Weekend Wine Warriors

Never has being a guinea pig been so much fun. Your blogger has just participated in the pilot Weekend Wine Experience at Felsberg and I can tell you that while it is educational, it aint all bad!

New owners of this iconic Granite Belt property, Peter & Karen Orr only took over the business before Christmas and already they are making their mark.

Amongst the first to receive their wine masterclass certificate was the Courier Mail's food & wine queen, Fiona Donnelly and her partner Martin (pictured). The certificate capped off a weekend package which includes lunches, dinner and breakfast, plus the chance to blend and label your very own dozen... which you then take home.

Fellow students were owners of Azjure Studio Retreat and 31 The Rocks - both providers of the sort of accommodation any true wine masterclass student would deserve.

Felsberg's Weekend Wine Experience will be offered on the last weekend of every month, or for groups of six or more on demand. What an excuse for a weekend escape - I'll drink to that! Learn more click

The First Run of the Downs Dasher

The platform at the Warwick Railway precinct was full of excited chatter and flag waving enthusiasts on Saturday 24 January as the lucky few prepared to board The Downs Dasher for its first run.

The steam train's first commercial outing was the climax of decade of work for a dedicated band of volunteers. Against billowing puffs of steam and the regular toot toot, the train plied its way north from Warwick transporting passengers to Allora for its Australia Day Heritage Fesival. No need for a platform, this train carries its own steps!

The train is a C17 engine built by Walkers Ltd, because of the paintwork they were nicknamed Brown Bombers after then world champion heavyweaight boxer Joe Louis. Learn more click

Ballandean Blogs On

Queensland's oldest family owned and operated winery - Ballandean Estate - joins the blog world today. This is the original Queensland home of Opera and Jazz in the Vineyard, those massive wine barrels you see in tourism photos and White Pearl. Joining their line-up of attractions will be a new food gallery opening on 28 January. Visit their blog

Wine Star of 2008

Amongst the 50 Stars of 2008 as published by Wine Business Magazine, is the Granite Belt's Ewen MacPherson of Symphony Hill. The magazine (Dec 08/Jan 09) credits Ewen as having brought Queensland wine in out of the cold when the 2003 Symphony Hill Reserve Shriaz won the first ever Queensland gold medal at the Sydney Wine Show. More...

Vintage News

Vintage - the annual wine grape harvest - is about to get underway in the Queensland wine capital. White grapes will be the first to be harvested on the Granite Belt and the process gets underway this month in and around the town of Stanthorpe.

With 550 hectares under vine, the Granite Belt produces more than half of all of Queensland’s wine grapes. In 2008 the region produced 72% of all Queensland red wine grapes and 68% of the state’s white wine grapes. More

Granite Belt Bucks Trend

A Queensland summer holiday is more than sun, surf and sand as new figures released this week by Queensland’s capital of cool confirm.

Granite Belt Wine & Tourism Inc (GBWT) report that December visitors to the Granite Belt have more than doubled in the past five years. click here for more.