Ballandean Estate is preparing to convert its much-loved signature restaurant into the Granite Belt’s first wine lounge. Slated to open late July 2022, The Barrelroom will evolve into an atmospheric, cosy venue where visitors can sit back, relax and indulge in fine wine and platters of local produce.
The venue makeover is the brainchild of fourth-generation vigneron Leeanne Puglisi-Gangemi, who is beside herself with excitement as she prepares for her role as chief storyteller.
Now that we can travel freely again, we saw an opportunity to enhance our cellar door experience with the ultimate space for wine lovers.
This has been years in the making, and the first time in 30 years we have stepped back from having an onsite restaurant.
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. 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!
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. The ambience will be rustic, moody, and a just a little bit quirky. Think leather and luxury, the oaky gurgle of our port barrels, a roaring fire, ambient lighting and mirrors. Decadent platters will be yours to graze upon.
“If you can’t imagine a Granite Belt visit without a meal made with love by Matt and Bobbi Wells, never fear! You can find them at their new venture in Stanthorpe, Marley’s Little Kitchen”, says Ms Puglisi-Gangemi.
Reservations for the wine lounge will open in May 2022 for bookings in July. 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.
ENDS
For all media enquiries please contact: Leeanne Puglisi-Gangemi
Ph: (07) 4684 1226 Leeanne@ballandeanestate.com
354 Sundown Rd Ballandean 4382 www.ballandeanestate.com
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.
Generational growers at Ballandean Estate, Queensland’s oldest family-owned and operated winery, are hailing vintage 2022 right on track to make up for years of drought, bushfire and hail.
Fourth-generation vigneron Leeanne Puglisi-Gangemi says,
We’ve had the wettest year in over 30 years on the Granite Belt. Combining that with an exceptionally cool spring and summer is delivering an abundance of beautiful fruit. We are lucky to have escaped the heavy rainfall hitting much of southeast Queensland.
In 2020, we harvested just 7.5 tonnes of fruit in 2020, a vintage heavily impacted by the end of drought and a hailstorm. In 2021, Ballandean Estate was fortunate enough to bring in 90 tonnes of fruit. This year, we are seeing our vines, some of which are amongst the oldest in Australia, well on their way to a full recovery from drought with a harvest of 100 tonnes expected.
In 2023, we expect to return to full production of 150 tonnes when our baby Shiraz, Chardonnay and Merlot vines begin producing fruit.”
White varietals outperform expectations
Today we picked and crushed 9 tonnes of viognier, making that 30 tonnes of white varietals processed since the start of 2022.
Semillon is a surprise performer, we were expecting 2 tonnes and harvested 6 tonnes. Our white varietals are golden and clean, just magnificent this vintage, especially our much-loved Malvasia.”
A lucky escape and unexpected blessing
We’ve managed to escape the disease pressure the region has been under. This wet weather has seen our vines as happy as Larry, thanks to strict vineyard management and the many years of combined grape growing experience between Dad (Angelo Puglisi, estate founder) and Robyn Robertson (Ballandean Estate vineyard manager).
The western escarpment of the Granite Belt has a unique microclimate. Our grapes have a very different rain requirement to the apples and stone fruit grown in other parts of the Granite Belt. This rain has been perfect timing for our red fruit’s last growing spurt before harvest in three weeks’ time. Bloody good news here!” says Ms Gangemi.
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.”
Our Fiano has high acidity, a hint of nut and an almost honeyed texture — a bit of sting to it! It’s a lighter bodied, rich and textural dry unwooded white, with a blend of tropical and stone fruits on the palate, blessed with a honey, biscuit and floral bouquet.
Ballandean Estate sells out of Fiano every vintage, our last release was in 2020. This year, we’ve made just 235 cases.
“When we were deciding where to plant Fiano here, we tried many different styles from Australia and Italy. What we found was that most Australian Fianos are fruit-driven and reminiscent of sauvignon blanc. Italian Fianos, on the other hand, are much more complex at higher alcohols, which we preferred. We pick our Fiano at around 13 Baume to build weight in the palate. This year, we were able to pick 3 tonnes from the half a hectare we have planted.”
Robyn Puglisi-Henderson
Master of Wine Peter-Scudamore-Smith says,
“Winemaker Dylan Rhymer continues to finesse Ballandean Estate’s Fiano, building sophistication as it evolves to a stylish and savoury tasty style with fruit-driven aromas. The 2021 vintage has the tell-tale hints of ripe melon sweetness, lifted by sweet mint and white flowers, a result of the high ripeness of the fruit when picked at 13 Baume.”
