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Appellation · Australia

Geelong

A cool, windy region west of Melbourne, and the site of Australia’s most thorough phylloxera eradication.

Geelong GImaritimecool
What to expect in the glass

Structured Pinot Noir with red and dark fruit, taut Chardonnay, and cool-climate Shiraz with white pepper.

About Geelong

Geelong lies west of Melbourne on the shore of Port Phillip Bay, and is cool, dry and persistently windy.

Phylloxera arrived here in 1875, and the Victorian government responded by ordering every vine in the district uprooted. Commercial viticulture did not resume until the 1960s.

The wines are cool-climate in profile: firm Pinot Noir, taut Chardonnay and a peppery, medium-bodied Shiraz.

What the name means

Legal name
Geelong GI
Type
Australian Geographical Indication (GI)
Set by
Wine Australia
Recognised
1996
Regulates
Origin only. It sets no rules about varieties, yields, ageing or winemaking.

The boundary of the named zone, region or sub-region and the proportion of fruit that must come from it. Like an AVA, it does not prescribe varieties or methods.

Grapes

Wines from here

red

Australian Pinot Noir

Cool-climate Pinot from the Yarra Valley, Mornington Peninsula and Tasmania — savoury, structured and increasingly serious.

What to eat, and how to serve it

Derived from this region’s signature styles. Each is listed separately, because a region does not have one serving temperature.

Australian Pinot Noir

Serve at 14–16°C (cellar cool).

Try with fillet steak, bloomy-rind cheese or brie and soft cheese.

Where to go next

Places worth trying if you like this one — neighbours, rivals, and the obvious step across.

  • Mornington Peninsula — A cool maritime peninsula south of Melbourne, surrounded by water on three sides, specialising in Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
  • Yarra Valley — A cool Victorian region near Melbourne, central to Australia’s move towards restrained styles.

Sources

Sources consulted