Grape varieties & wine styles
Today, chardonnay and pinot noir are the emblematic varieties of the Yarra; however, much of the valley’s prestige was built around elegant expressions of the Bordeaux varieties, as well as some exemplary expressions of shiraz. The range of elevations and mesoclimates mean that the Yarra is capable of producing a wide range of styles, from sparkling wine to properly ripe expressions of the late-maturing cabernet sauvignon.
That sparkling production was once seen as the greatest potential for the Yarra, with Möet & Chandon investing in a Domaine Chandon outpost at the old Green Point dairy in 1986. A little later, Champagne Devaux collaborated with the Rathbone family at Yering Station to launch Yarrabank. While Hardys first went long with Yarra Burn, before shifting much of the focus to Tasmania for their premium sparkling wines with Arras (now under the Accolade Wines banner). While sparkling wine remains a strong suit of the Yarra, changing tastes and increased vine age have seen many of the cool and elevated vineyards that were originally planted for sparkling production emerge as some of the finest sources for still wine.
There are also meaningful plantings of merlot, sangiovese, sauvignon blanc and viognier, plus to a lesser degree, pinot meunier, cabernet franc, malbec, riesling and semillon. Today, the varietal mix is being expanded to include nebbiolo, gamay and arneis with Rhône varieties, grenache, mourvèdre, roussanne and marsanne finding a voice too. And while the Yara may have a great range of expressions due to the climatic differences at elevation, the wines all very much sit in the cool climate camp, with shiraz and cabernet typically expressing themselves in a mid-weight and fragrant spectrum.
Key geographical indicators
- Elevation: 17–1338 metres above sea level
- Annual rainfall: 1160 mm
- Mean temperature (Jan): 18.9°C
- Area under vine: 2,150 hectares
- White grapes: 34%
- Red grapes: 66%
- Average yield: 5.6 t/ha
Top five varieties crushed (2018)
- Pinot noir 38%
- Chardonnay 34%
- Shiraz 7%
- Pinot gris/grigio 5%
- Cabernet sauvignon 4%
*Statistics courtesy of Wine Australia
