Forget the clichés—Queensland wineries are rewriting the rules. While the Granite Belt and Scenic Rim wine regions have long drawn curious sippers, it’s the under-the-radar vineyards and boutique cellar doors that are creating serious buzz. These winemakers are experimenting with qvevri, championing small-batch production, and delivering immersive cellar door experiences that rival the country’s best. If you think Queensland can’t make great wine, prepare to be pleasantly proven wrong.
Forget What You’ve Heard—Queensland Wineries Make Great Wine. Here’s Proof
I’m a little tired of hearing people say Queensland doesn’t make good wine or even that there’s no wine region (straight from the mouth of a Hunter Valley wine maker). While Queensland is a relatively small player in the national wine market, it produces some excellent wines worth seeking out.
Unlike other wine regions where major producers dominate and big names are often background owners, Queensland’s wine scene remains refreshingly independent. It’s a place where you’re more likely to chat with the winemaker than a marketing rep, and where many vineyards are still run by the same families who planted them decades ago—or by newcomers passionately staking their future on the vine. Expect authentic conversations, hands-on tastings, and the occasional glass poured by second or third-generation vintners.
Whether you’re sipping amphora-aged whites, wandering through heart-shaped granite landscapes, or plunging grapes at harvest, these under-the-radar wineries deliver the kind of wine tasting adventures in Queensland you won’t find on the big tours.
RELATED POST: What’s new on the Granite Belt
Queensland Wineries – Twisted Gum Wines
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Plan Your Visit and Discover Small-Batch Wine in Queensland
Take a road trip through Queensland’s wine regions, where boutique charm and bold ambition blend in the Granite Belt and Scenic Rim. Start your journey in the cool-climate vineyards of the Granite Belt, where high-altitude wineries like Ridgemill Estate, Bent Road, and Ballandean Estate offer innovative drops, vineyard walks, and intimate cellar doors nestled among granite boulders and apple orchards. Wind your way north through rolling countryside to the Scenic Rim, where Witches Falls Winery, Sarabah Estate, and The Overflow Estate 1895 showcase Queensland’s subtropical flair with elegant wines, dramatic scenery, and often a chef-driven menu on-site. It’s a road trip that trades big names for authentic encounters, where passionate winemakers pour your glass and every tasting comes with a story.
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Ravenscroft Wines
Queensland Hidden Gem Wineries for First-Time Visitors
If you’re new to the Queensland wine scene, these wineries offer approachable, engaging, and memorable cellar door experiences.
Ravenscroft Wines (Granite Belt)
- Winemaker: Caitlin Roberts
- Owners: Caitlin and Nick Roberts
Ravenscroft Wines is entering a new chapter under Caitlin and Nick Roberts, who took over the established Granite Belt vineyard about five years ago following a three-vintage mentorship with founder Mark Ravenscroft. They have since transformed the property with new irrigation, trellising, drainage, winery facilities and vineyard plantings designed to be more resilient to the region’s changing conditions.
The focus is increasingly on alternative varieties, with new plantings including Albariño, Pinotage, Montepulciano and Falanghina, which could be the first planting of this southern Italian grape on the Granite Belt. At the cellar door, look for the fresh Vermentino, the lightly skin-contact Flowers blend of Vermentino, Ansonica and Greco, and Ravenscroft’s signature Pinotage from 24-year-old vines. Tastings are relaxed and tailored to what you want to explore, with Billie the dog often providing the welcome.
An exciting Granite Belt winery to watch, combining alternative varieties, climate-conscious vineyard changes and a new generation of winemaking.
Unique Experience:A personalised cellar-door tasting with the winemaker, focused on lesser-known varieties and wines you’re unlikely to encounter elsewhere in Queensland, including skin-contact whites, Pinotage and emerging plantings such as Falanghina.
Summit Estate Wines (Thulimbah)
- Owner: Bob McKenzie
Summit Estate Wines has taken an unexpected turn since classic-car enthusiast and hospitality veteran Bob McKenzie bought the winery in February 2026. His original motivation was wonderfully unconventional: he needed somewhere to house his growing collection of cars. Now a bright yellow New York taxi, 1966 Mustang convertible, vintage tractors, a 1938 Buick and a spectacular custom-built 1929 Chev hot rod share the property with the vines.
