Riverina

Introduction

The birth of the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Scheme Area between 1906 and 1912 stands as a lasting testament to the skills and the vision of a group of dedicated Australians, all inspired by the imagination of Sir Samuel McCaughey. Its subsequent development as a major wine producing area is primarily due to the remarkable McWilliam family, even if two successive waves of Italian immigrants (after the First and Second World Wars) built on the opportunities created by the McWilliams.

Until the second half of the 1950s production in the area was almost entirely of fortified wine. Just as John James McWilliam had led the way in 1912, so Glen McWilliam thereafter pioneered the move to table wine. Not only was he responsible for the trial of premium varieties previously unknown in the district, but he was also responsible for leading the way in developing the winery technology necessary to produce modern table wine in a fiercely hot summer climate. Glen McWilliam embraced the technology pioneered by Orlando and Yalumba in the mid-1950s for the handling of white grapes, adapting it to the particular requirements of the region.

No one can have a perfect vision of the future, and the initial success with Cabernet Sauvignon (the 1963 vintage still stands as a freakish landmark) and Riesling was a false dawn.

Its real strength lies in its efficiency: the 10 444 hectares in bearing produced 164 371 tonnes of grapes in 2000 at an average of 15.7 tonnes per hectare. This compares with the average yield of 4.29 tonnes per hectare for the Upper and Lower Hunter Valley in the same year.

Consistent with this penchant for efficiency the Murrumbidgee is a scenically barren area: the vineyards are laser-flat, the wineries functional, and the cellar-door sales areas a rococo blend of Australian-Italian do-it-yourself architecture. As a final deterrent to visitors, Griffith is a long way from anywhere.

Region Summary

Location and Elevation
Big Rivers Zone
34°00'S, 146°00'E
140 m

Subregions
Griffith and Leeton (and others further afield); however, none have sought registration as Geographic Indications as at July 2001.

Climate
The climate is hot and dry, although slightly cooler than South Australia's Riverland and Victorian Sunraysia. All forms of perennial agriculture depend on irrigation from the Murrumbidgee River. Grape growing is reliable and yields high with a minimal disease load. With a low requirement for sprays, growers have adopted low impact vineyard management systems. Autumn rainfall which usually commences in April is essential for the development of botrytis in semillon.

Statistics
Heat degree days: 2201
Sunshine hours per day: 9.3
Annual rainfall: 410 mm
Growing season rainfall: 200 mm
Mean January temperature: 23.8°C
Harvest: Early February-early May

Soil
The soils are generally sandy loam overlying a sandy clay loam or clay subsoil: however, as they were deposited by ancient streams they are highly variable. They range from red sandy earths (Gn1.13) through to red and brown massive earths (Gn2.13 and 2.46): the duplex soils in the Dr2.33 and 2.33 range found in so many Australian regions are also common. While free draining near the surface, subsoil waterlogging has been a major problem, particularly with associated salinity build-up.

Principal Grape Varieties
Semillon: 39 585 ha
Chardonnay: 23 647 ha
Colombard: 11 096 ha
Trebbiano: 9120 ha
Muscat gordo blanco: 6132 ha
Sauvignon blanc: 3420
Other white: 12 569 ha
Total white: 105 569 ha

Shiraz: 43 399 ha
Cabernet sauvignon: 13 547 ha
Merlot: 8581 ha
Ruby cabernet: 7946 ha
Mourvedre: 1765 ha
Other red: 5205 ha
Total red: 80 433 ha

Total all grapes: 186 012 ha

(NSW Winegrape Utilisation Survey estimates for 2001 vintage)

Principal Wine Styles

Semillon
Picked at normal maturity, semillon provides a pleasant wine (which may be blended with other varieties) and is used in the making of generic styles hitherto having names such as chablis and white burgundy. When left on the vine for a full two months after normal maturity (and if the weather conditions are favourable) Botrytis cinerea, 'noble rot', may attack the grapes, concentrating both sugar and acid, and producing the luscious sauternes-style dessert wine pioneered by De Bortoli in 1982 but with an increasing number of sincere flatterers. The best of these wines (especially De Bortoli) is of world class; intriguingly, no other part of Australia is able to work the same magic with such regularity.

Chardonnay
Not surprisingly, Chardonnay is of increasing importance, and with the judicious use of oak (whether as oak chips of through oak barrels) it can produce a wine of fair varietal flavour, weight and style. De Bortoli, Riverina Wines, Miranda (the Wyangan Estate range), Rossetto and McWilliam's have done best.

Other White Wines
The substantial plantings of trebbiano, muscat gordo blanco and colombard are principally used as blend components in major wine company casks and flagons, with Orlando and McWilliam's the major users. How long these grapes (particularly trebbiano and muscat gordo blanco) will remain in demand given the flood of Chardonnay coming onto the market remains to be seen.

Red Wines
McWilliam's is the major producer of bottled red wine from the region with is Cabernet-based wine offering a pleasant, leafy, light-bodied, early-maturing (one to three years) drink. As with the white wines, much of the annual crush disappears into the anonymity of casks, but De Bortoli, Riverina Wines' Ballingal Estate label and Rossetto can provide exceptions to the rule. Riverina Wines has had conspicuous success with both Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, making wines of great colour and flavour, utterly belying the conventional view of such wines from the Riverina and/or the Riverlands.

Fortified Wines
The region is also a major producer of fortified wines. While most are cheap (and of modest reputation and quality), McWilliam's in particular has some superb aged material which it uses in its much-gold medal-winning Show Reserve series, with its Muscat, Amontillado Sherry and Oloroso Sherry the outstanding wines.

by James Halliday