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‘SHE’LL BE APPLES’ FOR AUSTRALIA’S LOVED APPLE & GRAPE FESTIVAL
‘SHE’LL BE APPLES’ FOR AUSTRALIA’S LOVED APPLE & GRAPE FESTIVAL
Drought and bushfire won’t hold the Queensland town of Stanthorpe down, with organisers of Australia’s loved Stanthorpe Apple and Grape Harvest Festival declaring ‘she’ll be apples’ for the 2020 festivities to be as big and joyous as ever when staged 28 February to 8 March.
Famously known for its foot-stomping, grapecrushing antics, the festival has been ‘crushing it’ since 1966 and will again put out the welcome mat for more than 70,000 attendees.
The festival coincides with the harvest of apples and grapes across the Granite Belt, a region which boasts growing all of Queensland’s apple crop and is Australia’s highest altitude wine region, at a cool 1,000m.
Grapes and apples will still be picked, and ample wine will flow, but there’s no doubt the drought that’s hitting Granite Belt farmers is taking a toll.
“Our farmers are working against the odds this season with dry conditions, so we reckon it makes even more sense to celebrate and be thankful for the harvest that they will achieve,” says Max Hunter, Festival President.
“When visitors arrive and join the festivities, you can be sure they’ll find Stanthorpe as festive as ever and part of what builds that vibrancy is our community’s Italian heritage and culture shining through.”
Tourism Industry Development Minister Kate Jones said the Queensland Government supports regional events because they boost regional jobs. Championships South East Qld Final, as well as the Golf: Apple and Grape Cup. The first weekend concludes with a cycle event ‘That Dam Ride’ and the Italian Long Lunch on Sunday 1st March.
“Events like this attract visitors which boosts the region – and we know that people who visit our regions are the best advocates for regional tourism destinations,” Ms Jones said.
“The Queensland Government supports events like the Stanthorpe Apple and Grape Festival because they provide a platform to showcase our destinations and draw people to Queensland.”
‘Banchetto Italiano’, the Italian Long Lunch, is set to double in size for the 2020 festival, to allow hundreds more festival goers to indulge in traditional Italian celebrations on the first festival weekend, Sunday 1st March. Festival Vice President Greg Thouard describes, “we’ve got the Tarantella dancers coming along, music from Italy, fine Italian foods and we have just such a great time there celebrating our Italian friends who brought us so much of what we see today in our food and wine.”
Involved in the festival for an incredible 45 years, Mr Thouard has seen this hallmark Queensland festival grow from strength to strength and is excited by the new developments happening on the 10-day program in 2020.
Encompassing two weekends, the second weekend which is ‘the big one’ on 7-8 March will feature a longer 3-day Heritage Bank Food Wine & Cultural Fiesta, coinciding with the much anticipated Channel 7 Grand Parade and The Stanthorpe Border Post Qld Grape Crushing Championships! A highlight of the mid-week festivities is Thursday’s Apple Day, where all things apples are happening, including an apple pie competition, chef apple cooking demonstrations, wines to match with apple dishes and toffee apples. The hotly contested Apple Peeling Competition is guaranteed to draw a crowd to witness whether reigning local champion Kerry Stratford will retain her 7-time title of best apple peeler in the Granite Belt and again create the longest continuous apple peel.
The festival is held only once every 2 years and organisers are appealing for Australians to support Stanthorpe by making 2020 the year, they tick the Stanthorpe Apple and Grape Harvest Festival off their bucket-list.
Stanthorpe is reached within just 2.5hrs of Brisbane, 3hrs of the Gold Coast or Byron Bay and 2hrs from Toowoomba. For program and tickets information visit www.appleandgrape. org
The first weekend kicks off Friday 28 February with the Ergon Energy Street Party and the Turning on the Festival Lights, as well as an Opening Gala Event where the Festival Ambassadors are presented. The streets of Stanthorpe will be buzzing the next day, when the town hosts the National Busking GET THE FACTS… WHEN 28 February to 8 March 2020 (main weekend 6-8 March 2020) WHERE Various locations, Stanthorpe, Queensland PRICE $10 Adult 1 Day Heritage Bank Food & Wine Fiesta or $25 Adult 3-Day Pass WEBSITE www.appleandgrape.org
Our wines express their origins in the rugged and majestic landscape of the Granite Belt.
We don’t just make wine, we grow Premium, Limited Edition, Hand Crafted wines.
