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South Burnett Featured
In Country Life... And We Celebrate A Birthday!
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 28th
November 2003: It seems that hardly a week goes by these days without
our region featuring somewhere in popular press. And this week it was the
turn of our friends at
Queensland Country Life,
who produced their annual South Burnett feature in the November 27th edition.
It was no surprise (to me, anyway) that 6 out of the 8 articles in this year's
feature were wine and food related stories:
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Will and Meagan
Seiler's gourmet free-range pork products
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Dan Burnett's
Spring Gully Olives
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John Cahill's
Kingaroy Ridge Shiraz
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Margaret and
Gerry Gagel's Cheese World at Goomeri
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Rob and Chris
Patch's new Peanut Van products, and
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Team South Burnett's
Tasting Australia effort
This time last
year Queensland Country Life featured a story about the launch of our South
Burnett Cuisine website. So it was good to be able to feed them great leads
to repay their kindness (yes, you're right: we'd broken all these stories
right here on this web site!). And from our next story on December
1st, South Burnett Cuisine will be entering its second year on
the Net. I look forward to it. There's never been any shortage
of news about our food and wine industries over the last 12 months, and I
don't think it'll be any different in the next.
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Local Winemakers
Gear Up For State Wine Awards
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25th November
2003: If local winemakers seem a little on edge this week, it's probably
because their minds are focussed on the up-coming 2003 Courier-Mail Sheraton
Brisbane Queensland Wine Awards. This prestigious annual show is the
State's peak wine event and judging will be taking place this coming Saturday
and Sunday. The year's winners will then be announced at a gala function
on Monday night, December 1st. Last year South Burnett winemakers put in
14.7% of the total entries and walked away with 14.9% of the
medals. Kingaroy's Crane Wines took out silver for their Frontignac and bronze
for their 2001 Noble Chardonnay while Moffatdale's Clovely Estates took three
bronzes, Redgate's Barambah Ridge won two and Maclagan's Rimfire Winery took
another - nearly all of them for 2001 reds, semillons or verdelhos. This
year I understand that even more South Burnett winemakers are
going to be exhibiting at the Queensland Wine Awards. And considering that
many of them have already won a good haul of medals over the last year at
serious wine shows as diverse as the Melbourne, the Toowoomba Royal, the
San Francisco International and - just a few weeks ago - the Australian Small
Winemakers, I'm quietly confident they'll do well with this one too. As you'd
expect, I'll be reporting the results of the 2003 Wine Awards right here
as soon as they're released.
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South Burnett Receives
A Commendation From Adelaide
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 22nd November 2003: I was thrilled this week to receive an official
Certificate of Commendation from the organisers of the
LifeStyle Channel Australian Regional
Culinary Competition. Team South Burnett's efforts were praised and
I was told that this year the standard of Australian cuisine had been lifted
by an immeasurable amount. So our team (and our region) should be very proud
of its achievement. Since returning from Adelaide many people have asked
me if it's possible to see what our team's entry looked like. So I'm
also pleased to announce that the official competition photos have now been
released to the public and you can view them right now on
PCA's web site. In addition,
you can also obtain the recipes for our three competition dishes (entree,
main and dessert) on PCA's site too. With the final chapter closing for Team
South Burnett's 2003 effort, this is also a very opportune time to thank
all our major sponsors: The Tarong Coal Community Development Fund,
Peanut Company of
Australia, the
South Burnett Local Government
Association, Swickers, Bean Growers Australia,
Huston Ford,
SB Food Service
Distributors,
Palatable Partners and
The Knife Co. I'd also
like to thank our region's top winemakers (Ross Whiteford from
Stuart Range, John
Crane from
Cranes Wines and Stuart
Pierce from
Barambah Ridge) for their
invaluable assistance in helping match South Burnett wines with each of the
three courses. And here's a small scoop: preliminary talks have already begun
for Team South Burnett's battle for culinary gold at Tasting Australia
2005!
