The Canberra District wine region is located around

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

in the

Capital city A capital city, or just capital, is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state (polity), state, province, department (administrative division), department, or other administrative division, subnational division, usually as its ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. It covers the northern part of the

Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory until 1938, is an internal States and territories of Australia, territory of Australia. Canberra, the capital city of Australia, is situated within the territory, an ...

and an area of

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

to the east and north of that, including towns of

Bungendore Bungendore is a town in the Queanbeyan Region of New South Wales, Australia, in Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council. It is on the Kings Highway, Australia, Kings Highway near Lake George, New South Wales, Lake George, the Molonglo River Valle ...

Murrumbateman Murrumbateman is a town in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia. It is on the Barton Highway, approximately 30 kilometres north-west of Canberra, and is part of the Yass Valley Shire. At the , Murrumbateman had a population o ...

and

Yass, New South Wales Yass () is a town on the periphery of the Southern Tablelands and South West Slopes of New South Wales, Australia. The name appears to have been derived from an Australian Aboriginal, Aboriginal word, "Yarrh" (or "Yharr"), said to mean 'running ...

. Wine is grown and produced in a triangular area of about 60 km sides bordered by

, Yass, and

, taking in the important localities of

and Lake George. The district is noted as a cool-climate wine area, but encompasses a substantial climatic range, with the lower altitude and more inland regions near Yass substantially warmer than the higher altitude areas near

History

The industry dates from the 1970s, although wines were produced in the settlement near Yass in the 1860s.

Climate and geography

The region is part of the

Southern Tablelands The Southern Tablelands is a geographic area of New South Wales, Australia, located south-west of Sydney and generally west of the Great Dividing Range. The area is characterised by high, flat country which has generally been extensively cl ...

about inland from the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

. The region receives moderate, but variable rainfall, and vineyards require supplemental irrigation in most years. Typical vineyard elevations range between , and the inland location result in relatively high

continentality Continental climates often have a significant annual variation in temperature (warm to hot summers and cold winters). They tend to occur in central and eastern parts of the three northern-tier continents (North America, Europe, and Asia), typi ...

, possibly explaining the affinity for leading varieties

Shiraz Shiraz (; ) is the List of largest cities of Iran, fifth-most-populous city of Iran and the capital of Fars province, which has been historically known as Pars (Sasanian province), Pars () and Persis. As of the 2016 national census, the popu ...

and

Riesling Riesling ( , ) is a white grape variety that originated in the Rhine region. Riesling is an aromatic grape variety displaying flowery, almost perfumed, aromas as well as high acidity. It is used to make dry, semi-sweet, sweet, and sparkling ...

. Promising recent results from

Tempranillo Tempranillo (also known as Ull de Llebre, Cencibel, Tinto Fino and Tinta del País 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 it ...

may be explained by the strong homoclime to

Ribera del Duero Ribera del Duero is a Spanish Denominación de Origen Protegida (DOP) located in the country's northern plateau and is one of eleven 'quality wine' regions within the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also one of several recogni ...

. *Annual rainfall: *Mean January (late growth period) temp: *Sunshine hours per day: 7.4 Spring Range-riesling2007

Production

The main grape varieties grown are

Chardonnay Chardonnay (, ; ) is a green-skinned grape variety used in the production of white wine. The variety originated in the Burgundy wine region of eastern France, but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from England to New Zealand. For new a ...

Sauvignon blanc Sauvignon blanc () is a green-skinned grape variety that originates from the city of Bordeaux in France. The grape most likely gets its name from the French words ''sauvage'' ("wild") and ''blanc'' ("white") due to its early origins as an ind ...

Sémillon Sémillon () is a golden-skinned grape used to make dry and sweet white wines, mostly in French wine, France and Australian wine, Australia. Its thin skin and susceptibility to Botrytis cinerea, botrytis make it dominate the sweet wine region S ...

Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Sauvignon () is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Australia and British Columbia, Canada to Lebano ...

Viognier Viognier () is a white wine grape variety. It is the only permitted grape for the French wine Condrieu AOC, Condrieu in the Rhone Valley (wine), Rhône Valley.J. Robinson ''The Oxford Companion to Wine'', Third Edition, p. 754, Oxford Univers ...

Pinot noir Pinot noir (), also known as Pinot nero, is a red-wine grape variety of the species ''Vitis vinifera''. The name also refers to wines created predominantly from Pinot noir grapes. The name is derived from the French language, French words fo ...

and

Pinot gris 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 pinkish-gray hue, accounting for its name, but th ...

. Picking and vintage extend from late February (Pinot noir, Chardonnay) to late May (botrytis Pinot gris or Riesling). About two thirds of the vines are red wine varieties, and one third are white.

References

External links

Canberra Wines
{{Wine regions of New South Wales Geography of Canberra Wine regions of Australia Wine regions of New South Wales Economy of the Australian Capital Territory Cuisine of the Australian Capital Territory Culture of Canberra Agriculture in the Australian Capital Territory

History

Climate and geography

Production

See also

References

External links