Hilltops

Fast facts

• Best known for cabernet sauvignon, shiraz and riesling.
• Located on the south-west slopes of the Great Dividing Range.
• Young is 386 km (4 hours’ drive) west of Sydney; 150 km north-west of Canberra.

Why go there

The Hilltops region surrounds the township of Young, the unofficial cherry capital of Australia. 

Wine grapes were first planted in the late 1800s during the gold rush era; however, the industry fell into decline until the 1980s. The modern industry was started by Peter Robinson, a local farmer and former RAAF fighter pilot, who used vine cuttings from the McWilliams family to start his vineyard in 1969.

Exactly 20 years later the vineyard, known as Barwang, was purchased by McWilliams, who progressively expanded it so that it is now the region’s largest, with 100 hectares.

The rolling hills above 500 m are now starting to produce premium red wines, from cabernet sauvignon to shiraz. They have a unique style and weight due to the warm but not excessively hot summers followed by cool, dry autumns. The wines have distinctive cool-climate characters but at the same time are full and rich in flavour.

Snowfall and frosts occur occasionally in winter and, while substantial rainfall occurs in the growing season, most falls in spring.

Don’t miss

• The best varieties - cabernet sauvignon, shiraz and riesling.
• Four cellar doors in the region.
• Regional foods such as cherries, plums, peaches, prunes, apricots, mustard seed oil, asparagus, ducks, geese, organic chicken, lamb and farmed rabbit.
• Local attractions - JD’s Jam Factory (Young), Lambing Flat Folk Museum, The Chinese Tribute Garden (Chinaman’s Dam) , The Price of Peace Garden, Yandilla Mustard Seed Factory.