Victorian Resources Online - Goulburn Broken

Wine Grapes - Early Maturing

Pinot-Noir, Merlot, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc are used as the benchmark varieties for early maturing wine grape suitability.

Diversifying into Wine Grapes

Vititculture on the slopes of Mt. Camel Range near Colbinabbin.

Over the past two decades, there has been a dramatic increase in the amount of land planted to winegrapes in the Goulburn Broken catchment. For example, in the last couple of years the area planted in the Strathbogie Shire has increased from 600 to 1800 hectares while in the Murrindindi Shire the area has increased from just a few hectares to over 500 hectares.

Apart from the increase in the areas planted to winegrapes there has also been a large increase in infrastructure development. A few new large wineries have been built as well as the expansion of existing ones, to process and store wine produced from the expanded area of grapes.

Although winegrape production in North East Victoria (Goulburn Broken and North East catchments) was only 1.5% of Australia's total crush for 1997/98, plantings are comprised completely of premium red and white varieties. Projections over the next three year forecast period for the North East probably mirror those predicted for Australia, as being an increase of 16% in the annual production of premium winegrape varieties, with the majority being increases in premium red varieties.

This map of biophysical suitability for Wine Grapes - Early Maturing has been developed by the Centre for Land Protection Research, DPI. It applies to the dryland parts of the Goulburn Broken region. The map has been developed using the Most Limiting Factor method. The factors and critical values used for determining the biophysical suitability are shown in the table below.

Please refer to Important Notes about these maps.

Biophysical Suitability for Early Wine

Factors and critical values used for determining the biophysical suitability for early maturing wine grapes:

FACTOR	CRITICAL VALUE
FACTOR	High probability of being suitable	Moderate probability of being suitable	Low probability of being suitable
CLIMATE
Mean cumulative days of frost during spring (Sept. Oct. and Nov.	<10	10 - 15	>15
Mean monthly rainfall during flowering (Nov. and Dec.	< 75mm in Nov. and < 75 mm in Dec.	< 75mm in Nov. or < 75 mm in Dec.	> 75mm in Nov. and > 75 mm in Dec.
Mean monthly rainfall during ripening (Mar and Apr.	< 75mm in Mar and < 75 mm in April	< 75mm in Mar or < 75 mm in April	> 75mm in Mar and > 75 mm in April
Branas Index	< 6500	6500 - 7000	> 7000
Heat Degree Days	1150 - 1600	1600 - 1900	< 1900 and > 1150
LANDSCAPE
Slope (%)	0.5 - 15	< 0.5 and 15 - 25	> 25
SOIL
Surface pH	5.5 - 8.0	4.5 - 5.5 and 8.0 - 8.5	< 4.5 and > 8.5
Sub-surface pH	6.0 - 8.0	5.0 - 6.0 and 8.0 - 9	< 5.0 and > 9
Surface texture	Loam, Sandy Loam, Silty Loam, Sandy Clay Loam, Clayey Loam, Loamy Sand Clay Loam Sandy, Silty Clay Loam, Light Clay, Clayey Sand Light Medium Clay	Sand, Medium Clay, Medium Heavy Clay	Heavy Clay
Sub-surface texture	Loam, Sandy Loam, Silty Loam, Sandy Clay Loam, Clayey Loam, Loamy Sand Clay Loam Sandy, Silty Clay Loam, Light Clay, Clayey Sand Light Medium Clay, Medium Clay, Medium Heavy Clay	Heavy Clay Sand
Surface soil sodicity	No (ESP < 6%), Slight (ESP 6 -15%)	Yes (ESP > 15%)
Sub-surface soil sodicity	No (ESP < 6%), Slight (ESP 6 -15%)	Yes (ESP > 15%)
Useable soil depth (cm)	30 - 60	> 60, 10 - 30	< 10
Surface soil drainage	Moderately well drained (4), Well drained (5)	Rapidly drained (6), Imperfectly drained (3)	Poorly drained (2), Very poorly drained (1)
Sub-surface drainage	Moderately well drained (4), Well drained (5)	Rapidly drained (6), Imperfectly drained (3)	Poorly drained (2), Very poorly drained (1)

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