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By car, about an hour south of Melbourne, the energy of the Australian city quickly gives way to a balmy seaside atmosphere. The Mornington Peninsula – with its beachfront homes, upscale hotels and gourmet restaurants – evokes the Hamptons, the French Riviera or any other opulent vacation enclave.
But in June, as winter in the southern hemisphere approaches, the influx of tourists is not dissipating. Over the last few decades, the region has become a leading wine destination, attracting vacationers all year round with elegant tasting rooms, sumptuous accommodations and distinct varieties of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
A cool start
The wine region of the Mornington Peninsula is relatively new; The vines were first planted in 1972 and a wave of budding vine growers created the sturdy beginnings of a wine industry in the 1980s. Cabernet was the varietal of choice at that time because winemakers thought that their climate was similar to that of Bordeaux.
"Viticulture under a cool climate was a novelty in Australia and its expertise was inadequate," says Kate McIntyre of the Moorooduc estate and holds a Master of Wine degree from the Institute of Wine Masters of Le United Kingdom. "So we received very bad preliminary information. Dad really wanted to grow Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Therefore, despite the advice given by the experts, he planted a bit of both. Fortunately, she laughs.
The winemakers quickly realized that the cooler climate, largely affected by the expanses of water surrounding the peninsula, was better suited to the popular varieties of Burgundy.
"The capricious maritime climate means our wines are always a product of every vintage," says Mike Aylward, who launched his own brand, Ocean Eight, after his parents' sale of the family vineyard in 2004. "We do not produce generic wines. Each year has its own challenges, which means that we are still learning. "
Rare Wine & Food, Mornington Peninsula.
Dan Hocking
Convincing a region of winegrowers – who were already betting heavily on the full-bodied cabernet and shiraz – that Pinot Noir and Chardonnay were the way to go for the peninsula was taking a bit of work.
"At that time, most consumers did not really have the chance to have access to the great Burgundians. They were convinced that we could never make wine of this kind in Australia, "McIntyre explains. . "I think they were right to a certain extent; we do not want to make facsimile Burgundy in Australia. But what happened to them was that they thought it was the only way to make good pinot. "
McIntyre reports other important wine regions, such as Oregon and New Zealand, that have adopted Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes, including them through a Burgundy goal, but developing their own style.
A second departure
The idyllic setting of the region has seduced wine lovers looking for a second career or a slower pace of life, and many have turned to winemaking. Although this new community of winemakers has been criticized for its status as "amateur winemaker", the collective has brought other skills to the growing wine region; many were scientists or doctors in their first career rounds and applied their collective knowledge to viticulture.
Today, the Mornington Peninsula winegrowers' badociation, a coterie of wine growers in the region, conducts competing studies on a number of viticultural issues. One of the main objectives has been to delve deeply into pinot noir grape clones and determine how they react to different soils, exposures and climatic variations.
"A concerted effort has been made to research individual vineyards in the area to better understand the microclimates of different vineyards and to explain why we are a good region, especially for Pinot Noir," says Mr. McIntyre. For more than ten years, the MPVA has also been carrying out an badysis of the water quality of the peninsula in different watersheds, dams and streams feeding and operating the vineyards. Finally, as cases of phylloxera – a disease of vineyards responsible for the disappearance of whole wine regions throughout history – have been discovered in other parts of Australia, the only case that has occurred is that of phylloxera. root and phylloxera resistant vines are of great importance.
The vast majority of wineries are still family businesses. Large companies have not invested in the Mornington Peninsula for a multitude of reasons. The existing plots are small: the average size of a vineyard in this area is 3.9 hectares (9.6 acres), compared to the Australian Barossa Valley, where the average vineyard size is 17, 6 hectares (43.5 acres). In addition, the scarcity of land means that there is not much room for growth.
Grape prices also deter companies looking to create a scalable business. A tonne of Pinot Noir grapes (1.1 US tons) on the Mornington Peninsula is worth A $ 3,266 (US $ 2,278) on average, compared with A $ 2,078 in the Yarra Valley, another Australian region known for Pinot Noir. black. In turn, the wines themselves are expensive: $ 50 to $ 80 per bottle on average. And most businesses, according to McIntyre, are looking for "less than $ 20 tricks they can draw that satisfy the majority of alcohol users."
A new start
But do not confuse the family property with that of your home. The area has long been a destination for wealthy urbanites and the increasing influx of visitors to wineries has spurred the establishment of a new luxury wine tourism infrastructure. "Wine tourism has been huge and vital to the success of the company and the region as a whole," says Sam Coverdale of Polperro Wines. "Over the last five years, he has grown exponentially." Coverdale knows this very well; his property operates not only a cellar door (Australian term for a tasting room), but also a restaurant, a bar and a bistro. The estate is also home to four villas and will soon open a three-bedroom farmhouse, renovated by renowned design firm Hecker Guthrie. At the end of the street, Polperro operates the HotHut yoga studio, which further adds to the holiday experience in the wine country.
Doot Doot Doot, the upscale dining room of the Jackalope Hotel in the Mornington Peninsula, Australia.
At Jackalope Hotel, an avant-garde aesthetic is to commission sculptures and artwork from some of Australia's most prominent landscape and hotel artists. An ideal day could include a morning walk through Willow Creek Vineyard, followed by a tasting of the wines themselves at Rare Hare, the on-site cafe and the cellar door. After a spa session in the afternoon, enjoy an upscale tasting menu at the on-site Doot Doot Doot, served under a ceiling of undulating bulbs to evoke the wine's fermentation process.
The highly decorated wine list of Ten Minutes by Tractor, a winery and restaurant, includes not only the exclusive wines of the estate, but also a wide range of international dishes, particularly the spirit of Burgundy, the spirit of the region. Mornington Peninsula. Although their main restaurant is currently undergoing repairs after a fire, diners can still enjoy French bistro-inspired dishes in the restaurant's Petit Tracteur bistro solarium.
Yuzu curd, matcha, sesame – served at Doot Doot Doot.
Jackalope Hotel
While beach and surf continue to attract vacationers during the summer months, the wine industry on the Mornington Peninsula is now calling visitors full. The constant evolution of viticultural practices continues to express itself in wines and to give a more important place to the cold climate region.
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