Spotlight on Australia: Yarra Valley, Clare Valley & Rutherglen
We’re excited to continue the 🌍🍷 “Wines of the World Series” with a spotlight on Australia, exploring key regions and varieties with resources from Wine Australia, who have generously agreed to share their content with the Berlin Wine School Community. One way to look at Australia’s wine regions is by climate type. Let’s explore zones and regions with continental climate: Yarra Valley and Rutherglen.
📖Yarra Valley key facts:
Due to its proximity to Melbourne, it was Victoria’s first major winegrowing district. The modern wine industry started in 1970’s.
While considered continental, a part of it has a maritime influence resulting in lower diurnal range (difference between day and night temperatures).
It is one of the cooler climate regions in Australia with a diverse landscape, topography, and microclimate.
It has 2,837 ha of total vineyard area at altitudes between 30 to 400 m and varied soils (loamy sand and clay in the north; deep, fertile red volcanic soil in the south).
While classic cool climate international varieties and styles dominate, winemakers experiment with alternative styles (whole bunch fermentation, skin contact) and grapes such as Nebbiolo, Arneis, Gamay, and Grüner Veltliner.
The most planted varieties are: Pinot Noir (36%), Chardonnay (33%), and Shiraz (8%).*
📖Clare Valley key facts:
It is one of the oldest regions in Australia.
It has a warm climate moderated by cold nights (high diurnal range) and afternoon breezes.
Varying altitudes and dramatic drops in temperature result in numerous mesoclimates, which enable the production of various wine styles.
It has a 5,093 ha total vineyard area at altitudes between 250 to 550 m, and ancient soils ranging from terra rossa over limestone to broken slate, sandy loams, and degraded quartz in the region’s west.
It is mostly recognized for its cool climate wine styles and Riesling , which was introduced to the region in the 1950s by winemaker Jim Barry and quickly gained popularity.
Vertical shoot positioning (VSP) and both dry and irrigated farming are common.
The most planted varieties are: Shiraz (38%), Riesling (22%), and Cabernet Sauvignon (18%).*
Most wineries are family-owned.
📖Rutherglen key facts:
Vines arrived in the region during the gold rush, and winemaking dates back to 1850s.
It has a classic continental climate: warm summer days cooled by air flow from the Victorian Alps, long dry autumns and cold winters.
Rain at harvest and spring frosts can be a risk.
It has 781 ha of total vineyard area at altitudes between 122 and 592 m, with soils ranging from red loam over clay to sand, depending on proximity to the Murray River.
It is is mainly known for fortified wines made of the Muscat Blanc a Petits Grains variety.
Rutherglen Muscat is internationally recognized as a representative of the oxidative style of fortified Muscat wines. It must be aged in barrels for at least five years but is often left to develop in the barrel for decades.
Still wines are also produced, and a young generation of winemakers experiment with alternative varieties and styles.
Durif is Rutherglen's widely planted red variety, producing full-bodied wines. Originating in France, the variety is hard to find outside Australia.
The most planted varieties are: Shiraz (22%), Durif (16%), Muscat a Petit Gran (10%).*
*As of 2025 and the Wine Australia website.
🔎Did you know?
Yarra Valley’s Aboriginal people named it “Birrarung”– meaning “place of mists and shadows.” The lower hills of the valley sometimes get covered in spectacular blue mist.
While many Australian wine region stayed phylloxera free, in 1877, phylloxera hit Victoria and caused decline in wine production in Yarra Valley.
Clare Valley’s first winery, Sevenhill Cellars, was established by Jesuits in 1851 to produce sacramental wine.
A disused railway line, damaged by bushfire in 1983, was reopened as the Riesling Trail in Clare Valley serving as a popular way to discover the region.
Since 2000, Clare Valley winemakers pioneered the usage of screw cap for premium Rieslings. The screw-cap-sealed wines appealed to consumers, and it soon became part of mainstream Australian wine across all varieties.
Assyritiko, a Greek white variety, is commercially grown in Clare Valley thanks to Peter Barry who visited Santorini in Greece, fell in love with the grape and started the commercial production in 2016.
Rutherglen Muscats has their own classification to distinguish aging, richness, complexity, and intensity of flavour. (More to come in a spotlight on Australia’s fortified wines).
Durif wines can easily reach 16% of alcohol.
🎓Want to learn more?
Review Yarra Valley regional snapshot including the latest vintage statistics.
Review Clare Valley’s regional snapshot including the latest vintage statistics.
Review Rutherglen regional snapshot including the latest vintage statistics.
💬Share your thoughts!
Have you ever visited any of these regions? What other cool climate regions in Australia do you know? Have you ever tasted a Riesling from Clare Valley? How does it compare to German Rieslings? Have you ever tasted Rutherglen Muscat? Have you ever tasted a Durif wine? Share your thoughts! All resources, maps, images, and data courtesy of Wine Australia.