Australia — wine

King Valley

Victoria's alpine wine region at 150-900m altitude northeast of Melbourne, populated largely by Italian immigrant families who planted indigenous Italian varieties. The region is unique in Australia for producing Prosecco, Sangiovese, Barbera, and Verduzzo from traditional Italian varieties — often described as 'little Italy in the mountains'.

Year Rating Notes
2022 Outstanding high-altitude vintage; Italian varieties showed exceptional varietal character and freshness.
2021 Classic cool-mountain vintage; Prosecco and Sangiovese both excelled.
2020 Benchmark year; Dal Zotto and Pizzini produced their finest Italian varietal wines.
2019 Outstanding vintage; Verduzzo and Barbera from this year showed remarkable depth.
2018 Solid vintage; the alpine conditions produced the most elegant Sangiovese the region had achieved.