All About Wine

The fledgling Queensland wine industry is being tipped to take on areas like the Hunter Valley and the Barossa according to the Australian Tourist Commission.

Having arrived at the turn of the Century the Queensland Wine Industry has never looked so good. The last 10 years have seen considerable activity, consolidation and development. Queensland's Wine Industry is almost as old as that of the rest of Australia as the first cutting came to Queensland overland by packhorse from James Busby's cutting banks in the Hunter Valley. Samuel Bassett from Romavilla vineyard in Roma brought in cuttings and Dr Ernest Seidel at St George did likewise a year later in 1862. Very few of the originals struck, but by 1876 thousands of gallons of fortified wine made from Shiraz and Brown Muscat grapes were being bottled - these riverbank vineyards in hot climates with sandy soils were perfect for rich fortified wines.

Although winemaking began in 1930, it wasn't until the 1960's that our most important vineyard region The Granite Belt started moving. Italian fruit growers in the region always made their own wine from Isabella grapes or whatever they were growing. One young Italian Angelo Puglisi, won a Churchill Fellowship to study Viticulture and Winemaking overseas in 1977. Angelo and Ballandean Estate first exhibited wines in the Brisbane Wine Show in 1974 and won two bronze medals.

Kominos, Winewood, Golden Grove and Robinson's family also were established in the early 1970's from very part time beginnings in the 1960's, there are now 66 vineyards in the Granite Belt region. This area has proved to suit Shiraz, Chardonnay and Verdelho grape varieties with wines made from Cabernet and Merlot recently winning Show Awards. The region is a plateau on the Northern end of the Great Dividing Range. The vineyard sites range from 800 to 1,000 metres above sea level. The soils have a very high percentage of decomposed granite hence the name the Granite Belt. The climate tends to be reasonably cool during a large percentage of the growing season however, rain at Vintage and summer hail storms are always a threat, on average one in five years has a little snow in Winter. The region extends about 50 kilometres long and 25 kilometres wide.

The newest emerging wine growing region in Queensland is the South Burnett Valley, "Barambah” & "Clovely Estates" is possibly the largest in this region and potentially with the area of plantings, this region will produce more than the Granite Belt.

The young wines coming from this region have done well in the Show circuit with Shiraz and Chardonnay proving most successful. There are now eight vineyards in the Burnett Valley. This region has an abundance of water and the potential for mechanical harvesting something the Granite Belt cannot pursue due to the large granite boulders. A region worth watching in the future.

There There are several vineyards in other regions, which are beginning to attract more attention. Roma, Surat and St George are still producing very good fortified wines. "Riversands" in St George, 'Bassetts Romavilla" and "Villacoola" have also ventured into table wines with some success. There is Ironbark Ridge near Ipswich, "Preston Peak Wines" near Toowoomba and not for away "Rimfire Winery" at Maclagan. "Cunungra Valley Vineyards" are relatively new venture quite close to Brisbane and the Coast. Sirromet is producing quality wines from Qld grapes and is proving to be a wonderful tourist attraction.

The future is bright for the Queensland Wine Industry with Queensland tourism and the State Government starting to lend a hand to assist the Industry along with the Sofitel Hotel and the Courier Mail who sponsor the annual Queensland Wine Awards.

There is a definite excitement and curiosity occurring with young Queensland Wine Drinkers as they search out the Queensland wines.