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4th Annual Jazz In
The Vineyard Coming This Saturday
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19th November
2003: If you missed out on the recent Wine & Food Industry Dinner
(see story 13th November, below) and are kicking yourself for it -
as a few people have told me they are - you can have a second bite at the
cherry this coming Saturday night. But only if you're quick. The Nanango
Lions Club and Barney and Anne Davoren from Runnymede
Vineyard will be holding their 4th annual Jazz In The Vineyard
evening at Runnymede's property from 6:30pm until midnight this coming
weekend. For $55 per head guests will be treated to a great three-course
meal, all the local and Australian wine they can consume and entertainment
by Brisbane jazz band Three Plus One, who'll play a mixture of traditional,
dixie and progressive jazz to get your feet dancing. A free bus will be running
from Kingaroy to the vineyard, stopping off at Nanango to pick up additional
revellers, and you'll be greeted with champagne and hors d'oeuvres on arrival
too. Best of all, the proceeds of the night will go to aid a very worthy
cause: the Lions Medical Research Foundation (I'm told some people
from the Foundation will be in Saturday night's crowd). If you want to go,
you'll need to contact the Nanango Visitor Information Centre immediately
next to Nanango Shire Council's chambers to obtain tickets - and you have
to do it by 4:00pm this coming Friday. You can phone the Visitor
Info Centre on (07) 4171-6871 or
send them an email for
more details and/or bookings. You can also contact Barney or Anne on (07)
4163-1559 or (07) 4171-6871
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South Burnett Gets
Another New Wine Label
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 16th November 2003: A little over three weeks ago I wrote
about a new wine label from Vaughn's Vineyard (see story 23rd October
2003). Now I'm very happy to be writing about another one:
Cahill's Wines. From tomorrow
onwards you'll be able to buy Cahill's 2002 Shiraz from the Carrollee
Hotel's bottle shop in Kingaroy. This new wine has been produced by the affable
John Cahill who works at the bottle shop several days a week. John
has been quietly putting in rows of shiraz grapes on his property at Booie
over the last few years and has now decided to come out in public with his
debut release. He tells me that he's worked in the liquor and hospitality
industries for most of his life and has always had a strong interest in wine
- one that pre-dates the start the local wine industry by at least a decade.
So he's been quietly adding a couple of rows of grapes to his holdings every
year for the last four years now. That way (John says) he's certain that
he's able to handle the workload at each stage as the vines start to strike
their true character. Right at the moment John only grows one variety
of grape on his property - shiraz - but he's considering branching out into
a small planting of a white variety at some point in the future. His 2002
Shiraz was produced for him by the legendary John Crane at nearby
Crane's Wines and is presented
in one of the most strikingly tall wine bottles I've seen in a long time.
Each one is painstakingly hand-labelled and since it's a debut release, could
well become a collectable in the future. You can obtain a bottle for your
own cellar for $16.95 . And if John's on shift when you drop by, get
to talk with the winegrower while you're at it! Photo: John Cahill
hard at work in his Kingaroy Ridge vineyards at Booie and (inset) the tall,
striking bottle that holds his debut 2002 Shiraz release.
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2003 Wine & Food
Industry Dinner A Rip-Roaring Success!
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 13th November 2003: Last Sunday night the South Burnett celebrated
a year of great accomplishment for our region's winemakers and food producers
in grand style at Wooroolin's Lil Ol Church Restaurant. 55 people
from the region's wine, food and hospitality industries - slightly less than
a capacity crowd, but extraordinary given the short notice - turned up in
formal wear to listen to the two guest speakers, eat great Australian
contemporary cuisine served up with style from the Lil Ol Church's kitchen
and demolish a small mountain of regional whites and reds. Peter
Mansfield from Winetac delivered a very amusing and inspiring talk about
the real, bottom-line benefits of staff training. And well-known wine writer
and TV presenter Peter Howard gave an equally stirring talk about
the growing recognition that Queensland wines are beginning to receive on
the national stage. Unusually, perhaps, the dinner was held on a Sunday night.
That's because Sunday is one of the few nights that people involved in the
wine or hospitality industries can actually get away from "the office". But
there's now talk of holding a similar function for the general public (similar
to the old Wine & Food Vintage Dinner) on a Saturday night in 2004 and
I certainly think there's a place for this too. The industry dinner, nonetheless,
deserves to become an institution in its own right. Everyone I talked to
on the night (or since) had a wonderful time. And full credit for this must
go to Maryanne Pidcock from
Captain's Paddock, who
organised the event. Photo: Attendees at the 2003 Wine & Food
Industry Dinner included (left to right), Ray Currie, Joanna Burnet, Bruce
Hurley, Sue Currie, Rae Hurley and Dan Burnet.
