Just over an hour outside Melbourne, towards the southernmost end of the Great Dividing Range, lies the coldest region on the Australian mainland.

A perennial tourist destination, the Macedon Ranges exemplify Victoria’s natural beauty; broad vistas of undulating hills and forests, rolling green broken by volcanic granite, and row after orderly row of grapevines. This region’s climate conditions are among the most exceptional in Australia, and so it follows that the wine produced here carries unique qualities.

“Like human beings, a wine's taste is going to depend a great deal on its origins and its upbringing.” – Linda Johnson-Bell, wine critic.

In the north-west of the region, temperatures are cool. As one travels south-west, cool turns to cold, and cold nearly becomes glacial. In winter, snow is common. Around mid-September, the vineyards spring to life, flowering in December, the grapes ripening through summer with harvests occurring between March and May. A colder climate allows the fruit to hang for longer, developing flavours and aromatics that are particular to the Macedon Ranges.

Cool nights preserve the acidity and freshness of the grapes, lending longevity and cultivating more sophisticated tastes. The ripening of the fruits is delayed by the cold, fortifying their aromas. Floral, citrus and berry aromas are among the most prized, as they often wane in warmer climates.

Nestled amongst extinct volcanoes, forests, valleys and grasslands, these vineyards produce wines which all possess particular qualities not to be found elsewhere.

The Lyons Will Estate, for example, pride themselves on their knowledge of the soils that nourish and ultimately produce their grapes. Their vineyards work with earth that is up to 500 million years old, dating to the Lower Ordovician Period when Australia was part of the supercontinent Gondwana.

Yellow clay soil, shot through with lumps of quartz, nurtures their Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, boosting vine growth and quality.

There are dozens of vineyards in the Macedon ranges, many of them regularly open to visitors for tours and tastings. Like the varied meso- climates of the Macedon region, the producers here each offer a singular experience of Victoria’s wine country. Boutique, intimate and personalized, tasting at these wineries is far more than a matter of quality food and drink.

Every bottle is a distillation of the exceptional topography, geology and climate of the Macedon Ranges. Behind each year’s harvest and every glass of wine is decades of experience, patience, cultivation and cooperation with nature.

“Wine is sunlight, held together by water.” – Galileo Galilei

STORY BY ANTHONY CARRUBA