Wine regions Australia - New England
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New England, New South WalesThe New England wine region is offering a new element of excitement to the New South Wales wine industry. With its high altitude and cold winters, it is producing wines of a distinctive style. Being a new wine region, the jury is still out as to which varieties will be most successful, however, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Riesling, Shiraz and Pinot Noir are all showing promise.
The New England Wine Region was officially established on 23 January 2008. The region which lies within the Northern Slopes zone has a cool climate with soils and topography highly suited to premium winegrape production. Vineyards have been established east and west of the New England Highway from Tamworth to Tenterfield. Clusters of vineyards are to be found around Armidale, Glen Innes and the largest around Tenterfield, the northernmost town in the region. The western portion of the region extends as far west as Wee Waa (450 kilometers inland from the coast). Other westerly vineyards are along the Bruxner Highway and the Gwydir Highway. This is one of the largest regions in NSW and with that size comes a diversity of soil types which is reflected in the diversity of wine styles. The Peel Valley near Tamworth has rich red allivual soils deposited by the Peel River in valley flats around Tamworth. From Tamworth the elevation rises sharply up through the Moombi Hills on the way north to Armidale. This is granite country and the soils are rough and highly suited to wine grape production. To the north west around Inverell the soils are black earth. The climate of the region is strongly influenced by its elevation. This ranges from 404m in and around Tamworth to the New England Plateau where vineyards grow at 900m around Glenn Innes in the Great Dividing Range. High altitude results in cool summer nights, winter snow and frosts hence its designation as a cool climate region. However, it uniquely has high summer rainfall and humidity influenced by the sub-tropical north coast which is only 150k to the east. An hour and half west from the "banana coast" and you are in prime cool climate grape growing country. The topography is primarily undulating hills mixed with deep gorges at the eastern edge of the plateau. Many of the vineyards are planted on the northern slopes to maximise the sun drench.
Although New England is a new wine region, it does have a history of wine grape production going back to the 1870s when George Wyndham established a property. The region fell victim to depression and in more recent times it was eclipsed by the phenomenal growth of the wine industry in the Hunter Valley. Grape varieties inlude Chardonnay, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, Verdelho, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, Shiraz and the Italian varietals Barbera and Tempranillo. Long known as an alternative route to Queensland, the towns and cities along the New England Highway have played host to many travellers. Tamworth at the southernmost end is the largest city in the region.
Every year in January it kicks up its heels and hosts the biggest
country and western music festival in Australia. Further north the historic towns of Glenn Innes and Tenterfield are interesting stop overs. The whole region is blessed with superb national parks so if you like to mix your wine discovery with a little bush walking, rafting, horse riding and bird watching then this region has a lot to offer. Visitors are well catered for by a diverse range of accommodation services and good restaurants and cafes serving fine local produce.
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