King Valley
Italian varieties took hold here more than anywhere else in Australia, planted by families who arrived to grow tobacco and changed crop. Prosecco, Sangiovese and Nebbiolo, at 12.2 tonnes a hectare.
Known for
- Prosecco
- Sangiovese
- Nebbiolo
- Barbera
Why King Valley tastes the way it does
A long valley climbing from a warm floor to cold high country, so what is planted changes with altitude. Prosecco, Sangiovese, Barbera and Nebbiolo are taken more seriously here than anywhere else in Australia. At 12.2 tonnes a hectare it also supplies a great deal of everyday wine.
January averages 22.3°C here and the growing season adds up to 1,687 heat units, which is moderate by Australian standards.
A short history
Italian families, many from the north of Italy, settled here after the second world war to grow tobacco. When the tobacco industry collapsed through the 1980s and 90s they moved to wine grapes and planted the varieties they already knew.
King Valley was registered as a protected wine name in 2007, which makes the boundary a legal definition rather than a marketing one.
What your house does to a bottle from King Valley
A bottle from King Valley 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.
King Valley in numbers
| Planted vineyard | 1,483 ha | number 21 of 64 in Australia |
|---|---|---|
| Region area | 2,021 km² | 0.73% of it under vine |
| Grapes crushed | 18,102 t a year | 12.2 tonnes a hectare |
| January average | 22.3°C | number 37 coolest of 64 |
| Heat units | 1,687 | warmth added up over the growing season |
| Registered | 2007 | as a protected name |
Nearby
- Beechworth46 km north east, known for Chardonnay instead
- Rutherglen67 km north, 2.0°C warmer
- Goulburn Valley107 km west, 1.6°C warmer
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.