The mist and clouds were hanging over Cunningham’s Gap like
a curtain. We went past the monument at
the peak, and the curtain seemingly parted.
Grey skies were whipped away, and we were in light and greenery.
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But the stage we aimed to tread was the Granite Belt
wineries, on a day-long road trip amongst the light green of the sprouting
leaves and berries of the viognier and cabernet vines.
Sharing the driving with me was Jeff, my Creative Partner at
Wine Groover. “Do we have shirts?” he
asked chirpily as he got in the car at 5.45am.
We did tell our wives that we were going to interview the
owners of some of Queensland’s best wineries.
The unsaid but glaringly-clear agenda was to wrap some of their finest
produce around our tongues.
These wines are the centrepiece of the Granite Belt road
trip, one of the most underrated tourism experiences for Queenslanders in our
own terrior.
A Quiet Red-Stained
Day in the Country
“What strikes me,” Jeff said as we hopped in the car after
one of the wineries, “is how quiet it is here.”
Having lived in Singleton, Jeff has haunted a few favoured
cellar doors and tasting bars in the Hunter Valley.
The wine experience there can mean pulling up at crowded
vineyard car parks, slotting in between busloads coming before and after you.
Then you line up at the cellar door bar for tasting, and try
to get the attention of stressed and abrupt cellar door staff.
On Queensland’s Granite Belt, there seems like long spaces
between wineries. It is an illusion –
you feel the verdant stretches because of the lack of tourist cars churning up
dust on the country roads.
Although it was Friday, we were often the only ones at the tasting
bar, dragging staff and owners away from bottling and administrative tasks.
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Family Ties - And Trims
the Vines
And we discovered it is a family enterprise in Queensland. Wineries rely on family to staff them and work
them, and dedicated staff members who seem like part of the family.
Indeed, fraternal co-operation amongst many players on the Granite
Belt wine scene is another part of the Queensland grape skin trade.
Martin from Ridgemill Estates, home of one of Queensland’s
best méthode champenoise
wines, asked us where we were off to next.
“Pyramids Road Wines,” I said. His smile turned into a serious expression
and he said in a grave tone, ”Warren is a good operator. Really nice bloke.” More compadres
than competitors.
And Warren commented, in mock weariness, about working next weekend
as a judge at the Australian Small Wine Show.
But I think he felt chuffed about
being asked to contribute to his profession in this way.
A small grin never left his face, as he talked quietly to us
with some quiet pride about his wines.
And this high-quality, half-hidden wine is the backbone of
this local tourism experience. Many
wines are good, damned good, and the winemakers revel in the fact they are
good.
Tourists meanwhile revel in the discovery
of these wines.
In fact, I think some wine creators have perverse enjoyment
in their secret knowledge. In terms of
marketing, once secret knowledge gets out, it creates a very desirable
commodity.
Trip Out Now (Before
the Rush)
Be warned: you won’t have to wait long for the word to spread
about the Granite Belt wine experience. Change is coming, and the busloads of day trippers
will soon be clouding up the country roads around Ballendean.
I’ve met two vineyard owners who must have thought they were
going to have a quiet retirement crafting some pleasing wines. Now they are facing streams of savvy buyers,
and a future stream of very (berry?) high expectations.
If you live in Brisbane, part the misty curtains of
Cunningham’s Gap, and make your way onto the stage of the Granite Belt. And make a real experience of it by getting
road trip shirts.
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