Pyrenees (Victoria)

Coordinates: 37°6′59.49″S 143°18′48.82″E / 37.1165250°S 143.3135611°E / -37.1165250; 143.3135611

Pyrenees
Wine region
Vineyards near Avoca, viewed from the Pyrenees ranges
Type	Australian geographical indication^[1]
Year established	2000^[1]
Years of wine industry	1848–present
Country	Australia
Part of	Western Victoria

The Pyrenees is a wine region centred on the Pyrenees ranges located in Victoria, Australia near the town of Avoca.

The altitude of the ranges is 300 to over 750 m (approximately 980–2460 ft). Main peaks in the range include Mount Avoca (747 m) and Mount Warrenmang (537 m).

Exploration

The Pyrenees ranges, as seen from Avoca

The explorer and surveyor Thomas Mitchell was the first European recorded to have traveled through the district on his 1836 journey of exploration. The ranges reminded him of the Pyrenees in Europe where he had served as an army officer, hence the name he gave them. He found the area more temperate in climate and better watered than inland New South Wales, and he encouraged settlers to take up land in the region he described as "Australia Felix".

Wine

Vines were first planted in the region in 1848. Several wine growers produced and sold wine in the region in the late 1800s and early part of the twentieth century.^[2] The pioneer of the region Edwin Horatio Mackereth had his vineyard sold to a dairy farmer in 1929 by his descendants. Another early producer Kofoeds survived until 1947.^[2] The 1960s saw the re-establishment of vineyards in the area with the French Cognac producer Rémy Martin planting grapes in the mid 1960s. Since the 1970s the region has been a significant producer of full-bodied red wines based on Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon grape varieties.

The main eight wineries of the region in the 1970s and 1980s included: Chateau Rémy (since renamed Blue Pyrenees Estate), Dalwhinnie Vineyard, Mount Avoca Vineyard, Mountain Creek, Summerfield Vineyards, Redbank Winery, Taltarni Vineyards and Warrenmang Vineyard.

Wineries of the region now number almost twenty with a second wave of plantings and investment in the 1990s. Most of the wineries are around the towns of Moonambel and Avoca.^[3] The varieties planted now include many white varieties including Sauvignon blanc, Chardonnay and Viognier, while the main varieties of Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon well supported by a range of other varieties from France such as Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Grenache, Italy for Sangiovese and Nebbiolo and Spain for Tempranillo.

Tourism is a very significant part of the appeal of the region with many wineries including cellar-doors where wines can be tasted (usually free of charge) and several also including accommodation and restaurants as part of their business.

References

1 2 "Pyrenees". Wine Australia. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
1 2 Wines and Winemakers of the Pyrenees The Natural Garden of Victoria, Pyrenees Vignerons Association.
↑ "Wineries". Pyrenees Unearthed. Retrieved 9 August 2015.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pyrenees (Victoria).

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Victorian Pyrenees.

"Pyrenees Wineries". Wine Regions. Wine Australia. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
Thomas Mitchell Three Expeditions into the Interior of Eastern Australia, Volume 2
Wineries of the Pyrenees website
Pyrenees Gold Field Victoria Geol. Survey, 1904, WM Bradford; discusses Geology of Pyrenees area and Gold Field.

Wine regions of Victoria

Port Phillip	Geelong Macedon Ranges Mornington Peninsula Sunbury Yarra Valley

Central Victoria	Bendigo Goulburn Valley Heathcote Strathbogie Ranges

Gippsland	Gippsland

North East Victoria	Alpine Valleys Beechworth Glenrowan King Valley Rutherglen

North West Victoria	Murray Darling Swan Hill

Western Victoria	Grampians Henty Pyrenees

Mountains in Victoria, Australia

Grampians

William (1,167 m or 3,829 ft)
Difficult
Wilson
Zero

Victorian Alps

Bogong High Plains	Nelse West (1,893 m or 6,211 ft) Nelse North (1,885 m or 6,184 ft) Fainter South (1,883 m or 6,178 ft) Hotham (1,862 m or 6,109 ft) McKay (1,849 m or 6,066 ft) Cope (1,837 m or 6,027 ft) Spion Kopje (1,837 m or 6,027 ft) Jim (1,818 m or 5,965 ft)

