Ballandean Estate was awarded a plethora of trophies at the 40th Annual Queensland Wine Awards Presentation Dinner, held at the Queensland College of Wine Tourism in Stanthorpe Thursday 31 October. The event was attended by 100-plus vignerons, international critics and dignitaries.
A winning trajectory
Queensland’s oldest family-owned and run winery was awarded:
Winery of the Year
Winemaker of the Year – Boxi Zhen
Viticulturalist of the Year – Angelo Puglisi and Robyn Robertson
Champion Wine of Show – 2024 Fiano
Champion Mainstream White Variety – 2023 Chardonnay
Champion Mainstream Red Variety – 2023 Shiraz Viognier
“This is one of Ballandean Estate’s biggest wins, on a par with taking out the first major national trophy for a Queensland winery as Most Successful Exhibitor in the early nineties at the Australian Small Winemakers Show, and our gold medal at the 2018 Saperavi World Prize.
“Yet another ringing endorsement for our young gun Boxi Zhen in his second vintage as a Granite Belt winemaker. He is really making his mark as Emerging Queensland Winemaker of the Year.”
Congratulations to the winners
“We congratulate our friends and neighbours from Sancerre Estate Brad and Stacey Allen, Ridgemill Estate, Sirromet, Riversands Wines and Tony Hassell from Just Red Wines, who received the Samuel Basset award for his significant contribution to the Queensland wine industry.”
“It’s great to see the work we do in the vineyard recognised. It’s the quality of our fruit that sets us apart, high altitude and cool climate delivering intense flavours and such high acid. Big thanks for the tender loving cultivation of our vines by vineyard manager Robyn Robertson, and Dad, the Father of Queensland wine, Angelo Puglisi, and to our vineyard and winemaking teams.”
James Halliday 95-point wines
“We’ve just had three of our wines announced as 95-point wines by James Halliday: 2023 Nebbiolo, 2023 Small Batch Reserve Chardonnay, and Angelo’s Vintage Tawny 1987, which we’ll be releasing as an exclusive limited edition in a few weeks’ time. These 95-point wines qualify us to be a five-star-rated winery in the next release of the Halliday Wine Companion.”
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.
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.
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.”
“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.
“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.
Images credit: Sandra McEwan
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,
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
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.
Estate founder Angelo Puglisi has spent over 50 years building his reputation as the father of Queensland wine and industry, from the day he rolled into town with two trucks carrying 1000-gallon barrels down the main street of Stanthorpe back in 1971. His experimentation with Italian varietals has been a major contribution to the establishment of the Strange Bird™ alternative wine trail.
Fourth-generation vigneron and daughter Leeanne Puglisi-Gangemi says,
“We love our Italian varietals! It’s not just the increased diversity of bouquet and flavour, it’s structure: and most importantly, acid. We grow these Strange Birds™ for their natural acid balance. This delivers a fresh expression of our granitic terroir and a minimal intervention approach to the winemaking process.
Our GFM blend is sunshine in a bottle, think the Granite Belt meets Sicily! Island vibes, coastal cool, hints of pineapple, stone fruit and a delicious full body with a great weight of palate and crisp dry finish.
These rare varietals are now even more precious given the challenges our vintage faced last year with weather events. We’ve picked just one-sixth of last year’s volume: 400 kilos of Malvasia, 500 kilos of Fiano and 800 kg of Moscato Giallo.”
Ticket Release
Alcohol: 12%
Price: $30
Closure: Screwcap
Drink: 2020-21
Fruit: 24% Malvasia, 29% Fiano, 47% Giallo, single vineyard from Bellevue at Ballandean, 850m above sea level
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.
“We are beyond proud of our Fiano’s pedigree, its third vintage taking out Winestate’s Top Alternative White award. Our Malvasia has been our fastest moving white wine at the cellar door, selling out just months after its 2019 release!
Our GFM will not last long, as just 109 cases were made, of which 60 have been put aside for our Ballandean Gold club’s summer delivery,”
says Ms Puglisi-Gangemi.
Ballandean Estate’s GFM 2020 vintage will be available for tasting and sale at the cellar door and for online from Friday 23 October.
Queensland’s oldest family-owned and -operated winery future-proofed its reputation for world-class Shiraz by planting 5000 Shiraz plants next to the Opera Block vineyard at Ballandean Estate last week.
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.
Fifty years on, these vines are bearing incredible fruit. However, the yield is considerably reduced, down to one tonne an acre. Optimal yield for production is two tonnes an acre.
Dad (father of Queensland wine Angelo Puglisi) was itching to try out a new Shiraz clone on a block that we had lying fallow for the last five years, once home to cabernet vines.
Shiraz is our signature varietal, and we wanted to ensure our ability to meet the market in years to come.
The new vines will be bearing fruit next season, however, we will be knocking the first few yields off the vine to establish a stronger root system. By 2025, we should be seeing the first harvest.
Such a brilliant week in the vineyard, with bud burst underway and all hands on deck! We’ve had Dad, myself, my sister Robyn, vineyard manager Robyn Robertson, Tash Banbury, Peter Wade, plus Jason Costanzo and his vineyard team from Golden Grove Estate getting their hands dirty with the planting, which took five days,”
says Ms Puglisi-Gangemi.
