Yarra Valley - the History

In 1838 the Ryrie brothers traveled overland from New South Wales and established a small vineyard at Yering, north east of Melbourne, which was then a muddy three year old village situated at the mouth of the Yarra River. Shortly after, a group of wealthy Swiss settlers bought large tracts of land throughout the district and, encouraged by some favourable Burgundy - like wine produced from the Ryrie's original vineyard, decided to plant some vines themselves.

By the 1880s the de Castella brothers, Paul and Hubert, had established vineyards and wineries and with Guill de Pury's Yeringberg produced a range of wines that won accolades throughout the world. In the 1920s however, these founding vineyards were all gone. The Australian public at large were not interested in light, European style wines, while the emerging export market wanted only heavy reds and port.

Cattle grazing was proving to be more profitable and nearly all of the vineyards were removed, with beef production becoming the dominant industry of the region. However from the 1960s onward, the Yarra Valley once again began its rise to stardom. The 1990s saw large planting develop throughout the region with holdings by all large national and international wine houses, resulting in the Yarra Valley having firmly established itself as Victoria's prime wine region.