Across the border we go, and into Victoria, and the second largest wine region in the country – another of the “big 3″ engine rooms of Australian wine.
The Murray Darling is, in a word, vast. Not dissimilar to the Riverland in SA (indeed the two meet seemlessly with a little timber sign of the river, quaintly showing SA one way, and VIC the next), it’s traditionally produced a sh*t-load of Chardy, Shiraz and Cab Sav, a lot of which goes into bag-in-boxes and cheaper bottles of wine.
But in more recent times, we’re seeing the emergence of some more innovative wines, with an eye to a more sustainable future in the face of global warming.
And that’s the exciting stuff…
The less sexy fact of the matter is that it’s a big hot region with good soil. Wines have been planted in the Murray Darling since the late 19th century, and it produces a whopping quarter of the whole country’s wines.
Chardonnay is king – in fact more Chardonnay is produced here than anywhere else in the country – but it’s ripe, fruity Chardonnay. Okay if you’re after an $6 drink, not so thrilling if you’re after something a bit more interesting.
Shiraz and Cabernet are along the same lines – soft, ripe, sweet fruit, Australia’s “sunshine in a bottle” wines.
I don’t mean to sound like a wine snob – this is a critically important region to the whole country. You’ve got Treasury (Fosters), Accolade (Constellation), Orlando (Jacob’s Creek), Casella (Yellowtail) and other giants with hectares and hectares of fruit planted, producing a fair whack of the country’s wines here.
And then you’ve got your slightly less massive producers like Zilzie and Deakin Estate, producing impressive volume as well.
But looking to the future, and the more premium wines, you start looking at Viognier, Petit Verdot and Nebbiolo, all showing quite smartly, and actually far better suited to the climate.
That’s the commercial wine side of the region, but what I’ve ignored so far is the river.
Timeless, meandering, ebbing and flowing – the Murray-Darling is not only the lifeblood of the region, but its the stuff of legend. So many great stories
The town of Mildura is a beautiful spot, and you’ve got to pop in to Stefano’s, the restaurant/cafe run by local foodie legend Stefano de Pieri. He and a handful of other passionate locals are showing off not just what the region produces, but what can be done with it in the right hands.
The famous pink river salt from the region sits proudly in my kitchen, and reminds me of some unforgettable nights in Mildura – well, reminds me of the bits I can still remember, anyway!
So leave the imported Maldon on the shelf, grab yourself some of the Murray’s finest, and picture yourself floating down Australia’s great river on a houseboat, fishing, swimming, eating, drinking…
Life’s okay.