Grampian Mountains

For more information on the Grampians, visit Britannica.com.

An Australian wine region, formerly known as the Great Western region, located in the Western Victoria Zone of victoria. It's situated about 130 miles west and slightly north of Melbourne around the town of Ararat. The region's winemaking history dates back to the 1860s, soon after the short-lived gold boom in the latter 1850s. Seppelt Great Western, established in 1865, became Australia's best-known sparkling wine producer utilizing huge underground caves dug out by unemployed gold miners in the late 1860s. Although still known as a producer of sparkling wines, the Grampians has also gained a reputation for still wines. This is a cool to warm growing region that does well with chardonnay, Shiraz (syrah), and cabernet sauvignon (its most widely planted varieties). Other varieties grown here include sauvignon blanc, pinot noir, riesling, and merlot.