Victoria: Zones, Regions and Grapes

Victoria is a state of Australia, tucked into the south-eastern corner of the Australian mainland. Wine Australia describes it as the second smallest state and lists 21 Victorian wine regions, from Alpine Valleys to Yarra Valley. The Australian geographical indication "Victoria" was entered in the Register of Protected Names on 26 January 1994, in response to a direction received by the Registrar from the Presiding Member of the Geographical Indications Committee acting under Section 40Z of the WAC Act 1980. Wine Australia estimates the total Australian vineyard area in 2019 at 146,244 hectares, of which Victoria accounted for 15 percent. The state's wine history runs through boom, collapse and revival. Wine Australia records that in the 1880s Victoria was Australia's largest wine producing state, that the ebb and flow of prosperity due to gold mining and the eventual outbreaks of phylloxera put a temporary halt to production in many areas, and that a resurgence of interest was reignited in the 1970s. The peak body for the sector is Wine Victoria, which was formed in late 2011 as the successor to the Victorian Wine Industry Association. Wine Victoria describes Victoria as home to over twenty wine regions and hundreds of wineries.

• The geographical indication "Victoria" was entered in the Register of Protected Names on 26 January 1994 (Wine Australia)
• Victoria accounted for 15 percent of an estimated national vineyard area of 146,244 hectares in 2019 (Wine Australia)
• In the 1880s Victoria was Australia's largest wine producing state, with a resurgence of interest reignited in the 1970s (Wine Australia)
• Wine Victoria was formed in late 2011 as the successor to the Victorian Wine Industry Association

Wine Australia places Victoria in the south-eastern corner of the Australian mainland and divides its climates broadly. The warm-climate regions span the northern and western rim of Victoria and include Murray Darling, Swan Hill and Rutherglen, where long dry autumns concentrate flavour, while Victoria's other wine regions are generally cooler than those of the states to the north and west. Rutherglen has a Continental climate, with warm summer days and cool nights created by air flow from the foothills of the Victorian Alps, autumns that are typically long and dry, harvest rain as an occasional threat and spring frost as an issue; its soils range from red loam over clay through to sandier soils depending on proximity to the Murray River. Wine Australia records a mean January temperature of 23.7 degrees Celsius at Rutherglen, with growing season rainfall of 330 millimetres and vineyard altitude of 122 to 592 metres. The southern regions are cooler and often maritime. Wine Australia describes the Mornington Peninsula as one of Australia's maritime wine regions, surrounded by Bass Strait, Port Phillip Bay and Western Port Bay, where no vineyard site is further than 7 kilometres from the ocean, relative humidity is high and frost is rare due to consistent winds; its vineyards sit between 0 and 315 metres, with growing season rainfall of 371 millimetres and a mean January temperature of 19.3 degrees Celsius. The Yarra Valley has one of the lowest mean January temperatures of the Victorian wine regions at 18.9 degrees Celsius, growing season rainfall of 559 millimetres and vineyard altitudes from 17 to 1,338 metres. Gippsland has 400 kilometres of cool-climate coastline wedged between the mountains and the sea, with vineyards at 20 to 50 metres and growing season rainfall of 420 to 530 millimetres, and its climate is influenced by weather systems moving across the south of the continent from west to east. Inland, Heathcote's climate and soils are strongly influenced by the Mount Camel Range, which provides natural tunnelling for the prevailing cool south to south-east winds that blow through the growing period from October to March, giving summer temperatures two to three degrees lower than the peaks for nearby Bendigo.

• Rutherglen: Continental climate, mean January temperature 23.7 degrees Celsius, growing season rainfall 330 millimetres (Wine Australia)
• Mornington Peninsula: no vineyard site further than 7 kilometres from the ocean, altitude 0 to 315 metres (Wine Australia)
• Yarra Valley: mean January temperature 18.9 degrees Celsius, one of the lowest of the Victorian wine regions (Wine Australia)
• Gippsland: 400 kilometres of cool-climate coastline, vineyards at 20 to 50 metres (Wine Australia)

