Ballandean Estate has announced a vineyard party on Saturday 30 November 2024, celebrating the end of spring and the excitement of the new harvest to come. Wine lovers will be joining Angelo Puglisi, the Father of Queensland Wine — and five generations of the Puglisi family — for a soiree to remember. Angelo’s daughter and estate manager Robyn Puglisi-Henderson says,
“Our 2023 vineyard party was in honour of Dad’s 80th birthday and lifetime contribution Queensland’s wine industry. Over 250 people gathered on the Opera Block from far and wide, feasting on a long Italian lunch, dancing in the vines and enjoying Ballandean Estate’s world-class wines. It was heartwarming to celebrate with our amicis.
Robyn Puglisi-Henderson
“This year, we’ll be mixing up the festivities, kicking up our heels and seeing out spring with a splash of sensational wines and a mouth-watering long lunch.
“We can’t wait to see what Italian-trained chef Jason Costanzo will be thrilling our senses with this year. We have a long Ballandean connection with Jason, who is the son of Golden’s Grove’s Sam and Grace Costanzo.
“Our party guests will be revelling to live music from No Relation, lucky door prizes, bocce, croquet, and more. We’ll have a charity raffle in support of Rotary Stanthorpe, for whom we’ve raised more than $1.6 million over the years, thanks to Opera In the Vineyard and charity race days.”
Festivities kick off at 11am and continue until 4pm. Tickets are strictly limited, $80 per person including a glass of sparkling on arrival, Italian buffet lunch and an optional shuttle bus.
You can book tickets here: https://www.trybooking.com/CVAPL
Over the past 80 years, Angelo Puglisi’s family business has been at the forefront of developing and promoting the Queensland wine industry, from modest beginnings to a now multi-million-dollar industry. Queensland’s Angelo Puglisi Grand Champion Wine of Show award is a perpetual acknowledgment to Puglisi’s influence and respect in the industry.
ENDS For all media enquiries please contact: Robyn Puglisi-Henderson Ph: (07) 4684 1226
Queensland’s oldest family owned and operated winery today announced it has been recognised by Tripadvisor as a 2023 Travellers’ Choice award winner. The coveted award celebrates businesses that have consistently received great traveller reviews on Tripadvisor over the last 12 months, placing these winners among the 10% of all listings on Tripadvisor globally.
Ballandean Estate Wines stood out by consistently delivering unforgettable experiences to cellar door visitors. For almost a century the family business has been at the forefront of developing and promoting the Queensland wine industry, from modest beginnings to a multi-million-dollar industry.
Fourth generation vigneron Leeanne Puglisi-Gangemi says,
“We live and breathe wine! Our passion shines through in all that we do. When people walk into our cellar door, we just want to show them the best time – and of course, our sensational wines.
“Our cellar door is an extension of our Italian hospitality. Over the years, we’ve welcomed hundreds of thousands of people through our cellar door. The massive increase in visitation to the Granite Belt has given us the opportunity to innovate with our visitor offering.
“In June 2022, we opened the Granite Belt’s first wine lounge. It’s a place for you to bring your friends and family, sink into a leather lounge, indulge in a wine flight of your choice, a Strange Bird varietal, or a glass of our 50th Anniversary Opera Block Shiraz.
“We’re so lucky to have Graeme Haynes managing the Barrelroom Wine Lounge. Finesse! Style. Charm. Depth of wine knowledge, elegant service and a gifted storyteller – and born and bred in Ballandean! Under his guidance, our staff consistently delivers a five-star visitor experience.
“Graeme brings 20-plus years of fine dining experience with Melbournes’s most prestigious catering business, taking care of events such as the Birdcage at the Melbourne Cup and long table degustation luncheons. It’s such a great learning opportunity for our staff, who he continues to mentor,” says Ms Puglisi-Gangemi.
Leeanne Puglisi-Gangemi
“Congratulations to the 2023 Tripadvisor Travellers’ Choice winners.
“The travel resurgence we’ve seen throughout the past year has even further heightened the competition. Earning a Travelers’ Choice Award demonstrates that you have provided great experiences to those who matter most: your guests. With changing expectations, continued labor shortages, and rising costs, this is no easy feat, and I am continually impressed with the hospitality industry’s resilience and ability to adapt. Cheers to another successful year!”
