Just over an hour north-east of Melbourne, the Yarra Valley is home to more than 70 wine producers — from long-established family estates to small boutique cellar doors.

Cool-climate Chardonnay, sparkling wine and Pinot Noir are the region’s signature styles, and the Valley has led the shift toward leaner, more acid-driven Chardonnay, closer to Burgundy, as winemakers cut back on oak maturation time and the percentage of new oak used. Pinot Noir follows close behind — widely regarded as the hardest variety to get right, and the Valley produces some of the most elegant, complex examples made anywhere.