Vineyard, Merricks Grove, Victoria, Australia. Image: Wikimedia Commons
Pinot Noir: Australian Perspectives
Melbourne Workshop
15–17 July, 2026
University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia
The Pinot Noir: Australian Perspectives workshop will be held in Melbourne, immediately following the 18th annual conference of the American Association of Wine Economists (AAWE) in Perth, Western Australia, July 8–13, 2026.
The aim of the Workshop is to introduce participants to Pinot Noir’s position in the Australian wine industry, focusing on the State of Victoria, which produces the highest volume and value Pinot Noirs in the country.
Visiting regions close to Melbourne such as the Yarra Valley and the Mornington Peninsula, with presentations from both academic experts and industry leaders, will encourage an appreciation of the economic, cultural, social and sensory aspects of Victoria’s Pinot Noir.
We hope to develop shared insight into these regions and their Pinot Noir wines both relative to the other wines produced in Victoria and throughout Australia and compared with Pinot Noir from other places around the world.
The program for the Workshop is under development. We anticipate holding an informal reception and dinner for participants in Melbourne on the evening of July 15. We anticipate that most of the participants will be traveling from Perth to Melbourne on July 14.
On both July 16 and July 17, we anticipate combining formal presentations with visits to the regions, with the specific formats and costs per participant depending on the size of the group.
The Workshop is organised by the Pinot Noir Project – a hub for knowledge exchange bringing researchers from a wide range of disciplines together with industry representatives for collaboration, consultation and participation focused on this grape variety – which staged the Pinot Noir and Identity Symposium at Oxford in July 2025.
The total number of spaces available will be limited. Please let us know if you are interested in attending the Workshop, and would like to receive email updates as our detailed plans develop, by sending email to: julianmalston@gmail.com