John Boris, Chief Growth Officer at Tripadvisor.
To see Ballandean Estate’s reviews, visit Tripadvisor here.
Ballandean Estate opened the Granite Belt’s first wine lounge on Friday 15 July 2022. Signature restaurant The Barrelroom has been made over into a snug and sophisticated space, designed to make you feel like you’re walking into the Puglisi family cellar.
Fourth-generation vigneron Leeanne Puglisi-Gangemi says,
“I’ve been wanting to do this for years! The ultimate space for Ballandean Estate wine-lovers.”
“We hope to provide a first-class, relaxed, extended tasting experience here. Visitors can sit back and indulge in fine wine and local produce from 9am to 5pm each day.
“Our signature grazing platters are accompanied by a tasting of premium wines, of your choice. You can expect to be served wine several times as you enjoy your platter.
“Showcasing our Italian heritage and local artisan producers complements our award-winning wines. We are working with Stanthorpe Cheeses, New England Larder, the Bramble Patch, Ballandean Bakery, Foxy’s Bakery, The Folly Truffles, Cypress Ridge Garlic, Lirah Vinegars, Italian producers Sandhurst and Borgo Brisbane for our traditional Italian salamis.
“Over the last two weeks, the venue has undergone a significant renovation into an intimate moody space, accented by lighting, leather and luxury, with a roaring fire as its heartbeat.”
“Sink into a leather lounge beside the fire, indulge in a wine flight of your choice, a Strange Bird varietal, or a glass of our 50th Anniversary Opera Block Shiraz.”
“The massive increase in visitation over the pandemic has given us the opportunity to innovate with our visitor offering.
“This has been years in the making, and the first time in 30 years we have stepped back from having an onsite restaurant.
“As a family, we live and breathe wine. We want the wine lounge to be an extension of our Italian hospitality, a place where we can share our stories, heritage and of course our world-class wines,” says Ms Puglisi-Gangemi.
Reservations for the wine lounge are now open. Walk-ins will be welcomed. Bookings are recommended. Add The Barrelroom to your must-do list during a visit to the Granite Belt, just over two hours from Brisbane, Toowoomba and the Gold Coast.
Ballandean Estate has been recognised by Tripadvisor today as a 2022 Travellers’ Choice award winner. This award celebrates businesses that have received great reviews from cellar door visitors on Tripadvisor over the last 12 months. As challenging as the past year was, Ballandean Estate Wines stood out by consistently delivering positive experiences to cellar door visitors.
Fourth generation vigneron Leeanne Puglisi-Gangemi says,
“We aim to make sure every Ballandean Estate experience is unforgettable. Ballandean Estate is thrilled to be announced as the Granite Belt’s 2022 Best Tour.
The massive increase in visitation over the pandemic has given us the opportunity to innovate with our visitor offering. As a family, we live and breathe wine. Our cellar door is an extension of our Italian hospitality, a place where we can share our stories, heritage and of course our world-class wines!
We are about to open the Granite Belt’s first wine lounge. It will be place for you to bring your friends and family, sink into a leather lounge beside the fire, indulge in a wine flight of your choice, a Strange Bird varietal, or a glass of our 50th Anniversary Opera Block Shiraz.”
LEEANNE PUGLISI-GANGEMI
“Congratulations to the 2022 Travellers’ Choice Winners,” said Kanika Soni, Chief Commercial Officer at Tripadvisor.
The Travellers’ Choice Awards recognize the best in tourism and hospitality, according to those who matter most: your guests.”
To see Ballandean Estate’s reviews, visit Tripadvisor here.
Let us take you on a wine adventure! Be the first to try Taste Ballandean, an intimate wine and food tasting experience.
Ballandean Estate Wines continues to tantalise palates with an all-new visitor offering, Taste Ballandean. This is the Granite Belt’s first elevated tasting room experience. It’s your chance to discover the history, winemaking, people and passion of Ballandean Estate, broadening your wine horizons with new varietals andmuseum wines.
Taste Ballandean will showcase the rich tapestry of tradition, winemaking, terroir and storytelling at Queensland’s oldest family-owned and -operated winery.
