Victoria
John Batman established Melbourne in 1834 and within four years, WilliamRyrie, a pastoralist, had planted the first Yarra Valley vineyard at whatwas to be Yering. The most important sequence of events in the viticulturalhistory of the state began with the appointment of Swiss-born Charles LaTrobe as Superintendent of Melbourne in 1839 and culminated in the arrivalof 11 fellow Swiss vignerons from his home canton of Neuchatel in 1846.It was this band of Swiss who formed the great foundation of Victoria'sfuture wine industry when they settled in the Geelong district and plantedvineyards around their homes.
The wines of Victoria range from the magnificent and uniquely Australianliqueur muscat and other dessert wines, through the deep-colored intenselycassis flavored Cabernet Sauvignons, to light, delicate and racy Rhine Rieslings,the spicy Traminers and the rich, oaky Chardonnays and Semillons to top-qualitysparkling wines.