Mornington Peninsula, VIC

The Mornington Peninsula wine region has two great geographic assets. It has a maritime climate due to being surrounded on three sides by water and it is close to Melbourne’s moneyed class, enabling boutique wineries to thrive.

The region includes many seaside towns, beaches and golf courses which have for a long time been the weekend retreat and summer playground of city folk needing a break from the rat race.

There are picturesque rolling hills, spectacular coastal scenery, bay and ocean beaches, historic buildings and many fine country properties. All this adds up to a discerning and affluent clientele who support boutique cellar doors and winery restaurants.

The proximity to the city has also brought seachangers who have planted vineyards, and in some cases have graduated to become winemakers.

There were intermittent attempts to grow wine in the region dating back to the nineteenth century, but continuous commercial viticulture only dates back to the early 1970s. After a few frustrating years with Cabernet, which tends to ripen poorly on all but the most favoured sites in this region, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are now the most commonly used varieties.

There are now well over a hundred wineries on the Peninsula, and the region has the greatest concentration of growers of Pinot Gris in Australia.

The diversification of varieties grown in this region owes much to the pioneering work by winemaker Kathleen Quealy in championing Pinot Gris; and to Gary Crittenden who has long advanced the cause of Italian wine varieties, both on the Peninsula and in other Victorian regions.
 

- Edited from www.vinodiversity.com.au

- Red Hill image courtesy of Tourism Victoria