Fourth-generation vigneron and estate manager Robyn Puglisi-Henderson says,
“We have seen increased interest in tasting our limited release wines from cellar door visitors and our wine club members.
“Our elevated tastings will be intimate and interactive, so you can ask all the questions you’ve always wanted to know about wine. Taste Ballandean is hosted by our wine educators: our most experienced cellar door staff and family members.
Immerse yourself in the world of wine
“Autumn is the perfect time for visitors to experience Taste Ballandean. Your wine adventure begins with an intimate tasting in our Cellar Tasting Room. It’s a seated premium tasting of six limited release wines paired meticulously with seasonal, creative small bites.
“Sample award-winning Strange Birds ™ such as Saperavi, Fiano, Malvasia – or a limited edition 50th Anniversary Opera Block Shiraz.
“We’ll be complementing your elevated tasting with decadent individual tasting platters. Think house-made delicacies, Granite Belt cheeses and local produce.
Hear the stories
“Our family has been making wine on our Granite Belt estate since 1932. There is no better way to experience the real Ballandean Estate than an immersive, interactive elevated tasting.”
Make sure you add Taste Ballandean to your must-do list during a visit to the Granite Belt, just over two hours from Brisbane, Toowoomba and the Gold Coast. Taste Ballandean launches 1 April 2022.
Interstate travel restrictions continue to deliver an unprecedented tourism boom on the Granite Belt, as Ballandean Estate, Queensland’s oldest family owned and operated winery, reports over five hundred through its cellar door over the weekend.
Leeanne Puglisi-Gangemi, fourth-generation vigneron and wine industry leader, says:
“Queenslanders have relished in their relative freedom over the pandemic, and really got behind supporting regional areas. So many have embraced a cool climate wine country getaway. What we are finding is that the last 18 months have brought thousands of people to the Granite Belt for the first time. And they are coming back! Last week, we had a young couple form Brisbane at the cellar door who first visited the region last July. Since then, they’ve returned four times! This is not unusual, we have so many new amicis!”
“The distance from Brisbane and the Gold Coast is a blessing in disguise, as people are coming out to stay and play for longer.
“This is in stark contrast to what we witnessed at some of McLaren Vale’s biggest wineries a few weeks ago. Vineyard restaurants were buzzing, but cellar doors were almost empty when we visited, even on the weekend! This made for a luxurious tasting experience, undivided attention. Operators told us that being so close to Adelaide made McLaren Vale more of a weekend day trip destination.
“Now that COVID restrictions have lifted for events, I can see our visitation increase continuing, as we prepare to host the third Granite Belt Art & Craft Trail over the upcoming long weekend, an event that injected over $900,000 into the local economy last year. (source: Southern Downs Regional Council economic modelling)
“In just a few weeks the Stanthorpe Berry Festival will be up and running.
“Early December we have the Merry Muster bus convoy coming up form Brisbane and the Gold Coast, another event which injected over $100,000 into our local economy.
“If you are looking at visiting the Granite Belt before the end of 2021, get online and book as soon as you can, as many accommodation houses are fully booked every weekend until the new year. You can also try the visitor information centre, as they are keeping track won who still has availability.”
Ballandean Estate’s annual Gamekeepers Dinner is going ahead on Saturday 25 September, with a second round of tickets released because of border closures. This culinary event sells out every year within days and has a culinary pedigree of thirty-plus years.
Ticket Release
Ballandean Estate’s annual Gamekeepers Dinner will be held at 6:30pm on Saturday 25 September at Ballandean Estate Wines, 354 Sundown Rd Ballandean.
Tickets to the all-inclusive degustation are $140 per person, with a courtesy bus available to and from the event for $15 per person round trip.
Bookings are essential; please call (07) 4684 1226 or book tickets directly via https://www.trybooking.com/BPNMM.
Estate manager Robyn Puglisi-Henderson says:
“People just keep coming back for the Gamekeepers Dinner, it’s a feast fit for royalty and chance to experience a mouth-watering array of game served up degustation style, matched with a museum tasting from the Puglisi family cellar.
The Barrelroom is serving up five spectacular courses, starting with Chinese-style Quail Consommé short soup with Quail Dumplings.
