrenees Estate), Dalwhinnie Vineyard,
Mount Avoca Vineyard Mount Avoca Vineyard is an Organic certification, organic vineyard and five red star rated winery located in the Pyrenees (Victoria), Pyrenees Wine Region of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia near the town of Avoca, Victoria, Avoca produ ...
, Mountain Creek, Summerfield Vineyards, Redbank Winery (now known as Sally's Paddock), Taltarni Vineyards and Warrenmang Vineyard. Warrenmang bought Mountain Creek in the 1990s and the wineries of the region now number almost thirty with a second wave of plantings and investment in the 1990s. The original vineyards and wineries planted in the 1970 centred around the towns of Moonambel and Avoca. while the 1990s saw large vineyards planted in the Landsborough valley between Landsborough and Elmhurst. Plantings now extend from near
Waubra Waubra (formerly known as The Springs) is a town in Victoria, Australia. The town is on the Sunraysia Highway, north west of Ballarat and split between the Pyrenees Shire and City of Ballarat local government areas. At the , Waubra and the surr ...
in the south to St Arnaud in the north. The main white varieties planted include Sauvignon blanc, Chardonnay and Viognier with smaller plantings of Semillon and
Pinot Grigio Pinot Gris, Pinot Grigio (, ) or Grauburgunder is a white wine grape variety of the species ''Vitis vinifera''. Thought to be a mutant clone of the Pinot Noir variety, it normally has a grayish-blue fruit, accounting for its name, but the gra ...
, while the main varieties of
Shiraz Shiraz (; fa, شیراز, Širâz ) is the fifth-most-populous city of Iran and the capital of Fars Province, which has been historically known as Pars () and Persis. As of the 2016 national census, the population of the city was 1,565,572 p ...
and Cabernet Sauvignon are well supported by a range of other varieties from France such as Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Grenache, Italy for
Sangiovese Sangiovese (, also , , ) is a red Italian wine grape variety that derives its name from the Latin ''sanguis Jovis'', "the blood of Jupiter". Though it is the grape of most of central Italy from Romagna down to Lazio (the most widespread grape ...
,
Nebbiolo Nebbiolo (, ; pms, nebieul ) is an Italian red wine grape variety predominantly associated with its native Piedmont region, where it makes the '' Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita'' (DOCG) wines of Barolo, Barbaresco, Roero ...
and Lagrein and Spain for
Tempranillo Tempranillo (also known as Ull de Llebre, Cencibel, Tinto Fino and Tinta del Pais in Spain, Aragonez or Tinta Roriz in Portugal, and several other synonyms elsewhere) is a black grape variety widely grown to make full-bodied red wines in its ...
. Tourism is a very important part of the region's economy, with many wineries offering cellar-door tastings. Accommodation and dining are available at several of the wineries as the region continues to develop tourism infrastructure. Exports are also significant for many wineries with sales into China, the US and Scandinavia.


List of wineries (2017) Pyrenees Wineries official website
/ref>

*Amherst *Berrys Bridge *Bigibila *Blue Pyrenees Estate *M. Chapoutier *Dalwhinnie *Dogrock *Equus at Moonambel *Forest Gate Estate *Glenlofty *Grape Farm Winery *Gwynnyth Vineyard *Kara Kara *Kenred *Lamplough Estate *Mitchell Harris * Mount Avoca *Peerick Vineyard *Pyren Vineyard *Quartz Hill *Quoin Hill *Sally's Paddock *Summerfield
Taltarni
*Warrenmang Vineyard & Resort
Wimmera Hills


See also

*
Australian wine The Australian wine industry is one of the world's largest exporters of wine, with approximately 800 million out of the 1.2 to 1.3 billion litres produced annually exported to overseas markets. The wine industry is a significant contributor ...
*
Victorian wine Victorian wine is wine made in the Australian state of Victoria. With over 600 wineries, Victoria has more wine producers than any other Australian wine-producing state but ranks third in overall wine production due to the lack of a mass bulk w ...


References


External links

*
Thomas Mitchell ''Three Expeditions into the Interior of Eastern Australia'', Volume 2Wineries of the Pyrenees official websitePyrenees Gold Field
Victoria Geol. Survey, 1904, WM Bradford; discusses Geology of Pyrenees area and Gold Field. {{Authority control Wine regions of Victoria (Australia) Mountain ranges of Victoria (Australia) Regions of Victoria (Australia)