We met up at Mackaway’s Café in Harrisville for a 9:00am departure on Saturday morning. The gang were all there when we arrived so I had the task of writing up the trip report. We didn’t have time to sample any of the food or coffee as we arrived just before our departure time but I’m sure some of the others did.
The trip leaders Don & Tracy led Mark & Arie, Tim & Rosie, Ben, Mariana & Indy and Kathy and I on to Stanthorpe. Our first stop was the Jersey Girls Café at Stanthorpe Cheese. They have a good range of cheeses for tasting and a few of us purchased some packs to take home.
The scenic drive to Stanthorpe
Our next stop was at Castle Glen just down the road. This place was filled with hundreds of bottles of weird and wonderful liqueurs, many of which you could taste. I found it rather odd that the place was really cold inside and the only lights that were turned on were at the counter.
The first vineyard we visited was Boireann Wines a bit further down the road. I believe everyone enjoyed the tasting and a few bottles of wines were purchased by several people.
Everyone agreed we could fit in one more stop before lunch so Don & Tracy led the way to a truffle farm. This was an interesting place as its primary business was training sniffer dogs but they decided to grow truffles as well. The “tour” consisted of standing in a freezing windy field looking at a few tiny truffle trees while our guide told us all about truffles. We then got to go back into the warm shop and taste some truffle products and see a frozen truffle. Not everyone enjoyed the truffle taste, which may be a good thing given truffles are the most expensive food in the world.
After a busy morning we stopped for a late lunch at Heritage Wines Cellar door. Everyone made sure only to have something light so we had plenty of room for our buffet dinner later on.
Next on the list of places to visit was Mt Sterling Olives south of Stanthorpe in Glen Aplin. You can taste the olives, olive oils and dukkha they have out. They also sell very nice fudge if you want to indulge like I did.
Don & Tracy headed off for a very quick stop at Jamworks to pick up a special sauce on the way to Severn Brae Estate. The rest of us were going to find Savina Lane Wines for a tasting but we discovered the wine must be that good they sell out of it in a couple of weeks and they wouldn’t be open again until 2020. So we stopped in at Severn Brae instead. This was a bit of an odd cellar door full of an eclectic mix of things. But the owner was certainly friendly and liked to have a chat.
Most of the group went off to do a tour of the Brass Monkey Brew House which was well worth it by all accounts. We decided to skip it as we aren’t beer drinkers and we headed back to our accommodation the High St Motor Inn to unpack the car and get a bit of rest before dinner.
Dinner was at Anna’s which always gets good reviews and didn’t disappoint. It was an Italian buffet dinner with plenty of choice and you can fill your plate up as many times as you like. As expected, the place was very busy but we didn’t have to line up at all. By the end of the evening everyone was completely full. One of us was mostly fully of sugar and stayed up way past her bedtime we found out the next day.
The weather forecast was for the temperature to get down to around -5°C with possible snow. We had been warned when we checked in that if it did get that cold there would be no running water until it warmed up and the diesel might freeze in our vehicles. A couple of hours south they had lots of snow but sadly we didn’t wake up to a winter wonderland in Stanthorpe. It was still cold and windy with blue sky but it didn’t get as cold as forecast and we still had running water in the rooms.
First thing in the morning we strolled across the road to the show grounds where they have twice monthly Sunday markets. They are inside in a huge warehouse but it was still bitterly cold. We made a beeline for the café and ordered coffees and breakfast. The coffees didn’t take too long but it was a long wait for breakfast. There was entertainment in the form of a musician but I don’t think he was to everyone’s taste. My breakfast was quite nice when it finely arrived but sadly the last two toasties were burnt badly enough to be inedible. After eating we wandered around the market stalls for a while before meeting back at the motel.
Rugged up and waiting for breakfast
The morning entertainment
Tim & Rosie decided to go straight home to Brisbane after the markets while the rest of us continued on with our exploration of Stanthorpe. We made a quick stop at a windy lookout over town before driving over to Aloomba Lavender farm. From there everyone headed home to Brisbane via Queen Mary Falls and Condamine River except us. We had another night booked in Stanthorpe.
The Lookout
Before lunch we stopped in at Symphony Hill Wines after a small detour due to powerline that was hanging across the road. Luckily there was a police car and some locals there so nobody would drive into it. From where I was sitting Symphony Hill looked like it had a strict jeans only dress code which I found amusing.
We also popped into Washpool Farm Soaperie to stock up before stopping at Golden Grove Estate for another tasting. Next we went across the road and indulged in a late three course lunch at the Barrel Room Restaurant, part of Ballandean Estate.
Yummy dessert
On Monday morning we again woke up disappointed to see no snow. It was still cold with clear sky but thankfully the wind had died down. We visited another couple of wineries in the morning.
First was Ridgemill Estate which looks like a popular place to stay. It has quite a few cabins on the property. Next was a vineyard we hadn’t been to before, Casley Mount Hutton Winery. They give their tasters a free five to ten minute tour of the wine shed and explain the wine making process. Like all properties around Stanthorpe they are really struggling for water. They spent thousands of dollars putting a bore in that they use for their cattle when it isn’t dry. It sounded like they were about to use the last of their dam water on some of their vines. Its sad to see the area looking so dry. The town water is due to run out of water in a couple of months if they don’t get a good downpour. Hopefully they get some good rain come spring so all the farms and vineyards can survive.
A very dry looking Storm King Dam
We fitted in one last extravagant meal before driving home. This time it was lunch at Varias, part of the Queensland College of Wine Tourism. They do very good food. One of the highlights of this lunch was the black garlic butter that came with the starter. Kathy liked it so much she asked if they would sell a little takeaway container so the chef gave us a little tub gratis.
Thanks to Don & Tracy for organising an excellent weekend and to everyone else who made the journey. It was good to catch up with you all again. Hopefully we’ll see you soon on another trip.