Cathedral Range	Lake (1,482 m or 4,862 ft) The Green Hill (1,241 m or 4,072 ft) Sugarloaf (904 m or 2,966 ft) The Cathedral (801 m or 2,628 ft) South Jawbone Peak (761 m or 2,497 ft)

Cobberas Range	Cobberas No. 1 (1,810 m or 5,938 ft) Cobberas No. 2 Moscow Peak Middle Peak Cleft Peak

Cobbler Plateau	Speculation (1,648 m or 5,407 ft) Cobbler (1,628 m or 5,341 ft) Koonika (1,545 m or 5,069 ft) Despair (1,460 m or 4,790 ft)

Other	Bogong (1,986 m or 6,516 ft) Feathertop (1,922 m or 6,306 ft) Loch (1,865 m or 6,119 ft) Buller (1,805 m or 5,922 ft) Wills (1,755 m or 5,758 ft) Gibbo (1,750 m or 5,741 ft) Stirling (1,749 m or 5,738 ft) Howitt (1,742 m or 5,715 ft) The Horn (1,723 m or 5,653 ft) Buffalo (1,723 m or 5,653 ft) Wellington (1,634 m or 5,361 ft) Buggery (Alpine) (1,598 m or 5,243 ft) Baw Baw (1,567 m or 5,141 ft) Torbreck (1,516 m or 4,974 ft) St Gwinear (circa 1,500 m or 4,921 ft) Mueller (1,460 m or 4,790 ft) Selma (1,456 m or 4,777 ft) Useful (1,435 m or 4,708 ft) Tambo (1,430 m or 4,692 ft) Selwyn (1,411 m or 4,629 ft) Terrible (1,325 m or 4,347 ft) Donna Buang (1,250 m or 4,101 ft) Buggery (Wangaratta) (1,153 m or 3,783 ft) Bulla Bulla (906 m or 2,972 ft) Dom Dom (740 m or 2,428 ft) Brumby Point Pine

Other
mountain ranges

Central Highlands	Macedon (1,001 m or 3,284 ft)

Dandenong Ranges	Dandenong (633 m or 2,077 ft)

Pyrenees Ranges	Avoca (747 m or 2,451 ft) Warrenmang (537 m or 1,762 ft)

Strzelecki Ranges	Tassie (740 m or 2,428 ft)

Other	Matlock (1,377 m or 4,518 ft) Ritchie (1,259 m or 4,131 ft) Toorongo (1,247 m or 4,091 ft) Horsfall (1,130 m or 3,707 ft) Kaye (998 m or 3,274 ft) Elizabeth (941 m or 3,087 ft) Ghiran (924 m or 3,031 ft) Disappointment (794 m or 2,605 ft) Riddell (781 m or 2,562 ft) Beenak (745 m or 2,444 ft) Alexander (744 m or 2,441 ft) Buninyong (719 m or 2,359 ft) Hanging Rock / Diogenes (718 m or 2,356 ft) Warrenheip (714 m or 2,343 ft) Franklin (648 m or 2,126 ft) Beckworth (634 m or 2,080 ft) Corhanwarrabul (628 m or 2,060 ft) Tarrengower (556 m or 1,824 ft) Warrenmang (526 m or 1,726 ft) Teneriffe (444 m or 1,457 ft) Napier (440 m or 1,444 ft) Briggs Bluff (420 m or 1,378 ft) Arapiles (369 m or 1,211 ft) You Yangs (352 m or 1,155 ft) Leura (313 m or 1,027 ft) Noorat (310 m or 1,017 ft) Elephant (240 m or 787 ft) Warrnambool (216 m or 709 ft) Eccles (178 m or 584 ft) Wycheproof (148 m or 486 ft) Cooper (137 m or 449 ft) Fraser Hopeless Typo

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Pyrenees (Victoria)

Exploration

Wine

See also

References

External links