Cellar Doors & Vineyards Trail
Put yourself in the picture sipping red wine, eating woodfired pizza and watching the sunset at a Southern Queensland Country winery just two hours’ drive from Brisbane. You’ll find sunset views, lunchtime grazing, degustation dinners, and quiet bars to while the evening away on the Cellar Doors & Vineyards Trail. It will take you on a new path of discovery to enjoy vineyard experiences that will linger long in your memories. It’s the sound of grapes being snipped in the vineyard, the feel of juice running between your toes and the winemaker’s voice as they share the secrets behind their vintage. Walk through the vineyards, relax at the cellar door and stay on site as a couple, family or your special group of friends. This is what to expect in Southern Queensland Country, with wineries from the border right past Toowoomba just waiting to meet you.
#1
Rosalie House Cellar Door and Restaurant, Lilyvale
Family-owned and run, Rosalie House opened in 2018 as a way for Doyle and Vicki Thompson to share the wines from their vineyard. Located in Lilyvale, about 20 kilometres northwest of Toowoomba, the vineyard at Rosalie House was hand-planted by the Thompson family in 2005. The Rosalie House restaurant menu features local artisanal produce matched with Rosalie House Chardonnay, Viognier, Merlot or ...
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#2
Hidden Creek Winery Café Vineyard, Ballandean
Relax by the lake at Hidden Creek on Saturday and Sunday with a gourmet grazing platter or picnic basket (pre-ordered) and taste their award-winning wines. You can picnic on the grounds with your pup or sit in the café, where the floor-to-ceiling windows make the most of the view on cooler days. Extend your visit with a stay in the secluded, one-bedroom Winemakers Cottage which makes a perfect ...
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#3
Ballandean Estate Wines, Ballandean
Since 1932 the Puglisi family have been making cool climate, high-altitude wine with granitic terroir at Balladean Estate on the Granite Belt. Leeanne Puglisi-Gangemi and Robyn Puglisi-Henderson’s cellar door is open daily. The Barrelroom Wine Lounge serves daily grazing platters filled with local produce matched with their diverse collection of wines ranging from well-known varietals to rarer ...
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#4
Seventh Wines, Ballandean
Inspired by the Seven Deadly Sins, Simon Bull’s Seventh Wines is based on two stunning Granite Belt locations, five minutes apart in the heart of Ballandean. It’s an easy ‘gateway’ Granite Belt experience offering a complete package that includes accommodation, food, wine, transport and tours. Everything you need for a great Granite Belt escape made easy! You’ll stay in one of seven villas set ...
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#5
Heritage Estate Wines, Cottonvale
Therese and Robert Fenwick’s Heritage Estate winery has two vineyards, two altitudes and two soil profiles and achieved 5 Red Star Winery status from James Halliday from 2016 to 2021. Dining here is unique with a seat available at a large table from Queensland’s Parliament house dated c1860. Heritage Estate’s Vine + Dine Journey Lunch from Thursday to Monday includes a walk and talk through the ...
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#6
Banca Ridge Cellar Door and Winery, Stanthorpe
Located almost in the heart of Stanthorpe, Banca Ridge is part of the Queensland College of Wine Tourism. It’s a cellar door (open Thursday to Saturday), vineyard and training facility in one. The award-winning Banca Ridge wines are produced locally and include several of the Granite Belt’s Strange Bird varietals. Stop in to try the wines and stay for lunch at Varias Restaurant overlooking the ...
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#7
Summit Estate Wines, Thulimbah
You haven’t enjoyed a Granite Belt sunset until you’ve enjoyed a Summit Estate Sunset Session. Available on Friday and Saturday evenings, it’s the perfect way to taste their wines. Bring your own picnic or order cheese board/Italian sandwiches, taste wine and purchase your favourite bottle. Bring your dog and games to play, and relax around the open fire as the sun sets. Nick Paisley’s Summit ...
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#8
Robert Channon Wines, Stanthorpe
Well known for their outstanding Verdelho, Robert Channon Wines are estate grown and made at Amiens, just outside Stanthorpe. Robert and Peggy Channon have been making wine since 1998 at the winery, which is blessed with amazing soil, high elevation and a good water supply. The cellar door is open from Friday to Tuesday, while the winery’s Persian Poppy Café is open from Saturday to Tuesday. The ...
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#9
Balancing Heart Vineyard, Ballandean
Voted best small cellar door by Gourmet Traveller Wine, Greg Kentish’s Balancing Heart Vineyard is 30 kilometres south of Stanthorpe near Girraween National Park and just nine minutes’ drive from Ballandean. The cellar door is open daily, offering wine with wood-fired pizzas, platters and cheeseboards for lunch. Sunset dinners from Friday to Sun start from 4 pm (bookings required). Live music is ...
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#10
Ridgemill Estate, Severnlea
Home to the Granite Belt’s oldest Tempranillo and Saperavi vines, Martin Cooper and Michelle Feenan’s Ridgemill Estate produces a selection of boutique wines, including Strange Bird varieties. The cellar door is open seven days a week for tastings and casual grazing with cheese platters and charcuterie boards. You can also pre-order a picnic hamper (24 hr notice required) to enjoy between the ...