Australian geographical indication boundaries are defined by legislation and entered in the Register of Protected Geographical Indications and Other Terms, which is maintained by Wine Australia. The definitions are based on textual descriptions of the boundaries, and Wine Australia states that in each case the textual description is the legal definition, that the maps are graphic representations only, and that in the event of an inconsistency the textual description takes precedence. Geographical indications include zones, regions and sub-regions. Generally, sub-regions are contained within regions and regions are contained within zones. Regions and sub-regions are defined if they can be demonstrated to meet criteria regarding similarity of grapegrowing characteristics within the defined boundary, based on an application presented to the Geographical Indications Committee. Zones were initially declared by the Geographical Indications Committee in December 1996 in order to establish a framework for geographical indications in the wine sector, and are larger areas that cover all of Australia. Each state is itself a protected geographical indication term. Wine Australia conducts an audit program to ensure that wineries making a geographical indication claim for their wine can prove through their documentation that the grapes in the wine come from the specified geographical indication, to the extent required by the blending rules. Within the state term "Victoria", entered in the Register on 26 January 1994, the register lists the zones Central Victoria, Gippsland, North East Victoria, North West Victoria, Port Phillip and Western Victoria. Central Victoria, Gippsland, North East Victoria, Port Phillip and Western Victoria were each entered in the Register of Protected Names on 1 May 1996 under Section 40Z of the same Act. The register places the regions Bendigo, Goulburn Valley with its sub-region Nagambie Lakes, Heathcote, Strathbogie Ranges and Upper Goulburn in Central Victoria; Alpine Valleys, Beechworth, Glenrowan, King Valley and Rutherglen in North East Victoria; Murray Darling and Swan Hill in North West Victoria; Geelong, Macedon Ranges, Mornington Peninsula, Sunbury and Yarra Valley in Port Phillip; and Grampians with its sub-region Great Western, Henty and Pyrenees in Western Victoria. Wine Australia notes that Murray Darling and Swan Hill are contained within the zones of Big Rivers in New South Wales and North West Victoria, and that the use of Great Western is subject to legally enforceable conditions of use.

• Geographical indications include zones, regions and sub-regions, with sub-regions inside regions and regions inside zones (Wine Australia)
• The textual description is the legal definition, and takes precedence over the maps in the event of an inconsistency (Wine Australia)
• Zones were initially declared by the Geographical Indications Committee in December 1996 (Wine Australia)
• The use of Great Western, a sub-region of Grampians, is subject to legally enforceable conditions of use (Wine Australia)

The zones below are the Victorian geographical indications that organise this wiki. Zone entry dates and the regions inside each zone come from the Wine Australia register, and vineyard areas, crush figures and variety shares come from Wine Australia's regional pages and region snapshots.

• Central Victoria: the Australian geographical indication "Central Victoria" was entered in the Register of Protected Names on 1 May 1996. The register places the regions Bendigo, Goulburn Valley with its sub-region Nagambie Lakes, Heathcote, Strathbogie Ranges and Upper Goulburn inside it. Heathcote sits north of Melbourne and holds 1,836 hectares of vineyard, 7 percent of Victoria's vineyards and 84 percent red varieties; its main varieties are Shiraz, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and Grenache, and an estimated 8,543 tonnes were crushed there in 2025, with Shiraz at 49 percent of regional tonnes.
• Gippsland: the Australian geographical indication "Gippsland" was entered in the Register of Protected Names on 1 May 1996. The region covers a large area extending from the New South Wales and Victorian border, along the coast to Wonthaggi just below Melbourne, then west to the edge of the Great Dividing Range, with 400 kilometres of cool-climate coastline wedged between the mountains and the sea. Wine Australia records a total vineyard area of 187 hectares, says development has been dominated by small, family-owned vineyards and wineries, and identifies the region's strengths as aromatic white wines, chardonnay and pinot noir.
• North East Victoria Zone: the Australian geographical indication "North East Victoria" was entered in the Register of Protected Names on 1 May 1996, and contains the regions Alpine Valleys, Beechworth, Glenrowan, King Valley and Rutherglen. Rutherglen holds 781 hectares of vineyard, and its main varieties are Shiraz, Durif and Cabernet Sauvignon. King Valley lies next to the Alpine Valleys and Beechworth regions and south of Rutherglen, holds 1,535 hectares of vineyard, and grows Prosecco, Pinot Gris/Grigio, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir as its main varieties; Otto Dal Zotto was the first to source and plant Prosecco in the King Valley.
• Port Phillip: the Australian geographical indication "Port Phillip" was entered in the Register of Protected Names on 1 May 1996, and contains the regions Geelong, Macedon Ranges, Mornington Peninsula, Sunbury and Yarra Valley. The Yarra Valley, just east of Melbourne, holds 2,837 hectares of vineyard, 11 percent of Victoria's vineyards, and grows Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon as its main varieties; an estimated 9,767 tonnes were crushed there in 2025. Wine Victoria records the Yarra Valley as Victoria's oldest wine-growing region, where the first vines were planted in 1838. The Mornington Peninsula holds 976 hectares of vineyard, and its main varieties are Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Gris/Grigio.
• Western Victoria Zone: the Australian geographical indication "Western Victoria" was entered in the Register of Protected Names on 1 May 1996, in response to a direction received by the Registrar from the Presiding Member of the Geographical Indications Committee acting under Section 40Z of the Wine Australia Corporation Act 1980. The zone contains the regions Grampians, with its sub-region Great Western, Henty and Pyrenees. Grampians holds 651 hectares of vineyard, 3 percent of Victoria's vineyards, with 85 percent red varieties; an estimated 2,015 tonnes were crushed there in 2025, a 49 percent increase on 2024, and Shiraz accounted for 63 percent of regional tonnes.

