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Melbourne, Victoria |  |
| hosted by Ken Tripp |
| Introduction |
G'day, my name is Ken Tripp and apart from knocking out the occasional piece of software, I have been known to consume a fair amount of good quality wine (and then tackle some more code).
I've stayed away from being a Regional Contact till now but as I'm currently trying to encourage a bit of content on the pages from the other Regional Contacts I thought I'd better set an example and contribute something myself.
And just in case you haven't come across my email address elsewhere on this site, here it is once again and you can send me some mail now by clicking here... kentripp@winebase.com.au as I'm always happy to chat about the area, wine, software and just about anything else.
| Why I like Melbourne |
I live in Melbourne, was born here in fact and despite having lived in other places I don't think I'd rather be anywhere else. Melbourne is the State capital of Victoria which is the most southern mainland state of Australia. The city wraps itself around the northern and eastern sides of Port Phillip Bay and the mighty Yarra River winds its way through the centre of the city which is something that you can actually say these days following all the construction work to the south of the river.
It wasn't a mistake when Melbourne was recently voted the "world’s most liveable city" because apart from the usual tree's, parks, gardens and the Bay, we have the best restaurants in the country, and if you want to see a show/musical then chances are its showing here. We have the Formula 1 Grand Prix, the Superbikes, and we've also got back the MotoGP from those bastards in NSW who stole it from us, and if there's a bigger casino in the country then I'd like to own shares in the construction company that built it.
Melbourne tends to get overlooked by our overseas visitors as all they seem to want to do is visit Sydney, have a sail on that irregular shaped Bay, wander around that pointy tiled concrete structure that's plonked next to the water near a copy of some Scottish bridge, do a bit of shopping, see a Kangaroo, touch a Koala, buy some local artifacts (a stuffed Kangaroo or Koala perhaps) before heading North to the Gold Coast for a week of sun and surf. Or what the tourists think is surf, because if you want real surf then the place to find it is Victoria.
We also get a bit of a bucketing from the locals who reside in other parts of the country, mainly about our weather which I've never really understood. I mean, how many places on Earth are there where you can wake up to a beautiful clear still day, to later get get blown over in a gail, rained upon (and maybe some hail) and then if you happen to out on the bay sailing, be becalmed in bright sunshine, all in one day. There is nothing unusual at all about reaching a maximum daily Summer temperature mid morning before it plummets in the afternoon to something less than what it was in Winter. And no, it doesn't rain here every day in Winter as some people would have you believe.
| Facts and Figures |
Melbourne accounts for 3.2 million of Victoria's population of 4.5 million which in turn is 24.9% of the Australian total and with Victoria being the smallest mainland state its easy to see why the States population density of 20 people/sq km is 10 times the national average.
| Average Maximum and Minimum Temperatures | ||
| Winter | Summer | |
| Maximum | 14.4c | 25.1c |
| Minimum | 7.0c | 13.7c |
| Monthly Rainfall mm (total = 660mm) | |||||||||||
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
| 48 | 48 | 52 | 58 | 58 | 50 | 49 | 51 | 59 | 68 | 60 | 59 |
Local Time is the same in all 4 eastern States, which are Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania as well as the ACT and is referred to as Eastern Standard Time and is GMT+10. The same that is, except in Summer when every State goes their own way in regard to Daylight Saving as in whether to have it at all, when to start and finish, etc. and it becomes a bit of a mess.
All this and wine as well
Within a short distance of the city we have 4 wine producing regions.
Melbourne wine regions maps
Macedon
Yarra Valley
Geelong
[Melbourne]
Mornington
Peninsula
Area statistics
Geelong Elevation 20m HDD 1470 MJT 19c Rainfall 550mm Soil Red-brown clay loam Varieties Pinot Noir, Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon. Wineries Bannockburn, Clyde Park, Idyll Vineyard, Mount Anakie, Prince Albert, Scotchmans Hill.
Macedon Elevation 50-500m HDD 1030 MJT 18c Rainfall 800mm Soil Sandy grey loam to black basalt clay. Varieties Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir. Wineries Cleveland, Craiglee, Goona Warra, Hanging Rock, Rochford, Wildwood.
Mornington Peninsula Elevation 25-250m HDD 1080-1240 MJT 19c Rainfall 900mm Soil Yellow duplex, red volcanic and brown duplex Varieties Chardonnay, Cabernet Savignon, Pinot Noir, Rhine Riesling. Wineries Balnarring Vineyard, Dromana Estate, Elgee Park, Karina Vineyard, Kings Creek, Main Ridge, Merricks Estate, Moorooduc Estate, Stoniers Merricks.
Yarra Valley Elevation 50-400m HDD 1100-1490 MJT 19c Rainfall 850mm Soil Red loamy sand - red volcanic Varieties Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz. Wineries Coldstream Hills, De Bortoli, Domaine Chandon, Fergussons, Kellybrook, Long Gully, Mount Mary, Wantirna Estate, Warramate, Yarra Yering.