“Second and third courses feature Smoked Kangaroo Carpaccio served with potato confit and a garlic saffron crème; followed Wild-shot Goat Ragu tossed with handmade potato gnocchi.
“For the first time we’ll be plating up a Kangaroo Island Duo of Pheasant, oven roasted supreme stuffed with truffled butter; and a Coq au Vin Maryland with golden shallots, local button mushrooms, braised cabbage, crispy prosciutto, confit garlic pomme puree and a chicharron crumb.
“Dessert will be a Stanthorpe Apple Tarte Tatin with vanilla bean gelato and white chocolate nougat, exquisite.
“This year’s tickets sold out on the 28 March, the day of release. A number of our return guests come from over the border and have withdrawn due to lockdown uncertainty, freeing up a very limited number of tickets. Last year was a sold-out intimate event with 70 guests. Decadent food, museum wines and the ambience of The Barrelroom delivers a must-do feast to remember.”
Robyn Puglisi-Henderson
Over 150 punters flocked to Ballandean Estate’s inaugural Autumn Race Day on Sunday 2 May 2020. Aimee McKean and Madeleine Green from Brisbane won the Vineyard Cup with syndicate Madeleine’s Fury. They will be hosting an exclusive Ballandean Estate pop-up tasting at home with ten lucky friends.
Leeanne and Robyn to visit Brisbane for pop-up tasting party
Having the Puglisi sisters in my home pouring some of Queensland’s finest wines to match the menu we put together is going to take festive to the next level. We feel like family every time we visit, can’t wait to return their warmth and hospitality!
We’ve been coming to Opera in the Vineyard as a group for years and are thrilled to be back at Ballandean Estate for Rotary’s charity fundraiser.
We simply could not resist a long weekend on the Granite Belt combined with the chance to dress up, indulge in a long lunch from The Barrelroom and enjoy the party atmosphere, all in the beating heart of Ballandean. Our group stayed at Accommodation Creek Cottages just down the road from the vineyard. We will be back again same time next year for Autumn Race Day 2022.”
Madeleine Green
Charity fundraiser takes on new format
Event ambassador and fourth-generation vigneron Leeanne Puglisi-Gangemi says,
It’s been a rollercoaster to get here, this event has been 18 months in the making due to COVID. Our punters have come from as far as Noosa and Brisbane, complemented by a massive show of support from our local punters and businesses such as Stanthorpe Jewellers, Lirah Vinegar, Sancerre Estate, Just Red Wines, Suttons Juice Factory, the Stanthorpe Races and the Queensland College of Wine Tourism.
We’ve had fashions on the field, raffles, alternative races, lucky door prizes, live music from Cole Train and a great day out in the vines. This year, funds raised will be distributed to Stanthorpe charities.
Autumn Race Day major prize winners will be coming back for a return trip to the Granite Belt to experience the Stanthorpe Races in October 2021, accommodation for two at Just Red cabins including breakfast, tickets to the Stanthorpe races, transfers to and from the event, 1 dozen bottles of Ballandean Estate wines, and lunch at the Queensland College of Wine Tourism.
Rotary Club Stanthorpe’s charity fundraiser Opera in the Vineyard raised over $1 million for charity in partnership with Ballandean Estate. After 27 brilliant events, we have shaken up the format to create a new experience for the Granite Belt.”
Leeanne Puglisi-Gangemi
Angelo and Mary Puglisi, pioneers of the wine industry in Queensland, are releasing Ballandean Estate’s 50th Anniversary Opera Block Shiraz today, a milestone for the Granite Belt, the Puglisi family and Queensland wine.
Newlyweds Angelo and Mary Puglisi embarked on their lifelong wine adventure in 1968 as they founded Queensland’s oldest family-owned and -operated winery. Little did they know that their decision to plant their first block of Shiraz would cement the Puglisi winemaking future.
We’ve come a long way since the sixties, when everyone warned me that the vineyard would fail because only wogs drank wine in Queensland!
2018 was an exceptionally low-yielding year—we have only 150 dozen of the Opera Block Shiraz for this vintage. The long ripening season and cold nights delivered a delicate cool climate Shiraz, intense purple with concentrated berry fruits.
