Queensland

Queensland has two main wine making areas. The Granite Belt, with its wine pioneer Ballandeen Wines, has had a long history of table grape growing and, thanks to the strong Italian community, also of winemaking (utilising table grapes). The first wine grapes (Shiraz) were planted in 1965. The region has grown dramatically with the emphasis on Chardonnay, Semillon, Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon. The wineries of the Granite Belt are small to medium size and are owned and managed by families or individuals with an obsessive interest in making great Queensland wine. In South Western Queensland, a new region, the South Burnett, has taken shape, focused around the town of Kingaroy. While the modern day history of the South Burnett Region dates back only to 1993, vines were first planted in the early 1900s. The growth of the wine industry in the South Burnett District since 1993 has been rapid: as at June 1999 there were 32 growers, three processing wineries, and five cellar door operations. Since that time extensive further plantings have taken place.