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MORNINGTON PENINSULA
The Mornington Peninsula is one of Australia’s premier cool-climate wine regions, located about an hour southeast of Melbourne in Victoria. Surrounded on three sides by the waters of Port Phillip Bay, Western Port Bay, and Bass Strait, the peninsula benefits from strong maritime influences that create a long, gentle growing season. This moderating effect results in wines with elegance, bright acidity, and refined structure.
Viticulture on the Mornington Peninsula began in the late 19th century, though the modern wine industry really took off in the 1970s and 1980s. Today, the region is home to more than 200 vineyards and around 50 cellar doors, many of them small, family-run operations. The landscape is varied, with rolling hills, sheltered valleys, and a range of soil types including volcanic basalt, sandy loams, and clay.
The region is best known for Pinot Noir, which accounts for about half of plantings and is celebrated for its purity, fragrance, and fine tannin structure. Chardonnay is the other flagship, often showing citrus-driven precision, minerality, and great potential for complexity with age. In addition, the Peninsula produces excellent examples of Pinot Gris, Shiraz (Syrah) in cooler-climate styles, and sparkling wines made from traditional Champagne varieties.
Mornington Peninsula wineries are also highly regarded for their focus on site expression, with single-vineyard bottlings common. The diversity of microclimates—shaped by aspect, altitude, and proximity to the sea—makes the region a patchwork of unique terroirs, lending great variety to the wines.
