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134. Australian Wine Regions for WSET Level 2 Students: Part 1 - Hunter Valley, Yarra Valley, Mornington Peninsula
· 11 min · S1 E134
Episode 134. Australian Wine Regions for WSET Level 2 Students: Part 1 - Hunter Valley, Yarra Valley, Mornington Peninsula
134. Australian Wine Regions for WSET Level 2 Students: Part 1 - Hunter Valley, Yarra Valley, Mornington Peninsula
Host: Joanne Close Episode Length: 10:32 Release Date: October 20, 2026
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Level 2 Mock Exam Bundle
If you are preparing for your WSET Level 2 exam, the Mock Exam Bundle lets you practise with exam-style questions that cover the regions, grapes and wine styles you need to know, including Australia. Working through timed mock exams shows you where the gaps are before exam day, so you can focus your study where it counts.
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Episode Description
Australia doesn't get its own chapter in the WSET Level 2 book. Its regions are scattered across the grape chapters, which makes the country hard to piece together. This is the first of three episodes that put modern Australian wine in one place, starting with Hunter Valley in New South Wales and two cool-climate regions near Melbourne, Yarra Valley and Mornington Peninsula.
Joanne explains why Hunter Valley Semillon works in a warm, humid climate, and why it can taste like it was oak aged after ten years in bottle even though it never touched a barrel. She also contrasts Hunter Valley Shiraz with the fuller Barossa style.
Then she heads south toward Melbourne, where five degrees of latitude makes a big difference. She covers how elevation cools the Yarra Valley and how the sea cools the Mornington Peninsula, and why both regions are known for Pinot Noir and cool climate Chardonnay.
What You'll Learn in This Episode Hunter Valley, New South Wales
• Why the Hunter Valley is called Sydney's backyard, about two hours north of the city, with a strong wine tourism scene • How big it is: about 2,600 hectares under vine, less than half the size of Chablis • How it escaped phylloxera, so some old vines still grow on their original rootstocks • James Busby's role in bringing vines from France • The two key grapes, Semillon and Shiraz
Hunter Valley Semillon
• Why thin-skinned Semillon faces fungal disease risk in a warm, humid climate with harvest rain • How early harvesting avoids that problem and gives light body, high acidity and 10 to 11.5% alcohol • How it changes with age: subtle lemon and citrus when young, then toast, honey and nut after 10 or more years in bottle, with no oak • Why it's so hard to find outside Australia, since most premium production is drunk at home
Hunter Valley Shiraz vs Barossa Shiraz
• Hunter Valley Shiraz: medium body, red and dark fruit, savoury flavours with age • Barossa Shiraz: a fuller-bodied style
The Latitude Shift From Sydney to Melbourne
• Hunter Valley sits at about 33 degrees south, and Yarra and Mornington Peninsula at about 38 degrees • Five degrees is about 345 miles, roughly the distance from Naples to Verona
Yarra Valley, Victoria
• About an hour east of Melbourne, with around 2,800 hectares planted • Elevation up to about 400 metres as the main cooling influence • Its history: commercial wine production stopped by 1921, most vineyards were pasture by 1937, and the region revived with post-war European migration • Key grapes: Pinot Noir and cool climate Chardonnay
Mornington Peninsula, Victoria
• About an hour and a half south of Melbourne, just under 1,000 hectares, about one-sixth the size of Chablis • No vineyard more than 7 kilometres from the sea, with maritime breezes moderating summer temperatures • How the modern industry took off in the 1970s with Melbourne's demand for premium dry table wines • Key grapes: Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Gris
Episode Highlights and Quotes
"But then something magical happens in the bottle."
"This is Sydney's backyard."
"Drink all the good stuff. That's fine."
Quick Reference: Hunter Valley, Yarra Valley and Mornington Peninsula Hunter Valley Yarra…
Links in the notes 4
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