With a viticultural history that stretches back to 1858, Mudgee has played a key role in the Australian wine story. The beautifully soft and intimate nature of much of the countryside around Mudgee is fashioned by the outer rim of hills which create the "nest ".
The smaller hills within the perimeter give rise to a panorama of mini vistas with ever more valleys nesting in their midst. This is the stunning location where the winemakers, vignerons and grape growers ply their craft.
Mudgee Regional Snapshot 2023-24
Regional Snapshots are one-page profiles updated annually of individual Australian wine regions. They provide at-a-glance summary statistics on: climatic characteristics, viticulture data, winegrape production, and winegrape price and export sales data for wine, compared against the same statistics for the whole of Australia.
Download nowShiraz
Shiraz accounted for 28 per cent of the tonnes crushed from Mudgee in 2024.
Chardonnay
Chardonnay accounted for 23 per cent of the tonnes crushed from Mudgee in 2024.
Pinot Gris/Grigio
Pinot Gris / Grigio accounted for 12 per cent of the tonnes crushed from Mudgee in 2024.
Merlot
Merlot accounted for 11 per cent of the crush from Mudgee in 2024.
Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet Sauvignon accounted for 10 per cent of the tonnes crushed from Mudgee in 2024.
- Situated on the western slopes of the Great Dividing Range, Mudgee has some of the highest vineyards in Australia, ranging from 450 – 1180m above sea level.
- Frosts and cold nights delay budburst; rainfall and humidity are low; sunshine hours are great; and irrigation is essential on some but the most favoured sites.
- The summer and autumn days are warm, and harvest is four weeks behind the Hunter because of Mudgees cooler climate and much higher altitude.
- The brownish coloured soils are typical of those found through the majority of the wine regions of eastern Australia; slightly acidic or sandy loam over neutral clay subsoils, but both topsoil and subsoil have the advantage of being quite well drained.
- Some of the most favoured sites have shale, quartz and seabed sandstone.