Victoria
John Batman established Melbourne in 1834 and within four years, William
Ryrie, a pastoralist, had planted the first Yarra Valley vineyard at what
was to be Yering. The most important sequence of events in the viticultural
history of the state began with the appointment of Swiss-born Charles La
Trobe as Superintendent of Melbourne in 1839 and culminated in the arrival
of 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's
future wine industry when they settled in the Geelong district and planted
vineyards around their homes.
The wines of Victoria range from the magnificent and uniquely Australian
liqueur muscat and other dessert wines, through the deep-colored intensely
cassis flavored Cabernet Sauvignons, to light, delicate and racy Rhine Rieslings,
the spicy Traminers and the rich, oaky Chardonnays and Semillons to top-quality
sparkling wines.