Right now, we are bringing in our Shiraz harvest for 2021 and it is shaping up to be a cracker vintage, one of the best we’ve ever had, thanks to a warm and an almost too-dry growing season.
I saw the versatility of Shiraz in the established wine regions of the Barossa and Hunter Valley, and couldn’t resist the challenge of establishing this varietal in our cool climate high altitude granitic terroir. Interstate vignerons thought it was a joke, that Queensland was a tropical climate only capable of producing bananas, bikinis and coconuts!
Mary and I planted those Shiraz vines in 1968, and just a few years later, our 1974 Shiraz Cabernet took out the gold medal at the Royal National Agricultural and Industrial Association of Queensland Show (RNA, also known as the Ekka). We knew our dreams were coming to fruition, it had been almost 50 years since a Queensland red table wine had achieved gold, not since Romavilla back in the 1930s.”
Angelo Puglisi
A perpetual acknowledgment to the Puglisi’s influence and respect in the industry, The Angelo Puglisi Grand Champion Wine of Show award, was established in 2019.
Angelo’s decision to convert from table grapes to wine grapes was bold and he and Mary worked hard to produce wines of quality and create a market for their Granite Belt grown wines. Those first vines have been lovingly nurtured over the years and now produce the award-winning Opera Block Shiraz—refined, elegant with intense fruit typical of a cool climate profile.
Our cool climate Shiraz is a family jewel. Most Shiraz vines in Australia are under 15 years old—and the older the vines, the lower the yield and more luscious the fruit.”
Angelo Puglisi
In a nation where most producers pulled up their vines in the late eighties at government behest, this is a remarkable achievement, and testament to the vision of Angelo and Mary Puglisi, pioneers of the wine industry in Queensland.
Ballandean Estate’s single vineyard 50th Anniversary Opera Block Shiraz will be released for public sale at the cellar door and online here www.ballandeanestate.com for $65 RRP Monday 1 March 2021.
The Australia Day long weekend on the Granite Belt has smashed visitation records, with wineries and accommodation houses recording a visitor influx that has operators pumped for a stellar year ahead.
Booming at our cellar door
Leeanne Puglisi-Gangemi, fourth-generation vigneron and long-time Granite Belt ambassador says:
“The last few days at the Ballandean Estate’s cellar door have been mind-blowing, we’ve shared our estate-grown and estate-made wines with over 1000 amicis!
People have started their Australia Day escape early, with an abundance of first-timers making their way out to Ballandean Estate to do their first tasting of the weekend. These are people who’ve had friends visit the Granite Belt for the first time over winter and spring, and are keen to experience our delights based on the strength of the stories they’ve been told.
Many are still nervous to travel outside of Queensland given ongoing uncertainty with borders, and we have found a lot of grey nomads from the Queensland’s south-east are making their way out to the Granite Belt and starting their first big outback adventure, heading for places like Goondiwindi, St George, Charleville, Winton, Longreach and Carnarvon. Food, wine, fossils, gorges and dinosaurs!”
Leeanne Puglisi-Gangemi
Booked out at the Granite Belt Motel
At the Granite Belt Motel, which has a multimillion-dollar renovation well underway, owner-operator Michael Jensen reports:
“Not only have we been fully booked for Friday and Saturday nights, we are at capacity mid-week too. Momentum continues to build for our business and the region, with major projects underway: road works, a new dam, windfarm and new attractions and venues planned or under build.
We are seeing a lot of families coming here for the weekend, getting out to the orchards and picking stone fruit, meeting alpacas, gathering strawberries, exploring the maze and walking and swimming in our waterways and national parks.”
Michael Jensen
Ms Puglisi-Gangemi of Ballandean Estate, Queensland’s oldest family owned and operated winery, hopes that Queenslanders continue to support pandemic safety measures and adapt to change.
“The Granite Belt is continuing to build on its reputation as a safe destination. It is fantastic our visitors really understand the importance of hand hygiene, social distancing and contact tracing.”
Leeanne Puglisi-Gangemi
Sammi and Andy from Toowoomba at Ballandean Estate Wines planning their upcoming wedding 
The beating heart of the Granite Belt
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Stephanie Elms and Leeanne Puglisi-Gangemi getting ready for influx of cellar door weekend visitors as they taste-test Australia Day wine.