“There’s restraint and sophistication here. This comes with whole bunch pressing, as it extracts some savoury stem and skin flavours also. So the palate is more sublime and savoury than the previous vintages of juicy fruit, sweet mouth flavours. The commendable lengthy finish: always the higher crispy acid, such a clean expression of Granite Belt’s terroir and cooler climate.”
A Strange Bird™ Wine Trail stand-out, Ballandean Estate is famed for its Fiano. The 2021 Fiano vintage is now available for tasting and sale at the cellar door and for sale online. Fiano was first planted in Queensland in 2009 by Angelo Puglisi, the father of Queensland wine and Ballandean Estate founder.
- Alcohol: 13.5%
- Price: $32
- Closure: Screwcap
- Drink: 2021–2022
- Fruit: 100%, Fiano single vineyard from Bellevue at Ballandean, 850m above sea level
- Palate: Dry, unoaked, tropical and stone fruits, hints of honey
- Weight: Light to medium bodied, similar weight to viognier, pinot grigio and unoaked chardonnay
- Winemaking: A mix of whole bunch and destemmed fruit was combined into the press. The juice was settled quickly in stainless before yeast was added. Stabilised, no finings added, filtered and bottled, unoaked.
Ballandean Estate is set to release its exclusive 2018 vintage single-vineyard Durif, a full-bodied alternative red. The ultimate choice for any lover of big reds, this much anticipated vintage will be available for tasting at Ballandean Estate’s cellar door and for sale online from Saturday 28 August onwards, RRP $42.
Discover why Durif is a hero varietal
“Durif is a hero! This varietal thrives in drought and miraculously escaped smoke taint from the 2018 Girraween bushfires. It is one of our rarest alternative wines, we’ve produced just under 350 cases.
What makes this wine unique is its vibrant and sophisticated cool climate expression, lean and fresh with intense acidity, a gorgeous inky purple with a crimson meniscus in the glass.
Also known as ‘Petite Syrah’ in France, California and Israel, Durif originates in France’s Rhone Valley, and is renowned for its late ripening massive tannins, superb cellaring potential and ability to handle oak. Dad planted it back in 2008 to make Mum happy, she had a hankering for sparkling Durif in her life!,” says Ms Puglisi-Gangemi.”
Fourth generation vigneron Leeanne Puglisi-Gangemi
Durif 2018
Varietal—Durif
100% Ballandean Estate single-vineyard fruit
Dry, full-bodied, blue and black fruits, well-structured with an intense acidic spine
RRP $42
Alc/Vol 14.8%
Colour—inky purple
Cellaring potential—Drink from now to 20 years
Winemaker—Dylan Rhymer
Viticulturalist—Angelo Puglisi
A word from Master of Wine Peter Scudamore-Smith
“This wine is broody; swirl it to open up; there is forest floor, lots of exotic spice and mint sweetness. Yet the most powerful expression is the blue and black fruits which layer my mouth; that’s the flavour of Durif — I can assure you there is plenty.
“A gratuitously full-bodied variety yet that is tempered by growth in the Granite Belt, meaning more soft tannin focus and less grip — a powder-coated tongue is not an extreme sensation from this French variety. Resounding taste, a mouthful.”
Master of Wine Peter Scudamore-Smith
Learn about the viticulture
Ballandean Estate’s Durif vines were planted in 2008 on the slopes of the Bellevue vineyards at Ballandean on the Granite Belt, 850m above sea level. The vines grow vigorously and produce large tight bunches of fruit, due to the big leaves attracting more sunlight, enhancing photosynthesis. Angelo Puglisi overcame this challenge by cutting off 70% of each bunch at flowering, which results in lots of small bunches.
When it comes to pizzaz and Australian Shiraz, wine pioneers and Ballandean Estate founders Angelo and Mary Puglisi will be celebrating their lifetime achievement in style on Australia’s second annual Shiraz Wine Day this Thursday 22 July 2021. They stand behind over 50 years of Shiraz, a remarkable achievement in a nation where most producers pulled up their vines in the late eighties at government behest.
Ballandean Estate’s award-winning single vineyard premium Shiraz is sourced from the Opera Block’s oldest vines, planted in 1968, some of the oldest in Australia. It’s a living testament to the vision of Angelo and Mary Puglisi, pioneers of the wine industry in Queensland.
“It’s hard to believe that Australia’s most popular red grape varietal almost didn’t survive, given that we now have some of the oldest shiraz vines in the world.
