A region reborn
The Yarra Valley was Victoria’s first wine region, established in 1838, but 100 years later most of its vines were removed and its future looked uncertain. A series of events had caused its decline, including economic depression, and competition from other wine regions, and by 1937 there were no vines left in the Yarra Valley.
The region was reborn in the 1960s and 70s, when Reg Egan from Wantirna Estate replanted the first vines and Dr Bailey Carrodus, a scientist, produced the region’s first commercial wines in more than 50 years. Bailey was an innovator who became known for his uniquely elegant wines and bold vineyard decisions. He planted unirrigated, low-yielding vines at a time when irrigation and high yields were the norm. He embraced the Yarra Valley’s cool climate and leaner wine styles in an age when warm-climate wine regions and robust wines had the spotlight. Bailey was one of many pioneers who breathed life back into the region through fearless innovation and experimentation.
Australian wine entered a golden era in the late 1990s and early 2000s, with big, intense wine styles from regions like the Barossa Valley and McLaren Vale wowing critics and wine drinkers. This put Yarra Valley producers in a tricky position, because the region’s cool climate meant they simply couldn’t make those styles. So many decided to embrace the difference. Rather than trying to emulate fashionable wines, they turned inward and learned more about the Yarra Valley’s unique climate and soils. They set about making wines that reflected their vineyards sites – wines that couldn’t be made anywhere else. These trail blazers also started experimenting with different winemaking techniques, and led the way in cool-climate Australian wine. In the process, they inspired a new generation of winemakers.
The revolution continues
Today the Yarra Valley is a hub of creativity, where classic wine styles are crafted alongside wines at the cutting edge. The region’s pioneering spirit is stronger than ever, with winemakers experimenting with different techniques, such as fermenting white wine with the skins left on to create interesting and complex wines. They’re rewriting the future using age-old methods such as omitting sulphur additions and leaving grape stems on to ferment with the berries (whole-bunch fermentation) to add unique flavour and texture. Today’s winemakers are also exploring alternative varieties such as Nebbiolo, Arneis, Gamay and Grüner Veltliner, which are showing great promise.
Luke Lambert is one of these revolutionaries, producing thought-provoking wines under his own wine label. A master of minimalism, Luke has stripped his winemaking back to basics, hand-picking grapes and handcrafting wines that reflect the lean qualities of the region’s harsh, rocky soils. Mac Forbes is another winemaker following a minimal-intervention path to craft his experimental drops, with the goal of making wines that reflect not just the region or even a vineyard, but sometimes a single row of vines.
Despite having a long grape-growing history, the Yarra Valley’s rebirth in the 1960s and 70s gave it the chance to start afresh. That era’s bold vignerons set the standard for quality and innovation, and today’s winemakers are continuing the tradition of creating new traditions, making the Yarra Valley one of Australia’s most vibrant and dynamic wine regions. Watch this space.
