Bumping up against the South Australian border, a stone’s throw from the Coonawarra and Mount Gambier regions, Henty is, quite frankly, HUGE.
Legendary grazing land (the townships of Merino and Macarthur back this fact up), the region was first settled by the Henty brothers (and why not name it after yourself?), who apparently did bring vines as well as sheep, as recorded in their ship’s log, from back in 1834, but it wasn’t until 1964 that someone had a serious crack at vino, when Karl Seppelt took a punt, quite rightly identifying it as an ideal cool region for the production of sparkling and aromatic wines.
We’re talking Riesling – delicate, fine, lime-driven signatures of elegance.
Spicy, berry-driven Pinot Noir and soft, cool-climate Shiraz are also making a name for the region, along with some pretty smart Cabernet, with comparisons drawn to wines from the Haut Medoc in Bordeaux (that’s the good stuff).
And then you’ve got the three classic Sparkling grape varieties – Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, with Seppelt having significant plantings for their not-so-shabby bubbles.
There are only a dozen or so wineries in the region, which is not a lot, given the region’s size, and half a dozen of those have cellar doors. Seppelt are obviously a very important part of it all, and you’ve got Barrets, Bochara, Crawford River Wines, Henty Estate, Hochkirk, Kelso, Mount Perrepoint Estate, Rowan’s Lane, St Gregory’s and Tarrington Vineyards.
There’s also a vibrant organic movement happening, with a few local vineyards certified biodynamic.
Part of Victoria’s famous Great Ocean Road, Henty’s particular stretch of coastline is known as Shipwreck Coast, and it truly is a breathtaking part of the world.