Wine remains firmly part of the experience. Summit Estate specialises in Granite Belt Strange Bird varieties, including Verdelho, Marsanne and Tempranillo, with self-guided tasting flights and curated tastings by appointment. Kitchen 925 adds pizzas, grazing boards and seasonal dishes, while Bob has plans to develop accommodation and expand the motoring displays, turning Summit Estate into an even broader Granite Belt destination.
Come for the Granite Belt wines and stay for one of the region’s quirkiest cellar-door experiences, where classic cars, motoring history and wine meet among the vines.
Unique Experience: It’s not every winery where you can taste Strange Bird wines while wandering past a New York taxi, vintage tractors, a ’66 Mustang and a $200,000 custom hot rod. Even non-wine drinkers have a very good reason to stop here.
New Tricks Winery (Granite Belt)
- Owners: Daryn and Christine Purdy
- Winemaker: Craig Robinson
- Viticulturist/Vineyard Manager: Rob
New Tricks Winery is one of the Granite Belt’s ambitious new arrivals, built quite literally from the ground up. Owners Daryn and Christine Purdy came to the wine industry from veterinary science and business backgrounds, bringing a willingness to experiment and a clear vision for a relaxed place where friends and families can gather over good wine and food. Their young vineyard is planted predominantly to Mediterranean varieties including Fiano, Glera for Prosecco, Montepulciano, Lagrein, Verdejo, Verdicchio and Aglianico, with plans to expand from five hectares to around 12.
There’s serious experience behind the wines. Winemaker Craig Robinson grew up in one of the Granite Belt’s pioneering wine families and has worked vintages across Australia and around the world, while the New Zealand-born vineyard manager has been given the rare opportunity to create a vineyard from a blank canvas. Sustainability is a major focus, with the team working towards Sustainable Winegrowing Australia certification, which would make it the first certified wine business in Queensland. They’re also experimenting beyond grapes, with olive and juniper plantings and plenty of small-batch winemaking projects.
The cellar door is deliberately unpretentious, with flexible tastings, grazing boards, picnic blankets, beanbags, winter fires and plenty of space to settle in for the afternoon. There’s also the beautifully restored Station House, a century-old Queenslander with three bedrooms, an outdoor spa and the option of private vineyard tours and, when arranged, chef-prepared meals. The annual Lyra Live music festival adds another layer, bringing emerging Queensland bands, camping and wine together among the vines.
A young Granite Belt winery with big ideas, serious winemaking credentials and an infectious willingness to try something different.
Unique Experience: Come for Mediterranean grape varieties you rarely encounter in Queensland, then stay among the vines in the restored Station House, book a private vineyard tour or simply settle into a beanbag with a glass of wine. New Tricks feels less like a formal cellar door and more like discovering a very good new backyard you’ll want to keep returning to.
Twisted Gum Wines (Granite Belt)
- Owners/Winemakers: Michelle and Tim Coelli
Twisted Gum Wines is the antithesis of the big destination winery, and that is exactly its appeal. Michelle and Tim Coelli farm just three hectares of vines on a 40-hectare property, producing around seven wines in a particularly large year. Everything is single-vineyard, grown on the property, made on site and hand bottled. Tastings are equally personal, usually with Michelle or Tim sitting down with visitors for 30 to 40 minutes to talk through the wines, the vineyard and how they work.
The real story here is regenerative viticulture. Over almost two decades, Michelle and Tim have progressively moved away from herbicides, insecticides, ploughing and fertilisers, instead encouraging biodiversity, soil life and natural resilience. Sheep are rotated through the vineyard in winter, self-sown plants are welcomed rather than treated as weeds, and they say yields have actually increased as the vineyard has become healthier. Their winemaking follows the same philosophy, with a light touch designed to showcase the fruit rather than mask it with heavy oak or winery intervention.
The wines include a long-running Verdelho Semillon field blend, a fragrant dry rosé made from Black Muscat and Shiraz, and Rhône-inspired reds, all made in small quantities. Visitors who want to dig deeper can walk through the vineyard with Michelle and Tim and see regenerative farming at work, while the original farmhouse on the property is also available as a cottage sleeping up to six, with bushland and walking opportunities beyond the vines.
A deeply personal cellar-door experience where the vineyard, the soil and the people behind the wines are every bit as important as what ends up in the glass.
