Queensland

Question 1

What zones are in Queensland?

Answer 1

None

Question 2

What GIs are in Queensland?

Answer 2

Granite Belt GI
South Burnett GI

Question 3

Granite Belt GI
- State
- Zone
- Towns
- Size
- Grapes
- Soil
- Geographic Features
- Producers

Answer 3

Granite Belt GI
- State: Queensland
- No Zones in Queensland
- Major Towns: Stanthorpe
- Total Hectares Under Vine: 350 ha (2012, Wine Australia)

Grapes
- Red Grapes (63%): Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot
- White Grapes (37%): Chardonnay

• Soil Types: Sandy granitic soils
• The Granite Belt, (200 million-year-old granitic intrusion) Great Dividing Range
• Key Producers: Robert Channon, Boireann, Ballandean Estate, Summit Estate

Question 4

South Burnett GI
- State
- Zone
- Towns
- Size
- Grapes
- Soil
- Geographic Features
- First Planting

Answer 4

South Burnett GI
- State: Queensland
- No Zones in Queensland
- Major Towns: Kingaroy
- Total Hectares Under Vine: 230 ha (2012, Wine Australia)

Grapes
- Red Grapes (68%): Shiraz, Merlot
- White Grapes (32%): Verdelho, Semillon, Chardonnay

• Soil Types: Basalt- and granite-derived, alluvial soils at lower elevations and red and brown clays at higher elevations
• Blackbutt, Brisbane, and Coast Ranges, Great Dividing Range, Burnett River
• Key Producers: Clovely Estate, Lightning Tree Wines, Kingsley Grove Estate
• First Commercial Plantings: 1993 (A vineyard was planted in 1898 and remained in production until the 1970s, but the modern industry got its start in 1993.)

Question 5

Which GI in Queensland produces the best wine?

Answer 5

Granite Belt

Question 6

Where is Granite Belt situated?

Answer 6

To date, Granite Belt GI, a region on the border with New South Wales and adjacent to New England Australia GI, has produced the state’s best wines. Granite Belt is situated in the high country along the Great Dividing Range’s spine, with vineyards planted at 700 meters above sea level and higher. With its altitude, climate becomes continental despite the majority of rainfall occurring during the growing season

Question 7

What is most grown in Granite Belt GI?

Answer 7

The region’s first modern vineyard—one hectare of Shiraz—was planted in 1965, and Shiraz remains its most successful variety. Over two-thirds of plantings are red grapes

Question 8

What is grown in South Burnett GI?

Answer 8

Producers in the region have had some success with Verdelho, but this is an unequivocally hot and humid region, and challenges for fine wine production are legion

Question 9

What are the unofficial regions of Queensland?

Answer 9

Other unofficial wine regions in Queensland include Darling Downs, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, and the environs of Brisbane, but as of 2013 none meets the minimum level of production required for GI approval