Murray Darling

Large, productive Australian wine region straddling the Murray River with vineyards in both the Big Rivers Zone of new south wales and the North West Victoria Zone of victoria. It's situated about 270 miles northwest of Melbourne; the main town in the area is Mildura. The climate in this region is hot and dry and vineyards require constant irrigation, which is provided by an irrigation system developed in the late 1800s. This system has turned the vast, dry, arid area into a garden spot not only for grapes but also for lots of other produce. Vines in this hot, well-irrigated area are very vigorous, producing high yields and generally less than the highest quality wines. Most of the production is destined for Australia's inexpensive and popular bag-in-box (or cask) wines. The wine regions along the Murray River-Murray Darling, the swan hill region, and the riverland region-generate 50 percent of Australia's wine production. sultana, muscat, chardonnay, and colombard are the most widely planted wine grapes. There is also considerable acreage of Shiraz (syrah) and cabernet sauvignon.