Unique Experience: This is regenerative viticulture you can actually walk through and understand, hosted by the two people doing the farming and winemaking. Twisted Gum offers rare access to the thinking, soil and biodiversity behind a genuinely tiny single-vineyard operation.
Granite Belt winery accommodation at Ridgemill EstateT
Ridgemill Estate (Severnlea)
- Owner: Martin Cooper
- Winemaker: Peter McGlashan
Unique Experience: Luxury vineyard accommodation paired with immersive harvest experiences and behind-the-scenes access to the winery. Don’t miss the farmyard animals – those goats!Ideal for those wanting to combine wine with a luxury overnight stay and a hands-on harvest experience.
Witches Falls Winery (Tamborine Mountain)
- Owner/Winemaker: Jon Heslop
Perched on Tamborine Mountain, Witches Falls is Queensland’s leader in minimal-intervention winemaking. Known for its Wild Ferment and Prophecy series, the winery is a favourite among those who appreciate wine with complexity, texture, and natural character. Their approach leans into wild yeast ferments, minimal filtration, and skin contact, producing wines that are vibrant and alive. The cellar door offers guided tastings in a relaxed, leafy setting. My favourite is the Wild Ferment Chardonnay.
A welcoming introduction to natural and minimal intervention wine with knowledgeable staff and curated tastings, just an hour from Brisbane.
Unique Experience: Explore the art of wild fermentation through side-by-side tastings of natural versus conventionally made wines, guided by passionate staff. Don’t miss the chance to taste the beer at Boxer Brewing which is also on site.
Queensland hidden gem wineries – Balancing Heart Vineyard
Balancing Heart Vineyard (Ballandean)
- Owner: Greg Kentish
- Winemaker: Mike Hayes
Set against a backdrop of heart-shaped granite boulders, Balancing Heart Vineyard delivers both spectacle and substance. This photogenic estate offers a self-guided wine walk through the vines, where each stop reveals a new varietal and a new perspective on the landscape. At the end of the walk, retreat to their elegant cigar and whisky room to unwind with a bold red or a fine single malt. Their wines, including Shiraz, Chardonnay and Tempranillo, reflect a strong commitment to terroir and innovation.
Scenic, photogenic, and accessible with self-guided wine walks and a cosy whisky and cigar lounge.
Unique Experience: Wander through vines at your own pace on the signed wine walk with a glass in hand, then relax in the on-site cigar room for a sophisticated end to your tasting. Say hello to the friendly coos and other farm animals around the lake.
Balancing Heart Vineyard
Pyramids Road Wines (Girraween)
- Owners/Winemakers: Warren & Sue Smith
This family-run micro-winery offers a heartfelt, unhurried approach to winemaking. Every bottle at Pyramids Road Wines is handcrafted on-site with minimal intervention, allowing the vineyard’s natural rhythms to shine through. During vintage, visitors are welcome to join the action—stomping, pressing and learning from the passionate duo who do it all themselves.
Learn directly from passionate winemakers Warren and Sue in a relaxed setting.
Unique Experience: A rare opportunity to take part in the winemaking process and enjoy fireside tastings with the couple behind the label. If you’re planning a visit, booking is recommended, especially during weekends and harvest season.
Adam Penberthy, Dear Vincent
Dear Vincent (Ballandean) – Intimate and Soulful
Owner: Adam Penberthy
Dear Vincent is a soulful and deeply personal project that reflects the values of its founder, Adam Penberthy. Inspired by his grandfather, Vincent, and driven by a vision for creating something enduring and ethical, Adam has built a vineyard that transcends wine—it’s a living expression of regenerative farming, sustainable practices, and raw creativity. The vineyard is free of synthetic inputs, and each vine is tended with a focus on soil health and long-term environmental care.
Hear stories, ask questions, and sip wines that reflect passion, place, and a clear sense of purpose.
The wines here are honest and expressive, with a particular emphasis on alternative varieties and small-batch blends. Expect to encounter vibrant Pinot Gris, character-rich rosé, and field blends that challenge convention in the best way. Adam often leads tastings himself, welcoming guests into the heart of the vineyard’s story and philosophy. The cellar door is designed for connection, not commerce—warm, unpolished, and authentic.
Hungry? Time your lunchtime visit between Thursday to Sunday and dine from the delicious offerings available from the onsite food truck.
