Canberra District
Vineyards scattered high and cold around the national capital, on land reaching 1,419 metres. Shiraz co-fermented with a little Viognier is the style the district made its name on, from holdings small enough that most are worked by their owners.
Known for
- Shiraz Viognier
- Riesling
Why Canberra District tastes the way it does
High, cold and continental, with big day-night swings and a short season. Shiraz co-fermented with a little Viognier is the style the district made its name on, aromatic and medium-bodied. Riesling is the other strength, dry and tight.
January averages 21.9°C here and the growing season adds up to 1,632 heat units, which is moderate by Australian standards.
A short history
Planted from 1971, largely by scientists and public servants working in Canberra rather than by farmers, and it stayed small and part-time for decades.
Canberra District was registered as a protected wine name in 1998, which makes the boundary a legal definition rather than a marketing one.
What your house does to a bottle from Canberra District
A bottle from Canberra District ages at the rate its temperature sets, not at the rate the vintage chart says. Barello's model is the physical one: every 10°C above 13°C roughly doubles the rate, and at 25°C or more you are not ageing it, you are cooking it. Pick where you live and where the bottle actually sits.
Choose a city and a spot, and this line will tell you how much faster the bottle is ageing than it would in a cellar.
This is the same model that dates every bottle in Barello. Open the app to run it against your own wine. Or read how to store wine without a cellar, or the wine temperature chart.
Canberra District in numbers
| Planted vineyard | 329 ha | number 43 of 64 in Australia |
|---|---|---|
| Region area | 8,607 km² | 0.04% of it under vine |
| Grapes crushed | 451 t a year | 1.4 tonnes a hectare |
| January average | 21.9°C | number 33 coolest of 64 |
| Heat units | 1,632 | warmth added up over the growing season |
| Land in the GI rises | 264 to 1,419 m | the boundary, not where the vines are |
| Registered | 1998 | as a protected name |
Nearby
- Tumbarumba138 km south west, known for Chardonnay instead
- Cowra149 km north, 3.3°C warmer
- Orange182 km north, known for Chardonnay instead
Distances are between the registered centres of each region, so they are as the crow flies rather than as the road goes.
Where these numbers come from
Boundaries and figures: Wine Australia Geographical Indications register, used under CC BY 4.0. Climate figures are the register's own long-run averages, measured in the vineyard. The history and the tasting notes above are Barello's own.