The Yarra Valley is the name given to the region surrounding the Yarra River

Yarra River

The Yarra River, originally Birrarung, is a river in east-central Victoria, Australia. The lower stretches of the river is where the city of Melbourne was established in 1835 and today Greater Melbourne dominates and influences the landscape of its lower reaches...

 in Victoria, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. The river originates approximately 90 kilometres east of the City of Melbourne and flows towards it and out into Port Phillip Bay. The name Yarra Valley is usually used in reference to the upper regions surrounding the Yarra River and generally does not encompass the lower regions including the city and suburban areas, where the topography flattens out, or the upper reaches which are in inaccessible bushland. Included in the Yarra Valley is the sub-region of Upper Yarra (or the Upper Yarra Valley) which encompasses the towns of the former Shire of Upper Yarra

Shire of Upper Yarra

The Shire of Upper Yarra was a Local Government Area centred on the upper reaches of the Yarra Valley about east of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia, and extending eastwards into Victoria's interior. The shire covered an area of , and existed from 1888 until 1994.-History:Upper...

 in the catchment area upstream of and including Woori Yallock. The Yarra Valley a popular day-trip and tourist area, featuring a range of natural features and agricultural produce, as well as the Lilydale to Warburton Rail Trail

Warburton Trail

The Lilydale to Warburton Rail Trail is a walking, cycling and horse-riding track in eastern Victoria, Australia. It runs a distance of 38 km between Lilydale and Warburton, along the former Warburton railway line...

.

The Yarra Valley is host to a thriving wine growing

Viticulture

Viticulture is the science, production and study of grapes which deals with the series of events that occur in the vineyard. When the grapes are used for winemaking, it is also known as viniculture...

 industry. The area's relatively cool climate makes it particularly suited to the production of high-quality 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...

, pinot noir

Pinot Noir

Pinot noir is a black wine grape variety of the species Vitis vinifera. The name may also refer to wines created predominantly from Pinot noir grapes...

 and sparkling wine

Sparkling wine

Sparkling wine is a wine with significant levels of carbon dioxide in it making it fizzy. The carbon dioxide may result from natural fermentation, either in a bottle, as with the méthode champenoise, in a large tank designed to withstand the pressures involved , or as a result of carbon dioxide...

.

Yarra Valley towns fall under the Nillumbik

Shire of Nillumbik

The Shire of Nillumbik is a Local Government Area in Victoria, Australia. It contains some outer northern suburbs of Melbourne and rural localities beyond the urban area. It has an area of 435 square kilometres and has an estimated population of 62,837 people...

 and Yarra Ranges

Shire of Yarra Ranges

The Yarra Ranges Shire is a Local Government Area in Victoria, Australia, located in the outer eastern and northeastern suburbs of Melbourne extending into the Yarra Valley and Dandenong Ranges...

 Shire Councils. Major towns include Yarra Glen

Yarra Glen, Victoria

Yarra Glen is a town in Victoria, Australia, 40 km north-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the Shire of Yarra Ranges...

, Healesville

Healesville, Victoria

Healesville is a town in Victoria, Australia, 52 km north-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the Shire of Yarra Ranges...

 and Warburton

Warburton, Victoria

Warburton is a town in Victoria, Australia, 72 km east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the Shire of Yarra Ranges. At the 2006 Census, Warburton had a population of 2288....

.

See also

• Official Tourism Information for the Yarra Valley
• Australian wine
  Australian wine
  The Australian Wine Industry is the fourth largest exporter of wine around the world, with 760 million litres a year to a large international export market and contributes $5.5 billion per annum to the nation's economy...
  
  
• Yarra Valley wines on Vinismo
• Shire of Upper Yarra
  Shire of Upper Yarra
  The Shire of Upper Yarra was a Local Government Area centred on the upper reaches of the Yarra Valley about east of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia, and extending eastwards into Victoria's interior. The shire covered an area of , and existed from 1888 until 1994.-History:Upper...
  
  
• Shire of Healesville
  Shire of Healesville
  The Shire of Healesville was a Local Government Area located about northeast of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia. The shire covered an area of , and existed from 1887 until 1994.-History:...