Wine Australia reports the total Australian winegrape crush in 2025 at 1.57 million tonnes, of which the top two varieties were Shiraz at 23 percent and Chardonnay at 18 percent. Victoria's variety mix splits along the same climatic lines as its geography. In the cool south, Pinot Noir took 43 percent of Yarra Valley tonnes in 2025 and Chardonnay 29 percent, with Shiraz at 8 percent, Cabernet Sauvignon at 7 percent and Pinot Gris/Grigio at 4 percent across 2,837 hectares. On the Mornington Peninsula, with 976 hectares, Pinot Noir took 49 percent of regional tonnes in 2024 and Chardonnay 27 percent, with Pinot Gris/Grigio at 13 percent. Gippsland's 187 hectares are led by chardonnay and pinot noir, with shiraz the third largest variety of the region. Inland and in the north the reds dominate. Heathcote's 1,836 hectares are 84 percent red varieties, and in 2025 Shiraz took 49 percent of regional tonnes, Chardonnay 19 percent, Cabernet Sauvignon 6 percent, Grenache 6 percent and Mataro/Mourvedre 3 percent. Grampians is 85 percent red across 651 hectares, with Shiraz at 63 percent of 2025 regional tonnes, Cabernet Sauvignon at 16 percent, Riesling at 8 percent, Pinot Gris/Grigio at 5 percent and Pinot Noir at 3 percent. Rutherglen's 781 hectares are led by Shiraz, Durif and Cabernet Sauvignon alongside the fortified wines made from Muscat and Muscadelle. King Valley, across 1,535 hectares, counts Prosecco, Pinot Gris/Grigio, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir as its main varieties, with Merlot the most widely planted variety in the valley.

• National crush 2025: 1.57 million tonnes, led by Shiraz at 23 percent and Chardonnay at 18 percent (Wine Australia)
• Yarra Valley 2025: Pinot Noir 43 percent and Chardonnay 29 percent of regional tonnes, across 2,837 hectares (Wine Australia)
• Heathcote 2025: Shiraz 49 percent of regional tonnes, across 1,836 hectares that are 84 percent red varieties (Wine Australia)
• Grampians 2025: Shiraz 63 percent of regional tonnes, across 651 hectares that are 85 percent red varieties (Wine Australia)

