Continuing southeast along the great River Murray, from the Murray Darling region, you come to the Swan Hill wine region.
Not to be confused with Swan Districts in WA.
Story goes that Major Thomas Mitchell, Surveyor-General of New South Wales, camping on the banks of the River Murray some time in 1836, was kept up all night by a noisy flock of black swans.
It’s hot, though slightly cooler than Murray Darling, relies on irrigation, and produces drink-now Chardonnay, Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon, for the most part.
The Chardy is soft, melony and peachy. The Shiraz and Cabernet are fruit-driven and medium in weight, and decent value for what you get.
We’re also seeing some Italian varietals like Sangiovese and Durif emerging in more recent times.
Bests Wines, Brown Brothers, Andrew Peace Wines and Buller Wines (since the 30′s) have a strong presence in the region, along with a handful of smaller producers.
Smack bang in the middle of the Murray Darling Food Basket, as they call it, it’s rich, fertile land, and wine grapes are not the only produce grown here in abundance.
Swan Hill has a vibrant food and produce culture, from freshwater fish to stone fruits of every kind (in fact its the centre of Australia’s fresh stone fruit industry), and it all comes alive in early march for the Swan Hill Region Food and Wine Festival.