The Granite Belt wine region is located south-west of Brisbane in Queensland. Centered around the town of Stanthorpe, the Granite Belt has a long history of viticulture and winemaking and is one of the highest wine regions in Australia, with vineyards at more than 1000 metres above sea level.
The GI is 1,158 km2 in size and has a total of 305 hectares of vineyards. The main varieties grown in the region are Shiraz, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot.
Cabernet Sauvignon
Like Shiraz, these wines are full, dark and rich in flavour, typically tasting of sweet fruit such as blackcurrant and dark berries.
Chardonnay
This variety performs well in the region. The wine tends to be soft but have pleasant and clear varietal character in a nectarine and melon spectrum. Many wineries produce both oaked and unoaked Chardonnay to good effect.
Shiraz
The Granite Belt’s distinctive Shiraz wines are darkly coloured and full-flavoured. As they age they develop a softer, more velvety texture.
Verdelho
This variety appears to be well suited to the warmer days and cool night the region offers. Wines are often aromatic, with herbaceous and tropical fruit flavours.
Viognier
Plantings of Viognier have increased rapidly over the past five years. These wines are often dry, with a fruity, citrus palate. Small quantities of Viognier may be added to Shiraz to give lightness, delicacy and perfume to the red wine.
- An altitude of more than 800 metres (2625 feet) on the eastern spine of the Great Dividing Range allows the Granite Belt to overcome the hurdles to producing premium quality wine that come from its subtropical climate.
- Sub zero winter nights, spring frosts, cold nights at the beginning and end of the season, relatively low humidity, peak summer temperatures moderated by sub-tropical monsoon influences and intermittent heavy late season rainfall all contribute to the unusual climate in the Granite Belt.
- The Granite Belt, a massive granite intrusion approximately 200 million years old, is the northern most extension of the New England Tableland, a stepped plateau of hills and plains with elevations of between 600 and 1500 metres (1,968 to 4,921 feet) on Permian sedimentary rocks, intrusive granites and extensive Tertiary basalts.
- Rainfall, temperature and soils change with topography.