The final wine region we visited in Victoria is Geelong. In the 1860s Geelong was the largest exporting region of wine in Australia. However, it was infected with phylloxera in 1875, which led to the downfall at that time. Only since the 1970s viticulture has been reintroduced. The vineyards are spread out over the Geelong peninsula, with most of Geelong in use for other types of agriculture.

The first winery we visited in Geelong was Farr. Gary Farr was the winemaker of Bannockburn from 1978, the first winery with a great reputation in Geelong (unfortunately it was not possible to fit it into our itinerary). Most wineries in Geelong were working with Riesling, Cabernet, and Malbec because those varieties were popular back then, but Farr also made Pinot Noir and Chardonnay because he liked those himself. In the 1980s those wines were impossible to sell, so he built up ‘museum stock’ that helped to set the reputation in the 1990s by demonstrating the aging potential of the wines.

Gary Farr kept working for Bannockburn, but also started his own winery and managed to build the most renowned winery of Geelong. His son Nick has now taken over the reigns. Farr specializes in Pinot Noir, but also produces Chardonnay, Shiraz, and some Viognier. The vineyards were planted in 1994. There are 5 different soil types. The discerning factor here is limestone, which gives the wines minerality and power. The weather has been challenging after 2016, with crops reduced by more than 50% due to wet and cold weather. They have 20 hectares of vineyards. There are also some experimental plantings of Garganega, Nebbiolo, and Gamay. Gary has taught Nick to experiment and learn from his mistakes. Thus they have tried different planting densities. For instance, 10,000 per hectare as is common in France turned out to be too high; 6000 to 8000 vines per hectare produced the best results. It is noteworthy that this is the first winery where corks were used for all the wines rather than screw caps.

We started by Nick giving us a tour of the vineyards. They place straw on the ground to keep the soil cool. The lower temperature slows down the ripening of the grapes, allowing more time for the aromas to develop.

It was great that we got to taste two vintages of each wine (mini vertical tasting). These are the wines we tasted at Farr:

• Viognier by Farr
  • 2022: peach, fresh, balance.
  • 2019 (hot vintage): restrained aroma, structure.
• Irrewarra Chardonnay (from a vineyard 1 hour to the south, cooler than at the estate)
  • 2022: crisp
  • 2021: even more crisp
• Chardonnay by Farr
  • 2022: complex, balance, fresh
  • 2018: stone fruit, creamy, balance
• GC Cote Vineyard Chardonnay
  • 2022: young (needs time in the bottle for the oak to integrate), structure
  • 2017: beautiful aroma, body, balanced, juicy, complex, structure
• By Farr Farrside Pinot Noir (50% new oak)
  • 2021: spicy, smooth
  • 2015: restrained aroma, structure, fresh, tannin
• By Farr RP Cote Vineyard Pinot Noir
  • 2021: fresh, spicy, structure
  • 2016: earthy, fresh, smoother tannins
• By Farr Sangreal Pinot Noir (richest soil, hottest exposure, picked first)
  • 2021: young, fresh, structure
  • 2018: structure, balanced, still could use more time in the bottle
• By Farr Tout Près (high density planting, 100% whole bunch, 100% new oak)
  • 2021: herbaceous, high acidity
  • 2013: sour cherries, nicely aged, softened tannins
• By Farr Shiraz (with 4% Viognier)
  • 2021: slightly herbaceous, fresh
  • 2010: blackberry jam, fresh, velvety tannin, beautiful

This was another winemaker that was proud of the acidity in his wines. There were some really nice wines in this tasting, but they are not cheap (AU$ 160 for the Cote Vineyard Chardonnay and Pinot Noir).