Growing Wine At Tobin Wines, we talk about growing our wine, rather than making the wine.
Our winemaking philosophy is undeniably ‘old world’ — all respect is paid to the vineyard, the vine, and the pursuit of perfection in grape quality, with little — if any — reverence paid to the winemaker or winemaking process.
Each grape variety is given the spotlight to truely reveal its own unique flavour.
“No wine maker is gifted enough to make those wonderful flavours & aromas — all of the work happens out there, in the vineyard” — Adrian Tobin
The production of our wine is limited to between 100 – 160 cases of each varietal every year.
Our Limited Edition wines express their origins in the rugged and majestic landscape of the Granite Belt making them truly unique. Their hard work is driven by the belief that exceptional fruit is the foundation of superb wine and has led to awards such as one of Gourmet Traveller WINE’s Best Cellar Doors in 2019.
It’s not about making wine, it’s about growing it. That’s the philosophy Ballandean vineyard owner Adrian Tobin lives by. This determination to produce only the very best sees Adrian and the rest of Tobin Wines team clock 100-hour weeks, tending to the vines by hand. Their hard work is driven by the belief that exceptional fruit is the foundation of superb wine.
It’s the flavours of Adrian’s vineyard which shine through his wines. It also means they perfectly reflect a sense of place, evoking Queensland’s Granite Belt in a glass.
“No other wine growing region in Australia has what we have in terms of geography, topography, altitude and climate,” Adrian explains of his home. “It’s this combination which produces wine of such high character and quality.”
Tobin’s Wines is located at 34 Ricca Rd, Ballandean. The cellar door is open for tastings daily from 10am –5pm (Anzac Day trading hours 1pm – 5pm and closed Christmas Day and Good Friday.)
HISTORY OF STANTHORPE APPLE & GRAPE HARVEST FESTIVAL
The Apple & Grape Festival came to be in 1966, renamed from The Apple Blossom Festival, which itself was born from the Back to Stanthorpe Week celebrations of 1954. The event had run its course by the mid 1960′s and hence a superstar was born! carnival. Mr Gordon Chalk, Deputy Premier of Queensland, described the Festival’s success as indicative of the high appreciation of people for the district.
Stanthorpe’s 100th Year Celebrations…1972 Stanthorpe turned on the party of the century to mark the towns’ 100th birthday in 1972. duration of the parade.
So big were the crowds that the town ran out of milk and came dangerously close to running out of beer on the main Saturday.
The Fijian Deputy Police Commissioner, T. Hanford, who had travelled to the Festival with the Festival’s star attraction, the Royal Fijian Police Band, confessed that he originally harboured doubts that a town of 3,800 people could stage such a lavish carnival. However, the Festival proved all doubts unfounded, setting the standard against which following Festivals would be judged. Queensland Minister
In 1965, the Apple Blossom Festival was not held due to waning support. The community saw an opportunity for a new event, to be combined with the successful “Eat an Apple Week” campaign and a committee was formed to make it happen.
The success of the 1966 Apple Harvest Festival which included a Grand Ball, Street Procession, Athletics Carnival & Sports, tours of orchards, vineyards & packing sheds encouraged the committee to plan a biennial event.
Onwards…The Apple & Grape Harvest Festival In the meantime, a new name the Apple & Grape Harvest Festival was adopted to include more of the fruits grown on the Granite Belt.
Events at the 1968 Apple & Grape Festival included the Miss Delicious Quest, grand ball and race day, a ten-mile race from Amiens to Stanthorpe, and a Festival Art Show. Between 5000 and 6000 people crammed a quarter mile strip of Stanthorpe’s main street for the street Two hundred and twenty people in 21 subcommittees had worked and planned for 18 months to make the 1972 Apple and Grape Harvest Festival the undisputed highlight of Stanthorpe’s centenary year. The results astounded and delighted everyone from the 60,000 visitors who crammed Stanthorpe’s main street to guests, including Premier Joh Bjelke Peterson, and even the organisers themselves!
The ambitious programme included a centenary concert, centenary ball, fruit competition, arts festival, sculpture competition, fence painting, historical displays, garden competition, centenary parade, National Lizard Racing Championships, tours of orchards and national parks, a tin dredge at Quart Pot Creek, fashion parades, apple packing championships, grape crushing championships, fireworks, sports, car rally, band concerts, a beard growing contest, race day and even a taxidermist display! The grand parade of nearly 70 bands, floats and horse drawn vehicles took one and a quarter hours to pass through the main street.
