Blackwood Valley is a region in the south-west of Western Australia

Western Australia

Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...

, approximately 260 km (160 mi) south-south-east of Perth

Perth, Western Australia

Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....

. The region was named after the Blackwood River

Blackwood River

The Blackwood River is a major river and catchment in the South West of Western Australia.The river begins at the junction of Arthur River and Balgarup River near Quelarup and travels in a south westerly direction through the town of Bridgetown then through Nannup until it discharges into the...

, the longest continually flowing river in Western Australia. The river passes through the towns of Bridgetown

Bridgetown, Western Australia

-Notable people:*Emily Barker, singer-songwriter*Jon Doust, author and comedian*Robyn McSweeney, politician*Tom O'Dwyer, cricketer*David Reid, politician*Deborah Robertson, novelist and poet-External links:* * * * * * * *...

, Greenbushes

Greenbushes, Western Australia

Greenbushes is a timber and mining town located in the South West region of Western Australia.-History:Greenbushes was founded as a mining town in 1888 following a surveyor's discovery of tin in 1886. Greenbushes was named after the bright green bushes that contrasted against the grey eucalyptus...

, Nannup

Nannup, Western Australia

Nannup is a town and shire in the South West region of Western Australia, approximately south of Perth on the Blackwood River at the crossroads of Vasse Highway and Brockman Highway, linking Nannup to most of the Lower South West's regional centres...

, Balingup

Balingup, Western Australia

Balingup is a town located in the South West of Western Australia, south of the state capital, Perth, and southeast of the town of Donnybrook.The town takes its name from Balingup Pool, located on the Balingup Brook which flows through the town...

 and Boyup Brook

Boyup Brook, Western Australia

Boyup Brook is a town located in the south-west of Western Australia, south-southeast of Perth and northeast of Bridgetown.The name Boyup is derived from the name of a nearby pool "Booyup", an Aboriginal term meaning "place of big stones" or "place of big smoke" .The town's economy is...

 within the region.

History and industry

The Blackwood Valley region was settled

Settler

A settler is a person who has migrated to an area and established permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. Settlers are generally people who take up residence on land and cultivate it, as opposed to nomads...

 in the late 1800s, and timber

Timber

Timber may refer to:* Timber, a term common in the United Kingdom and Australia for wood materials * Timber, Oregon, an unincorporated community in the U.S...

, horticulture

Horticulture

Horticulture is the industry and science of plant cultivation including the process of preparing soil for the planting of seeds, tubers, or cuttings. Horticulturists work and conduct research in the disciplines of plant propagation and cultivation, crop production, plant breeding and genetic...

, wool

Wool

Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and certain other animals, including cashmere from goats, mohair from goats, qiviut from muskoxen, vicuña, alpaca, camel from animals in the camel family, and angora from rabbits....

 and other farming sustained the region. Blackwood Valley extends approximately to Geographe Bay in the west and north, Manjimup

Manjimup, Western Australia

Manjimup is a town in Western Australia, south of the state capital, Perth. The town of Manjimup is a regional centre for the largest shire in the South West of Western Australia. At the 2006 census, Manjimup had a population of 4,239.-History:...

 in the south, and Great Southern in the south-east.

It is part of the wine

Wine

Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...

 industry in Western Australia. The first vine

Vine

A vine in the narrowest sense is the grapevine , but more generally it can refer to any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent, that is to say climbing, stems or runners...

s were planted in the Blackwood Crest winery

Winery

A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the production of wine, such as a wine company. Some wine companies own many wineries. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feature warehouses, bottling lines, laboratories, and large expanses of...

, located in the north-east of the region, in 1976 by Max Fairbrass. The region produces mainly white wines, and the vineyards in the region number around 50. The harvest time is between late February and early April.

Climate and geography

The climate

Climate

Climate encompasses the statistics of temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, rainfall, atmospheric particle count and other meteorological elemental measurements in a given region over long periods...

 of the region is Mediterranean

Mediterranean climate

A Mediterranean climate is the climate typical of most of the lands in the Mediterranean Basin, and is a particular variety of subtropical climate...

, suitable for the growth of white wine vines including Chardonnay

Chardonnay

Chardonnay is a green-skinned grape variety used to make white wine. It is originated from the Burgundy wine region of eastern France but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from England to New Zealand...

 and Riesling

Riesling

Riesling is a white grape variety which originated in the Rhine region of Germany. Riesling is an aromatic grape variety displaying flowery, almost perfumed, aromas as well as high acidity. It is used to make dry, semi-sweet, sweet and sparkling white wines. Riesling wines are usually varietally...

, as well as red wine grapes like Shiraz

Shiraz grape

Syrah or Shiraz is a dark-skinned grape grown throughout the world and used primarily to produce powerful red wines. Whether sold as Syrah or Shiraz, these wines enjoy great popularity.Syrah is used as a varietal and is also blended...

 and Cabernet Sauvignon

Cabernet Sauvignon

Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Canada's Okanagan Valley to Lebanon's Beqaa Valley...

. This climate is characterised by moderate temperatures, with rainfall more predominant in the winter months and relatively dry summer months. However, winter frosts occasionally extend through into early spring, which can cause damage to the vines.

The region varies in elevation

Elevation

The elevation of a geographic location is its height above a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface ....

, from 100 metres in the west to 340 metres in the east. The annual rainfall range is from 600 to 900 millimetres.

The soil in the area is heavily dictated by the topography

Topography

Topography is the study of Earth's surface shape and features or those ofplanets, moons, and asteroids...

. A series of smaller valley

Valley

In geology, a valley or dale is a depression with predominant extent in one direction. A very deep river valley may be called a canyon or gorge.The terms U-shaped and V-shaped are descriptive terms of geography to characterize the form of valleys...

s which run throughout the region, where the soil is thinner on the slopes than at the base of the valleys where alluvial-type sediment is found. The topography and loam

Loam

Loam is soil composed of sand, silt, and clay in relatively even concentration . Loam soils generally contain more nutrients and humus than sandy soils, have better infiltration and drainage than silty soils, and are easier to till than clay soils...

y soil promotes well-drained land suitable for vineyards.