The next winery was Austin’s Vineyards, at the complete opposite of the price spectrum; especially their value brand “6ft6” (named after a 6ft6 tall (198 cm) convict who escaped in 1803 and lived among the Wallarranga indigenous tribe for 32 years). The best barrels go into the Austin’s label and the rest ends up in the 6ft6 range (like second wines in Bordeaux). The winery was founded in 1982 and expanded in 1995. They produce 300,000 bottles from 60 hectares of vineyards, of which the majority is Pinot Noir. This part of Geelong is shielded from the maritime climate, making it more dry and less cool than other parts. Second generation owner Scott Austin showed us around, together with winemaker Dwane Cunningham.

Before tasting some wines we had a lunch with local cheese and local fruit, accompanied by a glass of 6ft6 Prosecco.

We tasted these wines:

• Austin’s Riesling 2022 (5 months on the lees): fruity, easy to drink
• Austin’s Chardonnay 2022 (picked at three different times, French oak, 20% new): oak, buttery, stone fruit, balanced acidity
• 6ft6 Pinot Noir 2023: spicy, easy to drink
• Austin’s Pinot Noir 2022 (top 5-10% selection of the best barrels, 25% new oak, some whole bunch): restrained aroma, balanced acidity, needs time in the bottle
• Austin’s Woolshed Naturel Shiraz 2023 (without sulfur, ‘natural’, no oak): black pepper, fruity, soft tannins, vibrant acidity, fresh (not at all ‘tainted’ by being made without sulfur)
• Austin’s Shiraz 2022 (14 months in French oak, 15-20% whole bunch): eucalyptus, fresh, firm ripe tannins

After the wine tasting Scott took us on a tour through the vineyards in his all-terrain vehicle, which was a lot of fun.

The final winery we visited in Geelong does not just have vineyards in Geelong, but also in Ballarat, Macedon, and Henty. It is Provenance, owned by Scott Ireland (who is also the winemaker) and Sam Vogel. The winery was built in the 1870s, but Scott and Tom started here in 2016 (before that, Scott was winemaker at Austin’s). It is a small winery that produces around 100,000 bottles per year.

Macedon and Ballarat are more inland with higher elevation (500-800 meters above sealevel), whereas Henty is almost halfway to Adelaide. The grapes in Ballarat are harvested last with the highest acidity. Winemaking is done with minimal intervention to show the terroir (i.e. provenance) of the grapes. The ferment is started with wild yeast, but then halfway it is inoculated to make sure the ferment will complete.

At Provenance we tasted these wines:

• Henty Blanc de Blancs 2016 (Chardonnay, second fermentation in the bottle, aged 5 years on the lees): green apple, soft mousse

• Henty Riesling 2023 (aged on the lees rather than leaving residual sugar to balance the acidity): stone fruit, high acidity
• Henty Pinot Gris 2023 (with a splash of Gewurztraminer): pear, balance.
• Golden Plains Chardonnay 2021 (made from the barrels ‘left’ after selecting for the three single region wines; all Chardonnays are made in French oak, 30-40% new): stone fruit, oak, fresh.
• Ballarat Chardonnay 2021: tropical fruit, oak, creamy, balance (my favorite of the Chardonnays here)
• Henty Chardonnay 2021: oak, buttery, citrus.
• Geelong Chardonnay 2021: oak, citrus.

• Golden Plains Pinot Noir 2022 (made from the barrels ‘left’ after selecting for the three single region wines): strawberry, fresh, velvety.
• Henty Pinot Noir 2021: candy, ripe tannins.
• Macedon Pinot Noir 2021: bell pepper, drying finish.
• Ballarat Pinot Noir 2021: oak, slightly herbaceous, ripe tannin.
• Geelong Shiraz 2021 (no whole bunch): blackberry, fresh, firm ripe tannins.
• Geelong Ironstone Shiraz 2021 (selection): oak, firm ripe tannin, power, needs more time in the bottle.

Unfortunately we didn’t taste any back vintages, because especially the single region reds needed more time in the bottle to be able to fully appreciate them. I think both Austin’s and Provenance offer good value for money, with Provenance at a slightly higher level of both price and quality.

We finished the day with an Italian dinner, with “BYO” (Bring Your Own) Autralian wine.