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#11
Bent Road Wine, Ballandean
The wine-tasting experience at Bent Road is a personalised experience that centres around a Wine Masterclass which moves from the cellar door into the vineyard and beyond. The winery is open by appointment only from Friday to Sunday. The one-and-a-half-hour masterclass wine-tasting experience ($20 pp) shares the stories behind the why, where and how Bent Roads’ wines are created from the vineyard ...
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#12
Twisted Gum Wines, Ballandean
How does regenerative farming work in a vineyard? Ask Tim and Michelle Coelli at Twisted Gum Wines, and they will tell you about their environmentally sustainable practices, including using mulch (no insecticides), legumes and sheep for healthy soil. Twisted Gum won Premier’s Sustainability Award for their efforts. This boutique winery located just out of Ballandean is worked by a ...
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#13
Symphony Hill Wines, Ballandean
Expect a bit of glamour at the Symphony Hill cellar door, where you’ll find a contemporary cellar door (open daily) showcasing modern Queensland artwork and a stylish 1960s red leather whistler lounge. Of course, you may have already tasted their wines if you fly Qantas business class. Owners Ewen and Elissa Macpherson offer winery tours where visitors can learn how their wines are aged in Tuscan ...
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#14
Casley Mount Hutton Winery, Stanthorpe
Drive less than 10 minutes west of Stanthorpe, and you’ll find Grant and Sonya Casley’s Casley Mount Hutton Winery. They are the only Granite Belt winery growing and producing wine from French Chenin Blanc grapes and hold aged wines, vintaged from 2002 until today. Their cellar door opened in 2001, and Casley Mount Hutton wines have won over 50 wine medals. Enjoy a tasting at one of the few ...
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#15
Jester Hill Wines, Glen Aplin
Drop into Ann and Michael Bourke’s Jester Hill Wines any day of the week for a wine tasting (pre-booked), or make it a weekend stop with a cheese platter (pre-booked) from Jester Café. Part of Strange Bird Trail, they make a wide range of wine styles. The grounds are perfect for picnicking, and you can bring your own picnic if purchasing wine. In addition, Jester Hill Wines holds Granite Rockin’ ...
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#16
Tobin Wines, Ballandean
With the rugged Granite Belt landscape at Ballandean as a backdrop, Tobin Wines produce premium, limited edition, handcrafted wines on a north-facing block with granitic, free-draining soil. Owner Adrian Tobin grows grapes with highly concentrated flavours created by hand pruning up to 50 to 70 per cent of the bunches for his wines. Bookings are essential for the daily personalised winemaker ...
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#17
Pyramids Road Wines, Ballandean
Located in the foothills of Girraween National Park’s giant granite boulders, Warren and Sue Smith’s Pyramids Road Wines (just off Pyramids Road) is a rare glimpse back to the origins of cool climate winemaking. This small, intimate cellar door (open daily) run by the maker is located in an old 1930s packing shed and is directly connected to the winery where they have been making wine for over 20 ...
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#18
Art of Krupinski, Glen Alpin
Step into Art of Krupinski and be transported to a place where the boundaries between the Granite Belt and the Polish countryside blur. Artur and Natalia Krupinski, the visionary owners of this award-winning vineyard, have harnessed the power of their family’s heritage to create an unforgettable experience for visitors. What begins as a simple tasting soon becomes an immersive journey into ...
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#19
View Wine by Sancerre Estate, Ballandean
Brad and Stacey Allan, the owners of Sancerre Estate, were instantly captivated by the property’s beauty from the moment they set foot on it. The tranquil and picturesque views of the vineyards served as the inspiration behind the ‘View Wine’ label. As you step onto the property, you’ll be surrounded by thriving Sauvignon Blanc vines that Brad and Stacey use to craft some of their wines, ...
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#20
Nuova Scuola Wines, Redgate
Nuova Scuola focuses on alternative vines, such as traditional Mediterranean varieties, and uses modern winemaking techniques to create something new and different. You won’t find any shiraz or merlot here. Owners Sarah Boyce and Stefano Radici met while working in New Zealand’s Marlborough region and have travelled the world working in vineyards from Mexico to France, California's Nappa Valley, ...
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#21
Serrena Que Estate, Eukey
Newly opened in June 2023, Serrena Que is a unique winery situated in the picturesque Eukey region of the Granite Belt. Set at an impressive 1000m above sea level, this cellar door offers a genuinely elevated wine experience. Serrena Que specialises in handcrafted, premium wines made from estate-grown Strange Bird varietals cultivated in their two stunning vineyards. As stewards of the land, ...
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#22
Savina Lane Wines, Severnlea
Savina Lane Wines, named after the first family to plant wine grapes on the Granite Belt, is renowned for handcrafted, sustainable wines. It recently made Australia’s Top 50 list in 2022 and is the only Queensland vineyard so acknowledged. Owners Brad and Cheryl Hutchings have breathed new life into the single-vineyard boutique winery, constructing a cellar door, planting emerging vine varieties ...
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