Best Wine Grape varieties for Northern NSW

by Bruce
(Kyogle, NSW Australia)

Bruce asks:

Can you please advise on suitable wine grape varieties for North NSW. Broadly, the climate is wet, humid summers and dry winters, with occasional frosts.
Darby Says
The answer depends on just how humid and wet it is in summer, and how much time and money you are prepared to devote to disease control.

I am not very familiar with the region but it seems that Chambourcin red and Verdelho white are popular alternative varieties. Their popularity relies in part on their disease resistance.

Both varieties have their problems. I think it is difficult to make good wine from chambourcin and while verdelho makes beautiful wine it is very difficult to market it.

For some better advice perhaps you should contact some of the wineries listed on my Northern Rivers or Hastings River regional pages.

Two Tails Winery are using Villard blanc another disease resistant variety.

Other Vinodiversity reeaders are welcome to chime in via the comments to this post.