Plan your next trip to Victoria’s Yarra Valley with the insights from these locals.
unique DNA for each producer, is a goal of Wine Yarra Valley. This is where epigenetics comes into play.
Take the best Yarra Valley cabernet sauvignon. Sandra describes it as deceptive. “It is approachable and drinkable when young, yet so elegant, and it ages magnificently,” she says. “It has plenty of fine tannins, they are not aggressive or big tannins, and the wine turns out supple and lovely. All the good cabernet makers in the valley share that attribute.”
And each producer has a wine that’s distinct from any other.
Hence, ensuring and protecting genetic diversity is paramount – and grafting old-vine scions onto resistant rootstock is key. It’s why Yarra Yering has been proactive in restructuring and replanting its sites, with chief winemaker Sarah Crowe remaining philosophical and upbeat.
“We’ve been given an opportunity to weave a greater footprint in directing our future,” Sarah says. “At first, the whole idea of replanting appeared devastating, but now, rethinking it all, it’s exciting. It has forced us to consider things differently and plan for the future.”
It’s not just about preserving varieties or styles that make Yarra Yering celebrated, but also beyond. It’s about asking what the future holds. While red-dominant, Sarah is keen to expand Yarra Yering’s white plantings, up to 20 per cent ‘wouldn’t be silly’ she says.
This is why, come springtime, grenache blanc and aligoté are to be included.
“Committing to small parcels, knowing they may never be bottled, we have to factor that in, especially with cost and time because if they don’t make the grade then they don’t make the bottle,” she says. Research and investigation will help mitigate a certain level of risk, but without trying, Sarah would be none the wiser. It’s about coming out stronger, ultimately producing better wines with more varietal diversity or using them as additions to make blends better. While the Yarra Valley adjusts to its state of renewal, being a highend grape-growing region – a mere 45 minutes from Melbourne, with a cracking wine-and-dine tourism stamp – means it is also premium real estate. Enticing younger producers will be much harder, but not impossible.
JAYDEN ONG snuck in at the right time. A fixture on the Melbourne dining scene as co-owner/founder of the city’s much-loved Cumulus Inc, he ventured into winemaking back in 2010. Thirsty for knowledge, apparently. Five years later, Jayden and his wife Morgan bought four hectares at Mount Toolebewong, which is south of Healesville.
Jayden is taking things cautiously. He wants to better understand the lay of the land, so in 2016, he planted a 0.4 hectare plot to
1600 vines, comprising four chardonnay clones. No wine has been made off the young vines, but apparently the fruit is showing great intensity. This new south-facing vineyard sits at 670m, making it the valley’s highest.
“I came here because I love chardonnay and the suitability for growing it in the Yarra is very high,” he says. “The goal is quality
“THE YARRA IS AN AMAZING COOL-CLIMATE WINE REGION, YET IT’S STILL A PLACE OF GREAT BEAUTY.
Sandra de Pury, Yeringberg.
“I CAME HERE BECAUSE I LOVE CHARDONNAY AND THE SUITABILITY FOR GROWING IT IN THE YARRA IS VERY HIGH.
Jayden Ong, Jayden Ong Wines.
over quantity, and given our site is marginal, we have to wait to find out what comes from here, and part of that is farming in a particular way.”
That means no irrigation, adopting biological and organic farming methods, and reducing the impact of a monoculture. This is done by including the bush, the orchard and vegetable garden in a wholistic way. Even aesthetically, adding that his freshly mown grass or just-picked flowers are pleasurable experiences.
While Jayden produces four disparate labels from grapes sourced from other sites in the region and beyond, including the Mornington Peninsula and Heathcote, the Yarra Valley is home. Besides, the Ongs recently opened their new winery and eatery, Healesville’s Winery & Cellar Bar. It’s pumping.
While Jayden’s farming approach is admirable, the purpose is wanting to gauge how far he can push the site and what the grapes will eventually reveal. He wants to take chardonnay to the premier league – although I think we are there – as in, world-class, adding pinot noir has a way to go, and I agree. He wants to push boundaries and shake up what he regards as a largely conservative region. This is his commitment. I get where he’s coming from and where he wants to go. Starting his site from scratch is the first step towards realising that potential.
The Yarra Valley is predominantly a red grape zone – about two-thirds of all plantings – with pinot noir and chardonnay dominating, plus shiraz and cabernet sauvignon making up the quartet of lead varieties.
“As a region, I do think we have diversity,” Sandra says. “We are not typecast as only good for one thing. The Yarra does all four of those varieties very well, at a world-class standard and there’s more in between.”
There are also producers pushing boundaries or fine-tuning, as my list of 10 Wines of Difference reveals (see below), and none more obvious than Timo Mayer with his belief in fermenting 100 per cent whole bunches. Close to Jayden’s property, on another south-facing slope on Mount Toolebewong, Mac Forbes’ latest project includes chenin blanc and nebbiolo. Watch this space. More names come to the fore, including Shaun Crinion from Dappled. This generation coming through will be the next trailblazers. Ultimately, quality must be the driver.
What the valley does beautifully, certainly among the high-end producers, is produce and craft elegance in a glass. The best are distinctly wines of place. Take the Mount Mary Quintet, for example – there’s nothing like it. Nor with Oakridge’s chardonnays or Hoddles Creek’s pinot noirs.
As Sandra says, the local wine community is dominated by small, family-owned businesses, and a strong regional trait is a key strength. “We are never going to be about mass production,” she says. “The Yarra is an amazing cool-climate wine region, yet it’s still a place of great beauty, even if new buildings come and go, new owners come in and out, and there’s new investment. And I suppose every generation has to discover this place. Ultimately, the Yarra endures.”