It is time to revise the reputation of Queensland’s premier wine district; to isolate the unique flavours of Granite Belt wines that define them.

The Granite Belt’s mountainous terrain has been tortured by time. Grapevines love this country and its extremes. 

The district’s icy winters and dry, warm summers - alien to other parts of Queensland and anathema to most of the state’s vegetation – are kin to grapevines. Roots fairly leap through the decomposed granite that passes for soil. Their woody canes are resilient to harsh sun, blasting winds and frigid mornings. Even hail, which plagues the district in spring and summer, only temporarily depresses these hardy plants.

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Some people – not connoisseurs, it should be said - found sport in delivering a bottle whose label proclaimed it the worst wine in the world, to set among the trendy Jacobs Creeks and Hardy’s Eden Valley Moselles adorning party tables in the seventies. It was cheap too.
 

From that questionable base, a fine industry emerged, personified by the Puglisi family of Ballandean.

They began, in like mind, turning otherwise unproductive fruit into wine, selling it in bulk to the guzzle and gag crowd.

In time, the wine trade promised to become more than a sideline and the Puglisi’s and others planted wine grapes to test the water. They upgraded wine-making equipment too.

Nevertheless, until the late 1980s the quality of the wine remained variable, due mainly to lack of experience, inappropriate viticultural (grape growing) techniques and a lack of investment capital.

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Since then, at Ballandean Estate and elsewhere, much has changed.

The quality of Angelo’s wines is now generally excellent and he has lost count of the number of medals they have won, particularly his renowned Sylvaner dessert wine, said by one respected commentator to be the best of its type in the world.

The three drivers of change have been an increasing desire by consumers for better quality 

Having said that, the biggest selling wines on the Granite Belt remain sweeter white wines and Lambrusco style reds – nothing wrong with that, simply that people in the industry see more potential for elegance, power and complexity in the so-called “fine” or “premium” wines.

In the last five years, to produce premium wines has been the aspiration of most of the Granite Belt’s producers, as the area sets about securing its own appellation, in the mould of Coonawarra, Hunter Valley, Barossa etc.

In Australia, appellations are known as Geographical Indicators (GIs). The Granite Belt applied for its GI two years ago. It is expected to be granted by the Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation early in 2001 and it will define the geography and the geology of Granite Belt wines.
 

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Considerable research went into preparing and planting the vines to ensure that we would maximise the quality of the fruit they produced.
 
 

It has been an enchanting journey. We have now completed our second vintage and, thus far, the results have met our high expectations. But, one vital factor has eluded me – an adequate definition of what makes good Granite Belt wines what they are.

Since we have not yet produced sufficient quantities to exhibit our own wines in shows, I have had to be content to observe how other Granite Belt wines are judged by the industry.

I have observed and read the comments of several eminent wine judges about the district’s products. All the time I have been waiting for someone to adequately describe the distinctive regional character that I taste in our wines.

To my knowledge, nobody ever has.

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I, with others, laughed when the chief judge of the Courier Mail-Sheraton Awards, reportedly described unwooded chardonnays from here and elsewhere as “baby vomit”, but this was a comment on a particular variety and treatment, not on regional character.

I asked my winemaker, Philippa Hambleton, to consider the question and, together, we have tried to define what that character is.

For a start, Granite Belt wines tend not to be huge and bold like wines from some other Australian wine regions. Rather, they are lighter and more elegant – more French in their style, in fact.
 

My own inclination is to accept that the reds wish to be, by and large, elegant, medium to full bodied wines and to work with that trait.

The flavours of individual varieties generally follow classical patterns, but there is an underlying regional influence. 
 

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I put this view to Tony Comino, who has been making wine in the region for more than 20 years. He strongly disagreed with the description, believing the fundamental character to be warmer and less biting than the word “mineral” would suggest. He was, however, unable to offer an alternative. 

White wines of the region are refined, elegant and have crisp acidity. As Philippa Hambleton says, “they are an excellent framework on which to hang (winemaking) techniques.”

Red wines typically display bold fruit flavours. “They show leafiness in early stages of ripeness and, subsequently, cherry then blackberry flavours,” Philippa observes.
 

As long as growers don’t overcrop vines, the reds make superb, early drinking wines (three to five years cellaring) with an excellent balance of flavours.

This brilliant character is accounted for by the cool climate which slows berry ripening and allows the flavour to fully develop. 
 

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Observing and reading the commentary of wine judges, one gets the impression that the Granite Belt character is not well understood; that it is an obstacle to their expectations of the varieties they are tasting.

It reminds me rather of the way in which Coonawarra wines languished in obscurity until, in the seventies, commentators realised that the region’s flavours, while different from classical definitions, were excellent in their own right.

And who can forget Mudgee Mud – originally applied derisively to beer made in the area, now a sought after quality in wines from that region.
 

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The resulting wine (2000 Beverley Chardonnay) has a long, buttery palate and the guitar chord mineral tones interplay beautifully with the peach flavours one might expect from a chardonnay plus the less expected marmalade. The whole is well balanced by dusty oak. The tight acid finish is clean, generous and lingering.

The vintage was split evenly between new French and American oak (at huge expense to the management!) and then blended back. The wine is in the bottle but not yet released.

The 2000 vintage shiraz is still in the barrel (new American oak) and will not be bottled until May. The barrel samples are dry and earthy. There is huge fruit present and a wonderful allspice 
 

Both of these wines will be tested at wine shows in 2001 and it is my fervent hope that they will be received for what they are and their Granite Belt character noted for what it is, not as an irrelevance to be ignored in the scoring process.

There is great faith within the Granite Belt community that this region’s wines will make their mark. Growing techniques are in place, winemaking skills have been acquired and there is commitment to the task.

Recognition will come with patience, education and understanding. 
 

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Apricot trees and the vineyard beyond from the verandah of Beverley Vineyard Restaurant and Whiskey Gully Wines.