New South Wales Wine - Climate and Geography

Climate and Geography

The 800,642 km2 (309,130 sq mi) of the New South Wales land mass covers a vast expanse of varying microclimates. Overall, the climate shares some similarities with the French wine region of the Languedoc. The Great Dividing Range has a substantial influence on the climate of many of New South Wales' viticultural areas with areas of higher elevation, such as Orange, Canberra and the Hilltops region have cooler climates with more continental influences. The Hunter Valley is very warm, with high humidity and a large amount of rainfall during the growing and harvest season. The Mudgee, Cowra and Big Rivers Zones are warm and much drier than the Hunter Valley with several areas requiring irrigation for grape growing.

The soils of New South Wales are similar varied with clay, loam and sandstone being the most common. The Lower Hunter region has several locations with volanic loam with alluvial sands and silts on the flatter valley vineyards. The Tumbarumba region in the south has souls of basalt and granite with the Hilltops region also having granite based soils with mixtures of basalt and gravels.