“The main street rapidly filled with people until the time of the Grand Procession, when it was transformed into a living, colourful, good spirited and noisy sea of spectators”, wrote the Stanthorpe Border Post. Hundreds more festooned the Maryland Street buildings, leaning from windows and balancing on roofs, eager to secure favourable viewpoints for the
for Labour and Tourism, John Herbert, summed up the praise of visitors: “I’ve been to hundreds of festivals in my time but this is the best I’ve ever attended”.
The success of the Apple and Grape Harvest Festival gave a new impetus to the district’s tourism industry. The Shire Chairman, Cr Fred Rogers, called a public meeting to form a Tourist Association, commenting: “It would be a great pity not to follow up the work of the Festival organizers”. (Historical information kindly supplied by the Stanthorpe Border Post)
Queensland Q150 Celebrations…2009 As part of the Queensland Q150 celebrations in 2009, celebrating the State’s 150th birthday, the Stanthorpe Apple & Grape Harvest Festival was voted one of Queensland’s favourite iconic events. To celebrate Q150, Queensland Museum Development Officers worked with regional museums around the state to develop displays capturing the history and importance of community festivals.
From 2004 and Martin and Michelle Cooper have owned Ridgemill Estate which is located on the Queensland Granite Belt 5 mins away from Stanthorpe. Like the grapes themselves this boutique winery has grown and developed over the last 16 years and has been recognised for not only their wine but their accommodation.
Ridgemill Estate was the first winery in the region to plant saperavi grapes which originate from Georgia, northern Europe over 8,000 years ago. Peter McGlashan is the Estates vine whisperer and head winemaker and has led Ridgemill Estate to win an impressive array of awards. Ridgemill’s Chardonnay has done very well at national and international events winning gold at the International Chardonnay Challenge in Gisborne, New Zealand 2005; receiving trophy at the James Halliday Chardonnay Challenge 2012; trophy for Champion White Wine (all categories of the Show) at the Australian Small Winemakers Show in 2015 and more recently gold at the First World Saperavi Prize in Tablisi, Georgia.
Two years after buying the property, in 2006, Martin built 4 guest accommodation cabins. The self-contained studio cabins providing guests with a comfortable contemporary living space with views which couples with the serene peaceful ambience of the surrounding vineyard. In 2017 4 more cabins were built which led to Ridgemill Estate being awarded silver in the 2019 Queensland Tourism award for the Deluxe Accommodation category. The Ridgemill cabin facilities cater for groups and couples as well as having pet friendly options so guest’s furry friends are not left out of the fun. Guests are ensured of their privacy and are able to enjoy the nearby beauty of Girraween National Park.
As well as being Ridgemill Estate’s wine maker, Peter together with his good friend, Jim Barnes, developed the Strangebird Alternative Wine
Trail. To be called an alternative, a variety must represent not more than 1% of the total bearing vines in Australia as defined by Wine Australia. The trail allows guests to discover wines they have never tasted before and immerse themselves in a journey which explores alternate varieties. Ridgemill has their own selection of Strangebird wines including Tempranillo, Saperavi, Verdelho and Viognier. The Top Dog Wine Club is Ridgemill Estate’s way of sharing their wines with like-minded people. The wine club allows wine lovers to enjoy the different varieties of wine as well as receiving great discounts and offers throughout the year.
Ridgemill Estate has experienced challenges with drought but continues to work hard to maintain their high standards and quality of their wines. Netting their vines has become necessary to stop birds from damaging the vines allowing the Estate to continue their productivity. The Estate offers a unique experience allowing guests to physically pick, crush and plunge the grapes which helps guests gain a deeper understanding into what is involved with wine production. It is an inside look into the time from when the grape is picked until the completion of fermentation. Ridgemill will keep in touch to let you know when the wine is ready to be enjoyed. These experiences bring people together and creates a fun environment connecting people to the land through wine.
Owner Martin Cooper loves to have fun and together with his team of 4, he bottles those same sentiments in each bottle ready for guests to enjoy the same passion for life and wine. Ridgemill is a place to relax, celebrate and escape.
With packages catering for any occasion and the opportunity to be hands on with the wine making process Ridgemill Estate is an experience which will stay with you long after the wine bottle is empty.
218 Donges Road, Severnlea, Stanthorpe, Queensland. (07) 4683 5211. www.ridgemillestate.com
