Tumbarumba
High in the foothills of the Snowy Mountains, on land reaching 1,290 metres. Most of what it grows leaves under another region's label: Tumbarumba Chardonnay and sparkling base turn up in bottles from all over the country.
Known for
- Chardonnay
- Pinot Noir
- Sparkling
Why Tumbarumba tastes the way it does
High, cold and wet, in the foothills of the Snowy Mountains. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir for sparkling base are the main crop, with still Chardonnay and Pinot Gris also good. Almost all of it is sold to producers outside the region.
January averages 22.5°C here and the growing season adds up to 1,696 heat units, which is moderate by Australian standards.
A short history
Planted from 1982, specifically to supply cool-climate fruit to larger companies, which is exactly why so little of it carries the region's own name.
Tumbarumba 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 Tumbarumba
A bottle from Tumbarumba 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.
Tumbarumba in numbers
| Planted vineyard | 214 ha | number 51 of 64 in Australia |
|---|---|---|
| Region area | 3,007 km² | 0.07% of it under vine |
| Grapes crushed | 391 t a year | 1.8 tonnes a hectare |
| January average | 22.5°C | number 38 coolest of 64 |
| Heat units | 1,696 | warmth added up over the growing season |
| Land in the GI rises | 209 to 1,290 m | the boundary, not where the vines are |
| Registered | 1998 | as a protected name |
Nearby
- Beechworth126 km south west, also Chardonnay country
- Rutherglen128 km west, 1.8°C warmer
- Canberra District138 km north east, known for Shiraz Viognier 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.