Hilltops
HILLTOPS
NSW / COOL CLIMATE WINE REGION
The Hilltops wine region can be found hugging the slopes of the Great Dividing Range in NSW, anchored around the towns of Young and Harden.
A stunning landscape of classic Australian farmland, the area is one of the most exciting wine regions of NSW, producing Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon wines of particularly high quality.
FACTS ABOUT HILLTOPS
On the slopes of the Great Dividing Range, the Hilltops wine region provides cool-climate and high altitude conditions for winemaking.
Latitude: 34° South
Altitude: 450m
Growing Season Rainfall: 450-660m
Mean January Temperature: 22.5° Celsius
Harvest: Late March - May
Principal Grape Varieties: Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay
The area was first planted to vines as far back as the 1860’s, when Croatian immigrants established vineyards for the refreshment of those involved in the gold mining industry. However the commercial viticulture industry took hold in the early 1980’s with the establishment of the Barwang vineyard. Since that time, McWilliam’s have been a key driving force in the growth and development of the area as a premium wine region.
Since the 1980’s the region has gone from strength to strength. The cool climate conditions, high altitude and diurnal temperature fluctuations provide a perfect environment for the production of premium wines, in particular of the Cabernet and Shiraz varieties.