Ballandean Estate’s low yielding, gnarly old vines are a rarity. Many of the original European vineyards and South Australian shiraz vines were wiped out by a disease called phylloxera.
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.
We’ve come a long way since the sixties, when the naysayers told us the vineyard would fail — because only wogs drink wine in Queensland!
Our expression of terroir begins in the vineyard, our hands and in our hearts. We work the soil, we tend the grapes — every bottle tells a story, the people, the place, the passion.”
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).
Fifty years on, these vines are bearing incredible fruit!” laughs Angelo, fondly regarded as the father of Queensland wine.”
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.
Master of Wine Peter Scudamore-Smith says:
“Ballandean Estate’s 2018 Opera Block Shiraz is a sophisticated example of cool climate Shiraz.
“This 50th vintage has tannins of silk, a caressing texture, lovely length of black fruits, oak spice, spotlessly woven flavours and a palate-pleasing light to medium body.”
Queensland’s oldest family-owned and -operated winery future-proofed its reputation for word-class Shiraz by planting 5000 Shiraz plants next to the Opera Block vineyard in early 2021.
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
Rare and alternative wine release
Ballandean Estate is releasing its much-anticipated 2018 vintage single-vineyard Saperavi, a full-bodied rare and alternative red. The Granite Belt has garnished itself a fearsome reputation for this varietal, originating in Soviet Georgia, where they have been making wine for more than 8000 years.
The 2018 vintage will be available for tasting at Ballandean Estate’s cellar door and for sale online from Friday 19 March onwards, RRP $42.
Strange Bird™ varietal takes out Saperavi World Prize gold medal
Estate founder Angelo Puglisi says:
“We are excited about taking the Granite Belt’s reputation for Saperavi even higher. Our granite soils reflect heat onto the fruit—speeding the ripening during the day, with cool temperatures overnight—resulting in mature, intensely-flavoured fruit.
Ballandean Estate’s Saperavi has had great success nationally and internationally. In 2018, Ballandean Estate entered the Saperavi World Prize for the first time and came third in the world with its 2015 Saperavi.
All three Granite Belt wineries that entered in 2018 were awarded a gold medal, an outstanding result for the Granite Belt,”
says Mr Puglisi, well-known for his experimentation with different varietals and Strange Bird advocacy
A word from the winemaker
“Ballandean Estate’s Saperavi is revered for its velvet tannins, viscosity and deep ink-purple in the glass.
He goes on to describe the wine as having “an acidic structure, with an aromatic fruit-driven palate, lightly integrated French oak and a dry lingering finish.”
Angelo Puglisi was one of the first to plant it on the Granite Belt. We’ve been making Saperavi for a decade now, since 2011.
Last year’s climatic conditions saw us without a Saperavi harvest at all, just too dry. We have been blessed with a small but superlative 2021 Saperavi harvest. It is one of our rarest alternative wines, we produce just under 300 cases most years.”
Ballandean Estate recently participated in the inaugural Saperavi Symposium, where the handful of Saperavi producers In Australia gathered together for the first time in 2020.
Winemaking
Handpicked after careful monitoring in the vineyard to ensure the perfect balance between flavour, acidity and tannin ripeness.
- Long fermentation is followed by 14 months in reserve French oak barrels that are one to three years of age.
- Higher proportion of new oak in this wine due to big fruit structure and high alcohol.
- French oak soaks up tannin to build a big palate structure.
Viticulture
- In our Bellevue vineyard, the Saperavi vines we planted in 2008 have an ancient look, with nobbly shoots reminiscent of arthritic fingers!
- Angelo was keen to experiment with this Strange Bird™ varietal, as its mid-season ripening makes it less risky than other reds.
- The granite soils reflect heat onto the fruit—speeding the ripening during the day, with cool temperatures overnight—resulting in mature, intensely-flavoured fruit.
So much to love!
Saperavi 2018 vintage
- Varietal—Saperavi
100% Ballandean Estate single-vineyard fruit - Dry, full-bodied, well-structured with juicy red berries and fine tannins integrating with light oak to give a lingering finish
- RRP $42
- Alc/Vol 15.6%
- Colour—deep purple
- Cellaring potential—Drink from now to 10 years. Careful cellaring will see restrained flavours, earthiness and blueberry, cherry and plum burst onto the scene as the acids and tannins subside over time. French oak provides richness and integrates well.
- Winemaker—Dylan Rhymer
- Viticulturalist—Angelo Puglisi
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.