According to Wine Australia, the total Australian vineyard area in 2019 is estimated at 146,244 hectares, of which Victoria accounted for 15 percent, behind South Australia at 52 percent and New South Wales at 24 percent. Wine Australia's 2024-25 region snapshots put the all-regions vineyard area at 155,442 hectares, drawn from the National Vineyard Scan 2020 and ABS 2015, against a national crush of 1,565,135 tonnes in 2025 at an average yield of 10.1 tonnes per hectare. Victorian regional yields sit well below that national average: 4.7 tonnes per hectare in Heathcote, 3.4 in the Yarra Valley and 3.1 in Grampians in 2025. According to Wine Victoria, whose 2025 Victorian Wine Industry Economic Scorecard was independently prepared by RMCG, the Victorian wine industry delivered a record economic contribution of 10.8 billion Australian dollars in 2025, up 14 percent year on year, and supports 17,178 jobs across the state, a 25 percent increase over two years. Total wine sales reached 1.13 billion Australian dollars, with economic contribution per tonne at 39,070 dollars. Domestic wine sales climbed 54 percent over two years to 664 million dollars, at an average domestic value of 7.99 dollars per litre, and export sales increased 80 percent over two years to 465 million dollars. The largest regional contributors in 2025 were Murray Darling - Swan Hill VIC at 1.7 billion dollars, Mornington Peninsula at 1.7 billion dollars, Yarra Valley at 1.5 billion dollars, Geelong at 1.05 billion dollars and King Valley at 940.8 million dollars, together generating approximately 64 percent of Victoria's total wine economic contribution. Regional wine tourism expenditure reached 2.69 billion dollars, up 13.5 percent, with visitor nights increasing 26 percent to 17 million and international visitors contributing 1.4 billion dollars.

• According to Wine Australia, Victoria held 15 percent of an estimated national vineyard area of 146,244 hectares in 2019
• According to Wine Australia, the 2025 national crush was 1,565,135 tonnes at an average yield of 10.1 tonnes per hectare
• According to Wine Victoria, the Victorian wine industry delivered a record 10.8 billion Australian dollar economic contribution in 2025, up 14 percent year on year
• According to Wine Victoria, Victorian export sales rose 80 percent over two years to 465 million Australian dollars

Primary sources (Wine Australia and Wine Victoria): https://www.wineaustralia.com/labelling/register-of-protected-gis-and-other-terms/geographical-indications/victoria-(1), https://www.wineaustralia.com/labelling/register-of-protected-gis-and-other-terms/geographical-indications/central-victoria, https://www.wineaustralia.com/labelling/register-of-protected-gis-and-other-terms/geographical-indications/gippsland, https://www.wineaustralia.com/labelling/register-of-protected-gis-and-other-terms/geographical-indications/north-east-victoria, https://www.wineaustralia.com/labelling/register-of-protected-gis-and-other-terms/geographical-indications/port-phillip, https://www.wineaustralia.com/labelling/register-of-protected-gis-and-other-terms/geographical-indications/western-victoria, https://www.wineaustralia.com/labelling/register-of-protected-gis-and-other-terms/australian-wine-geographical-indications, https://www.wineaustralia.com/labelling/register-of-protected-gis-and-other-terms/geographical-indications, https://www.wineaustralia.com/market-insights/australian-wine-sector-at-a-glance, https://www.wineaustralia.com/market-insights/regions-and-varieties/victoria-wines, https://www.wineaustralia.com/market-insights/regions-and-varieties/victoria-wines/gippsland, https://www.wineaustralia.com/market-insights/regions-and-varieties/victoria-wines/rutherglen, https://www.wineaustralia.com/market-insights/regions-and-varieties/victoria-wines/mornington-peninsula, https://www.wineaustralia.com/market-insights/regions-and-varieties/victoria-wines/heathcote, https://www.wineaustralia.com/market-insights/regions-and-varieties/victoria-wines/yarra-valley, https://www.wineaustralia.com/market-insights/regions-and-varieties/victoria-wines/king-valley, https://www.wineaustralia.com/getmedia/f1f1c5db-1ce5-4a82-89f9-afe803cf78fa/MI_Yarra-Valley-Region-Snapshot-2024-25.pdf, https://www.wineaustralia.com/getmedia/2ab14a99-ea10-4d2f-9eb8-faeb6ebc8581/MI_Grampians-Region-Snapshot-2024-25.pdf, https://www.wineaustralia.com/getmedia/2e933649-7d7f-4428-a047-c9ef32253796/MI_Heathcote-Region-Snapshot-2024-25.pdf, https://www.wineaustralia.com/getmedia/3c8d570f-c81e-40dd-9f52-3839d2525229/MI_Mornington-Peninsula-Region-Snapshot-2023-24.pdf, https://winevictoria.org.au/, https://winevictoria.org.au/pages/about-us, https://winevictoria.org.au/pages/victorias-five-wine-pillars, https://winevictoria.org.au/blogs/news/victoria-s-wine-industry-hits-10-8-billion-milestone. Last verified 2026-09-16