Goulburn Valley

Lying in the north-eastern corner of Victoria, the Goulburn Valley region is one of the premier agricultural districts of Australia. Heavily irrigated, the region is fed by the Goulburn River and is part of the Murray-Darling Basin. Shepparton is the major regional centre and at 180 kms north of Melbourne is a 2 hour drive away. Other regional centres are Echuca, Benalla, Bailieston, and Seymour.

While Aboriginal people undoubtedly lived in the Goulburn Valley before the arrival of Europeans, this impact was so devastating that little is know about them. Names, such as the Natrakboolok, Ngooraialum or Thagungwurung are given as possible tribes. The Yorta Yorta, however, who lived further downstream, have survived into the present day.

It was necessary to cross the Goulburn River on the mail route from Melbourne to Sydney that was established in 1838. At such crossings people naturally began to establish themselves, with John Clark reputedly building the first inn outside Melbourne. As routes to Adelaide also opened up, more was developed to support to the teamsters moving through the territory. Nagambie, from an Aboriginal word meaning ‘lagoon’, became one such centre, until the arrival of the railway in 1880 eliminated the coach and teamster trade. Another crossing was at Bailieston, much developed in the 1850s when gold was discovered. Bailieston is also famous as the place where the cyclist Hubert Opperman attended school.

Shepparton itself began as McGuire’s Punt before being named after a squatter called Sherbourne Sheppard, not the similarly named English town. Once paddlesteamers began traveling up the Goulburn River, Shepparton also became an important stopover. Though Mooroopna, on the opposite side of the river was the more important of the two settlements until the railways established Shepparton’s predominance in 1880.

It wasn’t until irrigation systems were put in place in the early years of the twentieth century that the region really began to develop agriculturally. Lake Eildon providing water for dairies and orchards, and in 1917, the Shepparton Preserving Company (SPC) founding what is now one of the world’s largest fruit canneries.

Wine growing in the region has a long history, beginning when the Tahbilk winery established in 1860 by Ludovic Marie. This makes it perhaps the second oldest continuously winery in Australia, after the Wyndham Estate, established in 1828 in the Hunter Valley in NSW. This winery survived both the general downturn in wine production that had occurred in Australia by 1900, and the Phylloxera attacks soon after. The region also claims to have the oldest and largest plantings of Marsanne grape variety in the world.

The Goulburn Valley region borders New South Wales along the Murray River to its north and then extends south in a relatively narrow strip. The region is warm and dry in summer and so depends on irrigation from the Goulburn River. Most vineyards lie within the Nagambie Lakes, an extensive system of lakes, billabongs, lagoons and streams. All this water greatly moderates local temperatures, resulting in fewer frosts and allowing vineyards to be established close to the water.

Most of the wines produced in the area come from vines originally derived from the Rhône Valley of France and include Marsanne, Roussanne, Viognier, Grenache, Shiraz and Mourvèdre varieties, as well as Riesling, Verdelho, Chardonnay, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. These are produced by a great many wineries, which apart from the long established Chateau Tahbilk, includes David Traeger Wines, established in 1986. A small, family-owned winery that produces a Cabernet Sauvignon blend, Shiraz, Riesling and Verdelho. This fine range of wines can be tasted in an historic 1870s cellar.

While not as old as the Tahbilk, the Mitchelton Winery was established in 1969 and is located 14 km south-west of Nagambie on the Mitchellstown Rd. The vineyard is dominated by a 55-metre tower, with viewing deck and a cafe-style lounge, which is also available for private functions. The cellar door specialises in Shiraz, Marsanne and Riesling, and there is also a rare Viognier Roussanne.

Other major wineries are Cape Horn Vineyard, Fyffe Field Wines, Hayward’s of Whiteheads Creek, Longleat Estates, Strathkellar Wines, and Twelve Acres Winery. This last, established in 1994, is located 16 km north-west of Nagambie at Bailieston. It is a tiny winery that specialises in red wines (Cabernet, Merlot and Shiraz) and has picnic and barbecue facilities.

The region has many wine and food related events that include the World's Longest Lunch held in March and the Great Australian Shiraz Challenge in October. Also, International Dairy Week in January, Mooroopna Fruit Salad Day in February, the Arts Festival in March, the Goulburn Valley Vintage Festival on the third Sunday in March, and the Agricultural Show in October.

The Goulburn Valley region lays claim to having the oldest and largest plantings of Marsanne in the world, an intense, rich wine that gains with age. Other major wine varieties include Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Riesling and a breathtakingly flavoured and long-lived Shiraz. The Chardonnay from this region, rather than a fast developing wine as you might expect, is rather slow to mature.