Perricoota

Perricoota is the smallest of the wine regions of NSW and, as with many NSW regions, the first vineyard was planted in the 1860s but eventually failed. New vineyards were planted in the 1990s, and today most of the harvest from this region is exported to other regions for processing. The area is recognized for quality fortified wines such as Grenache and Malbec and is centred on the towns of Moama in NSW and Echuca just across the Murray River in Victoria. Moama is 800 km (or an 8 hour drive) south-west of Sydney but only two and a half hours from Melbourne.

In the census of 1853 a total of 26 inhabitants were recorded as living at “Hopwood’s Ferry”, on the spot later called Echuca. This was the location of a river crossing and the New Road Inn, built by an ex-convict named Henry Hopwood, who also ran ferries over the river. Later this same Henry Hopwood built a pontoon bridge across the Murray and in 1857 obtained the right to build a toll bridge. By 1859 he was able to erect the substantial Bridge Hotel. The wider district takes its name of Perricoota from a grazing property established in 1840. The name means ‘red kangaroo’ in the local aboriginal dialect, while echuca itself means ‘between two rivers’. Soon afterwards and for the next half-century, the Murray River was a major commercial route along which flowed the products and people of Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia. With the building of the railways this means of transport faded and the towns and region became a sleepy agricultural district.

It was this same Henry Hopwood who also founded the wine industry in this area when he established a vineyard near Echuca on the Victorian side of the river in 1858. At that time Echuca was Australia's largest inland port and the Hopwood vineyard did a prosperous wine business. The modern period of the areas wine industry began in 1972 when Dr Peter Tisdall planted at Picola, to the east of Echuca. Today there are more than 800 hectares of vines in the area.

Perricoota is a typical Australian riverine landscape of flat terrain and remnants of river red gum forests. Its climate is warm with good annual and growing season rainfall. Despite this, irrigation is important for crops such as grapes.

Its principal grape varieties are Chardonnay in white and Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon in reds. There are five cellar doors in this small wine region and major producers are the Chanter Estates, Morrison’s Riverview Estate, and St Anne’s Perricoota Vineyard. Of interest is the Chanter Estate Winery & Military Museum which allows you to enjoy excellent wines in a 100 year old church building that has been relocated into the heart of Moama. In addition to its tasting room, there is an historic military vehicle display of horse drawn, amphibious, and vintage vehicles, some of which have been used in such movies as Mission Impossible, My brother Tom and Postcards with Coxy.

St Annes Perricoota Vineyard is the sister vineyard of St Anne’s Myrniong, and is located on the banks of the Murray less than one hour from Bendigo. The St Anne's Perricoota Cellar Door is made from rammed earth and corrugated iron to give it an outback theme within a contemporary design. Other wineries of note are Morrisons on the outskirts of Moama and Cape Horn Vineyard about 20 minutes east of Echuca. Carriages Vineyard is 20km west, while Monichino Wines is in Katunga, an hour’s drive east of Echuca.

A food and wine event to note is the Riverboats, Jazz, Food and Wine Festival at Echuca-Moama, in February. Another great attraction is the Heritage Steam Festival held at Echuca in October, including the famous River on Fire Festivities, a fireworks spectacular, and a sail past of the world’s largest fleet of paddle steamers. In Echuca itself can be seen many historic sites related to its paddle-steaming past, including the magnificent Red River Gum wharf that has been preserved, although at 1200 metres long originally, it was five times its present length. An attraction of another kind is the Great Aussie Beer Shed, the only beer and brewery related museum in Australia. It has more than 16,000 beer cans from both Australia and the rest of the world, as well as other brewery type items such as beer tap handles, beer barrels, bottles, and signs.

There are also regional foods such as olives and olive oil and many local attractions in the historic Port of Echuca, including paddle-steamer cruises, scenic river walks and drives, hiring of houseboats, and the Barmah and Moira forests.

The Perricoota region has deep red loam soils and a consistent growing season with long hours of sunshine, all essential for ripening late varieties of grapes. In general the vines are still young but with time will produce strong, peachy Chardonnay’s of good flavour that are suitable for fairly immediate consumption. Other varieties will undoubtedly develop to add to this region’s charms as the year’s progress.