袋熊溪 (Wombat Creek) 是亚拉河谷 (Yarra Valley) 海拔最高的葡萄园,地理位置优
越,适合生产优质凉爽气候的葡萄酒。
海拔 424 米,是真正的凉爽气候葡萄园,可靠的年降雨量约为 1200 毫米。成熟的黑皮
诺和霞多丽葡萄树种植在上亚拉河谷外围 Gladysdale 附近的北面和西面山丘上。葡萄
树下有 16 公顷——6 公顷霞多丽和 10 公顷黑比诺。土壤是自由排水的火山壤土。
从袋熊溪最高的山顶开始,陡峭的葡萄藤斜坡向北延伸。葡萄园底部有一个长满睡莲的
泉水池塘;这是 Wombat Creek 的源头,它从山上缓缓流过,在西北几公里处与
Hoddles Creek 汇合,最终汇入蜿蜒的亚拉河。在北边,俯瞰茂密的白蜡树森林和点缀
着袋熊洞的绿色山丘,蓝色的地平线被 Donna Buang 山的鞍背山脊所占据。周围的森
林、蕨类植物沟渠和小溪是鸭嘴兽、琴鸟、袋鼠、小袋鼠,当然还有袋熊的家园。
Wombat Creek Vineyard
Wombat Creek is the most elevated vineyard in the Yarra Valley, making it uniquely situated for production of premium cool climate wines.
At 424m above sea level, it is a true cool-climate vineyard with reliable annual rainfall of around 1200mm. Mature Pinot Noir and Chardonnay vines are planted on north and west-facing hills near Gladysdale in the outer reaches of the Upper Yarra Valley. There are 16 ha under vine – 6 ha of Chardonnay and 10 of Pinot Noir. The soils are free-draining volcanic loams.
From the crest of the highest hill at Wombat Creek, steep slopes of vines stretch to the north. At the bottom of the vineyard there is a spring-fed pond covered in water lilies; this is the source of Wombat Creek, which trickles through the hills, joining Hoddles Creek a few kilometres to the north-west and ultimately emptying into the meandering Yarra River. To the north, looking over dense Mountain Ash forest and folds of green hills dotted with wombat holes, the blue horizon is dominated by the saddleback ridge of Mt Donna Buang. The surrounding forest, fern gullies and creeks are home to platypus, lyrebirds, kangaroos, wallabies and, of course, wombats.
A light covering of snow is not uncommon in winter, when the vines are dormant, but the steep slopes allow frost to drain away and protect the tender shoots from freezing temperatures in spring.
Wombat Creek Vineyard