Hunter Valley (wine)

Hunter Valley

Wine region
A Hunter Valley vineyard
Official name	Hunter
Country	Australia
Part of	Hunter Valley
Sub-regions	Pokolbin, Broke Fordwich, Upper Hunter Valley
Location	32°42′S 151°16′E / 32.700°S 151.267°E / -32.700; 151.267Coordinates: 32°42′S 151°16′E / 32.700°S 151.267°E / -32.700; 151.267
Climate region	Ib
Heat units	2070-2170
Varietals produced	Semillon, Shiraz, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Verdelho

Broke Fordwich

Wine region
Vineyards in the Broke Fordwich area
Type	Australian Geographical Indication
Year established	1997
Country	Australia
No. of vineyards	50
Varietals produced	Semillon, Chardonnay, Shiraz
No. of wineries	16

The Hunter Valley is one of Australia's best known wine regions. Located in the state of New South Wales, the region has played a pivotal role in the history of Australian wine as one of the first wine regions planted in the early 19th century. Hunter Valley Semillon is widely considered the iconic wine of the region but the Hunter produces wine from a variety of grapes including Shiraz, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and Verdelho.

Under Australia's wine appellation system, the Hunter Valley zone Australian Geographical Indication (GI) covers the entire catchment of the Hunter River and its tributaries. Within that, the Hunter region is almost as large, and includes most of the wine-producing areas, excluding the metropolitan area of Newcastle and nearby coastal areas, some national parks, and any land that was in the Mudgee Shire (at the western heights of the catchment). There are three named subregions in the Hunter region. These are the Upper Hunter Valley, Broke Fordwich and Pokolbin subregions. The Lower Hunter Valley is not strictly defined, but in general includes the Pokolbin subregion, along with the districts around Wollombi, Mount View, Cessnock and Lovedale. Much of the history of Hunter was played out in this area and it is generally what is referred as the Hunter Valley wine country. The majority of the Hunter Valley's most prestigious vineyards are located on the southern valley and foothills of the Brokenback Range (part of the Great Dividing Range). The topography of the Hunter includes mostly gently sloping hills with modest gradients. The one notable exception are the vineyards of Mount View just west of the town of Cessnock. The terrain of the Upper Hunter is noticeably flatter as the Goulburn River and other tributaries of the Hunter River dominate the area.