Leeanne planting Shiraz
In the next few months Ballandean Estate will be releasing its much-anticipated 50th vintage of Shiraz.
“Our cool climate Shiraz is a vinicultural jewel. 2018 was an exceptionally low-yielding year—we have produced only 150 dozen of the Opera Block Shiraz for this vintage. The long ripening season and cold nights have delivered a delicate cool climate Shiraz, intense purple with concentrated berry fruits. We bottled this beauty back in 2019.”
For all media enquiries please contact:
Robyn Puglisi-Henderson or Leeanne Puglisi-Gangemi
After opening its doors ten days ago to interstate visitors, Ballandean Estate Wines is reporting a minimal impact on visitation. Queenslanders continue to embrace a wine country getaway as visitors pour in from the Sunshine Coast and Brisbane primarily.
Leeanne Puglisi-Gangemi, fourth-generation vigneron at Queensland’s oldest family-owned and -operated winery on the Granite Belt, says,
Like all businesses along the NSW-QLD border, we’ve been intrigued as to how the lifting of border restrictions will impact our business. Before Victoria’s COVID situation escalated, we were anticipating an influx of grey nomads.
Since the borders re-opened, we have hardly any visitors identify as from New South Wales. And yes, we’ve been asking! Everyone who comes through our cellar door is required to sign in under our COVID-safe venue plan.
Up until the last few weeks, most of our visitors have been return visitors that know and love the Granite Belt for all of its natural beauty, fine wine, abundant gourmet delights, quirky charms and country hospitality.
What we have been thrilled to discover is that a huge proportion of our Queenslander visitors are here on the Granite Belt for the first time. For so many Queenslanders, the Granite Belt has been sitting on their ‘One Day’ wish list. Now it seems that has rapidly changed to ‘This Year’ and ‘Good to Go!’
Until you experience the glory of the Granite Belt in person, it can be hard to compete with the abundance of destinations within an hour of Brisbane and the Gold Coast.
If the last few weeks are anything to go by, the Granite Belt is set for its best spring season yet! This has traditionally been a quieter time of year. However, we have tastings booked up online through to September, and accommodation house are reporting unheard-of occupancy rates.
I expect that our Tenterfield locals are staying put to avoid the border patrol, and that our southern visitors are either staying put or venturing further north chasing the sun after months of border restrictions.
We hope that Queensland continues to remain COVID-safe and that we can maintain then improve upon the current level of restriction for venues. I think that people are really understanding the importance of hand hygiene, social distancing and contact tracing at venues.
Our cellar door hand Elijah Smith made me a hand sanitiser holster to help me keep safe as I serve tastings to over 500 people each weekend.
How to make sure you book an unforgettable wine tasting experience at Ballandean Estate
We’d love it if you could book your tasting in advance online or over the phone. Our peak times are over lunch and on Saturdays, and we highly recommend booking first.
If you want to come in on the day and have not yet booked, we ask that you pick up the phone and call us on (07) 4684 1226 so that we can fit you in.
Walk-ins are always welcome, keep your beanie handy as we could be wine-tasting under the pergola in the winter sun if there is an overflow of people.
ENDS
For all media enquiries please contact: Robyn Puglisi-Henderson or Leeanne Puglisi-Gangemi
Welcome to Ballandean Estate, Queensland’s oldest family owned and operated winery. Our family has been making wine on our Granite Belt estate since 1932, and we would love to share our estate grown and made wines with you. This year we are celebrating 50 years of Shiraz plantings in our high altitude vineyard and our 30th vintage of Semillon Sauvignon Blanc. As a multi-awarded 4.5-star winery, Ballandean Estate has an excellent range of mainstream and alternative wines that showcase our cool climate and granite terroir with elegance—just marvellous matched with Queensland’s outstanding produce.
Granite Belt winery operators Leanne Puglisi-Gangemi of Ballandean Estate and Warren Smith of Pyramid Road Wines have a starring role in Tourism Queensland’s latest campaign, It’s a beautiful place to holiday here.
#HolidayHereThisYear
Fourth-generation vigneron and regional tourism ambassador Leanne Puglisi-Gangemi says,
It is just so good to see cellar doors from the Granite Belt featured on this video!
“A lot of the time Queensland promotions are beach-centric, but we have such diversity on offer. From cool climate wineries, gourmet food trails, country hospitality, the Outback, and the world’s oldest surviving tropical rainforest—Queensland is so much more than the reef and the beach. It’s a beautiful place for a wine holiday here!
Leanne Puglisi-Gangemi
Quick action sees Granite Belt wineries enjoy a starring role
Robyn Puglisi-Henderson, sister and Ballandean Estate business manager says,
Warren and I had to move quickly on this! TQ sent out the invite on Friday, and we had to submit video footage shot on our phones that day for editing.
“We’ve joined Robert Irwin and a host of Queensland tourism operators to produce a video which will be used across social platforms to tell Australians that Queensland is ‘a beautiful place to holiday here this year’ and invite them to visit.
“It’s part of a $2 million dollar campaign showcasing to Australians why Queensland is ‘a beautiful place to holiday here this year‘, and builds on Tourism Australia’s campaign launched in late January in response to the bushfires.”