Unique Experience: A regenerative vineyard where every tasting feels like a personal invitation into the winemaker’s world.
Queensland Hidden Gem Wineries – Bent Road Winery
Boutique Wineries in the Granite Belt You Need to Visit For The Best Winemaker-Hosted Experiences
For visitors keen to dive deeper into the art of winemaking, these Queensland hidden gem winery cellar doors offer direct access to the people behind the wine.
Bent Road Winery (Ballandean)
- Owners: Glen Robert (Winemaker) & Robert Richter (Vineyard Manager)
A true iconoclast in Queensland winemaking, Bent Road is home to the bold and boundary-pushing La Petite Mort label. They are pioneers of qvevri winemaking in Australia, fermenting wines in clay vessels buried underground—a technique dating back thousands of years. Their small-batch, minimal-intervention wines are earthy, expressive, and always surprising. A visit here is not just a tasting but an education in ancient methods reimagined.
Meet Glen Robert and explore ancient qvevri winemaking methods with the La Petite Mort label.
Unique Experience: Taste wild-fermented wines aged in traditional Georgian qvevri, and explore how ancient winemaking techniques meet cutting-edge creativity. Bent Road offers hands-on workshops, guided tastings, and expert-led masterclasses to help you master the art of blending, explore the science behind fermentation, or simply sip and learn.
Terracotta qvevri at Bent Road Wines
Queensland hidden gem wineries – Rokkwell Cellar Door
Rokkwell Cellar Door – Ballandean
- Owner/Winemaker: Dawn Walker
Rokkwell Cellar Door blends modern architecture and boutique winemaking to create one of the most stylish cellar doors in Queensland. The focus here is on small-batch varietals like Tempranillo, Vermentino and cool-climate Shiraz, all crafted with a design-minded ethos. Grazing platters featuring local produce round out the experience, making it a must for wine lovers who appreciate aesthetics and detail.
Book a winemaker-led tasting session
Stay in the Rokkwell adults-only studio cabins nestled amongst the vineyards and natural bushland.
Unique Experience: Wine tastings in a sleek, art-forward space that showcases the interplay of flavour, design, and Granite Belt terroir.
Serrena Que Estate – Ballandean
- Winemaker/Owner: Cindy Longman and Simon Smith
Tucked away in the hills of Ballandean, Serrena Que is an appointment-only vineyard producing elegant cool-climate reds and whites. Tastings are highly personalised, often including unreleased or back-vintage pours. The intimate setting and attentive service make it a favourite for wine lovers seeking something off the grid.
Cool climate, high altitude vineyards over 1000 metres that capture the serenity of the picturesque landscape
Unique Experience: Tailored tastings in a tranquil boutique vineyard, with the chance to uncover limited-release gems.
Queensland’s hidden gem wineries – Serrena Que Estate
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Queensland Boutique Wineries
What are the best Queensland hidden wineries ?
Ridgemill Estate, Bent Road, Witches Falls, and Hidden Creek are just a few of the hidden gem wineries in Queensland offering immersive tastings and unique cellar door experiences.
Where can I go wine tasting in the Granite Belt?
Explore Granite Belt wineries like Dear Vincent, Pyramids Road and Balancing Heart, known for their boutique wines and personal winemaker-led tastings.
Does Queensland have a wine region?
Yes! The Granite Belt is Queensland’s premier wine region, offering cool-climate wines and experiences that rival the best of Australia’s boutique producers.
Are there wineries near Brisbane worth visiting?
Absolutely. Tamborine Mountain wineries like Witches Falls offer exceptional natural wines and are an easy day trip from Brisbane.
What makes Queensland wines unique?
Queensland’s wines are shaped by high-altitude terroir, minimal intervention practices, and passionate winemakers crafting small-batch wines from alternative varietals like Saperavi, Vermentino, and Tempranillo.
RELATED POST: Where to stay on the Granite Belt
Tips for Discovering Queensland’s Hidden Wineries:
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Travel midweek for the best chance at private tastings and relaxed conversations with winemakers.
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Ask what’s not on the list. Many of these small producers have special back-vintages or experiments they’ll share if you show genuine interest.
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Pair your winery visits with regional food trails. Stanthorpe, for example, is full of boutique cheesemakers, preserves, and orchards that elevate the whole experience.