Rutherglen

Rutherglen wine region is in north-eastern Victoria, near the Murray River border with New South Wales. The town of Rutherglen was named after the Scottish town Rutherglen, which is just outside Glasgow and the main towns of the region are Rutherglen and Wahgunyah. Rutherglen town is located 280 km north of Melbourne but is only 30 minutes from Albury/Wodonga on the state border.

The land around Rutherglen was occupied by the Whroo people, and it was estimated there were around 1,200 of these people in 1841. After Europeans had entered the area, this number had dropped by 1860 to around only 60. John Foord brought 1,000 head of cattle in 1838 to the Rutherglen district and by 1845 the whole area had been taken up by squatters' runs. At first, the gold rushes meant that graziers had better markets for their meat in more distant goldfields. But soon gold was discovered in the Rutherglen region also, at Indigo, some 11 km from the Rutherglen town site. After this ran out, another rush began nearer Rutherglen site, named after the Scottish birthplace of John Wallace, who set up the Star Hotel on the new town that soon sprang up.

The easy to reach surface gold was soon exhausted and the population rapidly declined. Yet the story of gold in Rutherglen had one last twist when in the mid-1880s the Great Northern Mine was sold by its owners. The new owners, after digging a mere two metres, found a gold deposit one metre thick and 15 metres wide. This was one of the state's richest mines, producing 107,000 ounces of gold.

Lindsay Brown is reported to have planted the Rutherglen region’s first vines in the 1850s and his example was followed by several former miners who established such wineries as Campbell's Winery, Morris Wines and G. Sutherland Smith & Sons. Rutherglen region was one that survived both the phylloxera and the decline in wine drinking of the end of the 19^th century thanks to the local Viticultural College providing American vine stock that was resistant to the disease, as well as growers changing to heavy reds and fortifieds. Today Rutherglen’s wineries still produce wonderful Muscat and Tokays, while sparkling and white wine is favoured by the newer producers.

Rutherglen region is flat country at an average altitude of 150m to 250m. The climate is warm and dry with good rainfall during the growing season. Being also very far from the sea it has large temperature variations, both between summer and winter, and between night and day. This means that Rutherglen region has many warm, sunny days and cool clear nights - excellent ripening conditions. The rainfall generally falls at the right time also, during the main growing season, and this combined with low humidity, makes for near perfect vine growing conditions.

The Rutherglen region has a history of producing fortified wine such as Muscat and Tokay, though lighter wines are being developed nowadays. And the Jones Winery and Vineyard is a good example of some of the older vineyards, as well as being one of the smallest wineries of the Rutherglen region. Jones Winery and Vineyard was established in the 1860's by Fritz Ruhe. The vineyard today is not irrigated, which forces the roots deeper and enhances the flavour of the grapes. The main plantings are Shiraz with some Brown Muscat and Pedro Ximenes.

A vineyard of similar origins but much larger in its day is the Mt. Ophir Estate. Originally established in 1891, it was soon after purchased by the English based Burgoyne family who developed the estate until it was exporting 600,000 gallons per year to the UK. The Mt. Ophir Estate continued until 1955 before the property was allowed to become derelict. Now it is being gradually restored. Another vineyard with a history is Buller Wines, owned by a fourth generation winemaking family and another vineyard of the Rutherglen region that does not irrigate with a similar result in low yields but intense flavours. The main varieties grown are Shiraz and Grenache, as well as some rare Mondeuse and Cinsaut.

There are many wine related events of the Rutherglen region at which you can enjoy both the wines and the foods of the area. These include Tastes of Rutherglen in March, the Rutherglen Winery Walkabout in June, the Rutherglen Wine Show in September, and the Tour de Rutherglen in October.

Rutherglen town itself is quite historic, with old timber buildings and verandah-fronted pubs, as well as many antique and bric-a-brac shops. Every Queen's Birthday long weekend in June, Rutherglen swells as nearly 20,000 people arrive for the Winery Walk-a-bout. Also, the "Tour de Muscat" event takes place here on the first weekend in November.

The Rutherglen region is well known for its production of fortified wines such as Muscat and Tokay. In addition, many good quality red and white wines, notably Shiraz and Durif, as well as the uncommon sparkling red are produce here.