Riverina

Location
 Zone - Big Rivers
State - New South Wales

Map Reference
 Latitude 34 degrees and 10 minutes South
Longitude 146 degrees and 02 minutes East

Elevation
 100 - 200 metres above sea level

Subregions
 Nil

Introduction
 Until the second half of the 1950's production in the area was almost entirely of fortified wine. Its real power lies in its high yields - the 10,445 hectares produced 164,375 tonnes of grapes in 2000 giving an average of 15.7 tonnes per hectare. Comparing that with the Hunter Valley where the average yield for the same period was 4.3 tonnes per hectare.
Primary Grape Varieties
White
 Semillon 39 585 ha
Chardonnay 23 650 ha
Colombard 11 100 ha
Trebbiano 9120 ha
Muscat Gordo Blanco 6135 ha
Sauvignon Blanc 3420 ha
Other 12 570 ha
Total White 105 580 ha
Red
 Shiraz 43 400 ha
Cabernet Sauvignon 13 550 ha
Merlot 8585 ha
Ruby Cabernet 7950 ha
Mourvedre 1765 ha
Other 5205 ha
Total Red 80 455 ha
Primary Wine Styles

Semillon
Semillon provides a pleasant wine that is often blended with other varieties and is used in the making of generic styles. When left on the vine for a full two months after normal maturity with favourable weather conditions Botrytis cinerea, otherwise known as 'noble rot' attacks the grapes, concentrating both sugar and acid, and producing the luscious dessert wine pioneered by De Bortoli in 1982.

Chardonnay
Chardonnay's importance is growing and with the sensible use of oak it can produce a wine of reasonable varietal flavour, weight and style. Other White Wines Substantial plantings of Trebbiano, Muscat Gordo Blanco and Colombard are predominantly used as blend components in large wine company's casks and flagon productions.

Red Wines
McWilliams's is the major producer of bottled red wine from the region with a Cabernet-based wine that offers pleasant, leafy, light-bodied, early-maturing drink. As with the white wines, much of the annual crush disappears into the obscurity of cask wines. Riverina Wines had noticeable success with Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, making wines of immense colour and flavour.

Fortified Wines
The region is a major producer of fortified wines. While most are cheap some are superb aged wine that are capable of winning many medals. Muscat, Amontillado Sherry and Oloroso Sherry are the outstanding wines.