Tucker with Thommo

He's made a name for himself as the bush cook on Channel 7, and he's packing his port for a trip to the Queensland wine capital.

The Queensland College of Wine Tourism in Stanthorpe is the venue for Thommo's latest field kitchen. Five courses of Granite Belt food and wine will be captured by the cameras as part of a promotion with Caravanning Queensland on March 15th.

During dinner Thommo will regale guests with tales of his travels throughout Australia. Wine, food, memories...and all capped off with a charity auction for local service clubs. Sounds like a good old fashioned country night out. And when it is all over Thommo will soak up the hospitality of the Stanthorpe Top of the Town Tourist Park.

It all happens on Monday 15th March - not your typical Ides of March night out but then it's getting a little chilly here for togas!

Sommelier's Big Day Out

For almost two decades Scott Durietz (pictured) has been the font of all wine knowledge at award-winning Baguette Restaurant in Brisbane's Racecourse Road. This week he swapped his dinner jacket for work overalls, for what some might describe as a busman's holiday.

This week Scott has been visiting the Queensland wine capital to get his hands on what really makes some of the state's top drops. The highly respected sommelier has rolled his sleeves up in the vineyards and wineries just south of Stanthorpe. His working holiday has included picking, pressing and plunging the grapes. But it wasn't all dirty work - he was able to don a white lab coat to test the grape sugar levels. Then there was the barrel sampling of earlier Granite Belt vintages. It's a tough job but someone's gotta do it.

Quick, quick, slow: it's a vintage tune

It got off to a flying start, then there was a pause, now it's on again. That's the story of the 2010 vintage on the Granite Belt.

No sooner had the winemakers washed up the glasses from the festive season than the first grapes came in for processing, albeit these first grapes were from hotter areas west of Stanthorpe. Local Granite Belt grapes started to come off two weeks earlier than usual as a result of warm conditions which accelerated the ripening.

Most of the whites have now been picked with some chardonnay still remaining. For those looking for a bit more technical information you'll be interested to learn that yields are lower than in 2009 with both reduced bunch numbers and smaller berry size. However the quality of the white grape crush is looking good with strong flavours. Five days of extensive heat at the end of January was followed by cooler weather and rain which has slowed ripening of the remaining whites to be harvested.

Red grapes will be ready in a few weeks, although some vineyards may be picking Tempranillo sooner than that. Tempranillo is performing well on the Granite Belt and a favourite drop on the popular Strange Bird alternative wine trail.

The chance of continued rain means Stanthorpe viticulturalists are cautious of Botrytis setting in, however Granite Belt vineyards are generally very well protected from the disease.

Granite Belt wines continue to stamp their superiority over other producers in Queensland as evidenced by the results of the recent Parliament House blind tasting in Brisbane.

Titillate your Taste Buds on the Granite Belt

It's not called Fab Feb for nothing. Titillate your taste buds and learn how to pair wine and chocolate - or wine and cheese - during February on the Granite Belt.

These are just two of many free options available as part of your "personal wine experience" on offer at Stanthorpe wineries during the 2010 vintage. (Vintage is the annual grape harvest...but you probably know that!)

The deal is you book your accommodation hot deal online and then your host will talk you through the range of wine experiences available through participating wineries in the region during February.

So whether your fancy tempts you to pair wine and chocolate at Rumbalara Estate, or wine and cheese at Summit Estate, or the chance to schmooze with a winemaker at other leading wineries...to get to first base you need to book your Fab Feb deal online now.

Apples & Grape

Produce from Queensland's apple capital will hit shop shelves next week. Stanthorpe’s Royal Gala variety is the season opener, which is followed by Red Delicious, Granny Smiths and Pink Ladies amongst the favourites.

Stanthorpe’s apple harvest continues throughout autumn and is marked by the iconic Stanthorpe Apple & Grape Harvest Festival. There are just 36 days to go until the three day festival on 5-7 March which draws tens of thousands of visitors to the coolest place in Queensland.

Apple grower David Sutton said they began harvesting in mid January, with tourists relishing the chance to pick your own at his Thulimbah orchard on the northern end of the Granite Belt. Suttons has made a name for itself in recent years with a range of high quality value-added apple products which include juice, cider, syrup and liqueurs.

Across the region grape harvest (vintage) began earlier than usual during January and apple picking began in earnest on Australia Day. Stanthorpe apples represent virtually all of Queensland’s apple production, with the sunshine state accounting for one third of Australia’s apple production. Wine grapes from the Granite Belt region account for more than 60% of the state’s wine production and produce Queensland’s most awarded wines.

Recent hot and dry weather has produced intensive flavour in 2010 apples and grapes. Tourist operators in the region are sharing the goodwill by offering tourists special deals in February through the Fab Feb campaign. Learn more with a visit the official tourist website Image courtesy Granite Belt 2010 Nude Food Calendar and Jo McLellan

Winelander - All Aboard!

Fancy a weekend of wine - on the rails?

Book your place on the Queensland Winelander, departing Brisbane on Saturday 21 February for two days of wine tasting to the Queensland wine capital.

Return trip to Stanthorpe includes rail travel, accommodation and all meals, plus coach transfers ....all for $425 per person. Great value with bonus discounts for group bookings of ten or more.

The Queensland Winelander heads to the Granite Belt just twice a year with capacity for 130 passengers. Wine on the rails? Learn more now, download the Winelander Brochure and Booking Form. Email your enquiries to: tours@arhs-qld.org.au

Queensland's Best

Queensland's Courier Mail has just published a list of the state's top 100 travel spots. Included in the list were three right here in the Granite Belt:

• Best wine district - Stanthorpe
• Best winery - Ballandean Estate
• Best hill walk - The Pyramids, Girraween National Park

And while we aspire to having all the best things, you can come via Goomburra Forest Retreat for what list author Phil Hammond describes as the best breakfast. Our chefs have their knives out! Only joking....