NA ="Bridgewater, Newbridge, Arnold, Lianelly,";
FE1[0]=" The large and varied Bendigo region is set in a natural Australian bushland environment, which includes a belt of quality agricultural land that supports some of Australia's best wine growing country. Bendigo enjoys a mild climate";
FE2[0]=" all year round. The combination of natural beauty, fine food and wine, superb range of accommodation, tourist attractions and experiences, all add up to a fantastic destination for short or long stays. There are three sub-regions";
FE3[0]=" within Bendigo region; Granite Slopes is to the south-east and includes the towns of Harcourt and Castlemaine; Loddon Valley to the north west has a cluster of wineries around Kingower and Marong and Golden Waters sub-region to t";
FE4[0]="he south west with the towns of Bet Bet and Maryborough. For ease of use in finding the wineries a total of eight districts have been specified. Dense eucalypt forest and undulating hills mean each vineyard hides in its own little";
FE5[0]=" enclave: many are humble, none grand, but almost all have a distinctive charm. Regular visitors to the Bendigo Wine Region fondly refer to it as `The Winemakers' Region' since the majority of the wineries in the region are family";
FE6[0]=" owned with the winery and cellar door outlet set amongst the vines from which the wine is made and visitors to the region will often meet the winemakers, sleeves rolled up, tending their vines or working in the winery. The climat";
FE7[0]="e and soil of Central Victoria, with its deep soils, spring rain and long hours of summer sunshine, are ideal for growing shiraz and cabernet sauvignon and the region is famous for its rich deeply flavoured varietal wines. The reg";
FE8[0]="ion is a significant producer of premium red wines, in particular Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz. White varieties grown include Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Viognier. The Lower Loddon District includes wineries in the lower Lodd";
FE9[0]="on River Valley, close to the river.";
LA1[0]=" The countryside is undulating, with small, generally dry, creek beds relatively common, but with little significant variation in altitude. Some care is needed in site selection to minimise the risk of spring frost, but the major l";
LA2[0]="imitation for viticulture is the absence of readily available water for irrigation. The Bendigo region is located 150 kms north west of the Victorian capital city, Melbourne. It makes up part of the Victorian Goldfields region and";
LA3[0]=" has as its main town the City of Bendigo (formerly known as Sandhurst).The region is dissected by a number of rivers and creeks the most significant being the Loddon, Avoca and Campaspe rivers, however the major source of water i";
LA4[0]="s Lake Eppalock, a man-made reserve. The region is gently undulating with brown loams deposited by the rivers and sandy granitic soils on higher ground. Further south the region takes in the historic towns of Dunolly and Maryborou";
LA5[0]="gh on the broad aluvial flats that were once home to thousands of diggers scraping to find gold in the buried leads beneath the rolling landscape. The climate and soil of Central Victoria, with its deep soils, spring rain and long";
LA6[0]=" hours of summer sunshine, are ideal for growing shiraz and cabernet sauvignon and the region is famous for its rich deeply flavoured varietal wines. But many other varieties prosper too and the district produces award-winning cha";
LA7[0]="rdonnay.";
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LA9[0]="";
CL1[0]=" In the central part of the region, towns such as Bendigo experience average annual temperature maximums of 20.4°C, with a mean of about 28°C during summer and 13°C in winter. The average annual minimum temperature in these areas i";
CL2[0]="s 9°C, with an average minimum of 12-14°C in summer and 4°C during winter. In the southern part of the region, maximum temperatures average from almost 18°C in Creswick to just over 20°C in Castlemaine. During summer the south ave";
CL3[0]="rages highs of 25-28°C and the average winter range is about 11-13°C. Mean temperature minimums are slightly higher in Castlemaine (6.7°C) and Creswick (6.6°C) than in Kyneton (5.6°C), and this is true for both summer and winter s";
CL4[0]="easons, where minimum temperatures generally range between 9-11°C and 2-3°C respectively. Moving from south to north within the North Central region, mean annual rainfall decreases significantly. The highest annual average rainfal";
CL5[0]="l recorded is in Creswick (756 mm), closely followed by Kyneton (753 mm). Bendigo receives an annual average of 550 mm. In the far north, mean annual rainfall is lowest in Kerang (377 mm). Location: 36°45'S, 144°17'E; Annual rainf";
CL6[0]="all: 546 mm ; Mean January temp: 21°C; Sunshine hours per day: 8.7.";
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HI1[0]=" The first grapes were planted in the region in 1856 just after the start of the massive gold rush, which brought tens of thousands of hopeful diggers from all over the world to seek their fortunes. They brought with them a lust fo";
HI2[0]="r gold, but also the wine and food knowledge of Europe and it was only a few years before the judges at the 1873 Vienna Exhibition were heard to exclaim of Bendigo's early Hermitage that 'no Colonial wine can be that good'. By 186";
HI3[0]="4 there were more than 40 vineyards in the Bendigo area. By 1880, 216 hectares supported over 100 wineries. However, Phylloxera brought a brutal and tragic end to winemaking in 1893. No doubt the bank crash of the same year and th";
HI4[0]="e move to fortified wines also played their part in the demise of winemaking in the region. A gap of over 60 years followed until Bendigo pharmacist Stuart Anderson planted vines at Balgownie in 1969, and within five years had cap";
HI5[0]="tured the imagination of wine drinkers from Melbourne to Sydney with his startling red wines - wines with a colour, character and strength which were to set the pace for the many who followed in his path. Bendigo.";
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