Canberra

Canberra has the great advantage of being able to combine a cold climate with proximity to a large, sophisticated and affluent population. Canberra District wine region takes in Canberra and the ACT, as well as Yass in NSW. Canberra City is 290 km or a three and a half hour drive from Sydney.

The origin of Canberra lies in the rivalry of Sydney and Melbourne/NSW and Victoria. A rivalry enshrined in the Australian constitution, which specifically states that the capital of Australia cannot be closer than 100 miles from Sydney. As a result, the former sheep station of Canberra was eventually chosen to become the new nation’s capital; Melbourne having served as a temporary capital while Canberra was being designed and built. Canberra stands today as a completely artificial city carved out of the bush and populated to a large degree by people who work for the only big employer in town – the Commonwealth Government.

The area around Yass was first planted with grapes in the 1850s, but it was not until the 1970s that the modern history of wine making in Canberra District began, when the area around Lake George was planted by Dr Edgar Riek. Wineries developed gradually and most were of the small, boutique style. That is until Hardy’s Kamberra Wine Tourism Complex opened up. This has prompted many to take their wine making more seriously and many vineyards have since expanded. Today, Canberra District has 35 wineries with cellar doors and about 100 vineyards.

The climate of Canberra District is cool by most Australian standards with altitudes ranging from 500m to 800m. At the lower elevations varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz ripen well, while at the higher elevations such cool climate varieties as Riesling, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir do excellently. The geography of Canberra District is mainly one of rolling hills with the Snowy Mountains often in the distance. Overall, Canberra District’s climate is relentlessly continental, with heavy spring frosts, very dry springs and summers, and high temperature variations between its nights and hot summer days. Irrigation is generally a must. The only significant body of water in the region (not counting the artificial Lake Burley Griffin) is Lake George, which has minimal impact upon the vineyards as it is in fact usually quite dry.

Canberra District is a small wine region that is best known for its Shiraz, Riesling, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. These wines are in general produced by many boutique wineries that are found around Murrumbateman, or to the north and south of Lake George.

One near Lake George is Lark Hill Winery, established in 1978 by the Carpenter family, and sitting on an escarpment that looks down at Lake George from some 860m. Riesling, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are well suited to this cold climate vineyard and grown without the use of pesticides and organic chemicals.

Helm Wines is great Canberra District winery near Murrumbateman, around 30 km from Canberra. Owned and operated by Ken Helm and family, the winery was begun in 1973, making it one of Canberra District’s earliest vineyards. Helm wines is rooted in history in more ways than one, with its wine tasting taking place in the 1888 Toual School House, while the family itself claims descent from German settlers to Australia who first established vineyards in Rutherglen region, Victoria, in the 19th century. As in most Canberra District vineyards, Riesling is the prime variety grown, and Ken was in fact awarded the Wolf Blass Award in 2006 for contributions to the promotion of Riesling.

For any visitor to Canberra interested in wine the obvious first stop is the Kamberra Wine Tourism Complex. Established by the Hardy Wine Company, the complex has a vineyard, a winery, a cellar door, a restaurant and function rooms. You can also enjoy its excellent Art Gallery and beautiful landscaped gardens.

Food and wine events at which you can enjoy the many wines Canberra District has to offer include the Canberra District Wine Harvest Festival, in April, the Fireside Festival, in August, and the Days of Wine and Roses Festival, in November. In addition, Canberra District is well served with such regional foods as trout, cod, organic vegetables, raspberries, strawberries, apples, stone fruits and olive oil.

While in Canberra, local attractions you might be interested in are ballooning over Lake Burley Griffith, or of course visiting some of Canberra great museums such as the National Museum of Australia, the War Memorial and the National Art Galley.

Riesling has become the most successful of Canberra District’s productions, with many winning awards various wine shows. Canberra District Rieslings are generally dry and crisp in style. Chardonnay also does well with well balanced flavours. As a cool climate region Pinot Noir naturally does excellently in Canberra District also, producing a great sparkling wine. Finally, but by no means least, there is Viognier, difficult to produce due to Canberra District’s frosts, but well worth it when successful.