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Cheese World Opens
In Goomeri
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 10th November 2003: I was astounded the other day when I drove
into Goomeri and was greeted by a three-storey high, bright yellow mouse
called "Motza" - a surprising change from the rows of antique stores that
Goomeri's visitors are accustomed to seeing. I was on my way to visit Cheese
World - an exciting new South Burnett specialty food store which opened
on the 31st October. Cheese World is the brainchild of Margaret and
Gerry Gagel who spent 9 months travelling around Australian cheese
outlets to develop their shop's concept. Cheese World - as you might expect
- stocks a wide range of gourmet Australian farmhouse cheeses. These include
the South Burnett's own award winning Kingaroy Cheeses along with cheeses
sourced from the Hunter Valley, Gippsland, Kangaroo Island, Coolabine and
Kenilworth. The shop also stocks a range of other foodstuffs including olive
oils from the Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale and the South Burnett; and Murgon's
GABS & Bacon products (see story 20th October 2003, below). The
couple, who are originally from Proston, chose to set up shop in Goomeri
because of its steady flow of tourism traffic. "We've witnessed the growth
of the South Burnett as a food and wine destination and could see Goomeri's
central proximity for tourists travelling from the Sunshine Coast and from
other parts of the South Burnett", Margaret told me. "We've been flat strap
ever since we opened and we're having to order new cheese products every
two days to keep up with demand". The couple has even bigger plans for their
business. Right now they're applying for a license which will allow them
to sell a wide range of South Burnett wines in the shop too. You can contact
Cheese World on (07) 4168 4418 or
via email - otherwise
just drive to Goomeri and look for the giant mouse! Photo:
Margaret and Gerry Gagel say "Cheese!" for the camera outside Cheese World,
the South Burnett's latest specialty food
shop.
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South Burnett Cleans
Up At Australian Small Winemakers Show
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 7th November 2003: Blow me down! Here's another
reason why local licensed outlets should be stocking the local product:
the South Burnett has just walked away from the
2003 Australian Small Winemakers
Show (ASWS) with a whopping 32% of the medal tally. The ASWS
is a prestigious wine show for winemakers crushing 500 tonnes of grapes or
less per annum. It's run to national standards and so highly regarded that
gold-medal winning wines at the ASWS are allowed an automatic entree into
the Canberra National Wine Show. This year the ASWS attracted more than
1,600 entries from all over Australia and New Zealand, including 31
from the South Burnett (about 2% of the total). But our winemakers
came home with an incredible 10 medals, which amounts to almost
32% of all the medals on offer.
Barambah Ridge picked
up 3 bronzes;
Clovely Estate took a
whopping 5 bronzes;
Crane Wines took a
gold and trophy for their fortified muscat; and
Captains Paddock took
a bronze for their rose-style Rosetta. The show's award presentation dinner
was held on Tuesday 4th November at the Stanthorpe Civic Centre and Queensland
Wine Industry Association vice-chairman Maryanne Pidcock from Captain's
Paddock was in attendance on behalf of our region. "These medals continue
to give consumers confidence in South Burnett product," Maryanne told me.
"Our region can really celebrate! These medals demonstrate that our wine
has all the integrity of our southern counterparts". I'm certain that South
Burnett wine will flow pretty liberally when our region's winemakers gather
to celebrate their success at the 2003 Wine and Food Industry Dinner,
which is being held this Sunday 9th November at the Lil Ol Church in Wooroolin.
I'll see you there! [PS: There are still a few tickets available to
this $55 a head dinner if you hurry - phone (07) 4162-4534 for details]
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Tourism 101: Why
Local Venues Should Stock Regional Wines
-
 4th November 2003: Last month when I visited the Barossa Valley
one thing I couldn't help notice was that every single licensed
venue I stopped at - either in the Barossa or in Adelaide - had an ample
stock of South Australian wines on hand. And it makes sense when you
think about it, doesn't it? How many tourists would travel to Adelaide
or the Barossa to try anything except the local wines? So I'm
very pleased to see that more and more licensed venues in the South Burnett
are now starting to carry some local wines in their cellars and on their
wine lists. And I can only encourage any hotelier or restaurateur who
isn't doing this at the moment to look at it seriously.
It's certainly true - as a few liquor outlets have told me - that they can't
make the same margin on local wines as they can on interstate wines. That's
because the interstate winemakers are huge corporations that can sell their
wines at rates below what it costs our own much smaller wineries to produce
theirs. But markup isn't the point. The real point is that if we're
going to grow the South Burnett into the State's biggest wine region (which
it already is in terms of grape crush) and build up a tremendous tourism
industry - something that will benefit every sector of our
local economy, including all our hoteliers and restaurateurs - the time to
start supporting the local industry is right now. South Burnett wines
are national class already and we should be justly proud of what we're producing
here. But every time a visitor drops by a hotel or licensed restaurant, asks
for a local wine and can't get it we've just shot our foot off, haven't we?
I look forward to the day when this easily-preventable problem ceases to
exist, and when there's at least one or two local wines available at every
licensed outlet in the region.
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South Burnett Cuisine
Now On Crow-FM 90.7
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 1st November 2003: If you're a fan of local radio - and
who isn't? - you can now hear South Burnett Cuisine live on the
airwaves at 10:30am every Friday morning. Community radio station
Crow FM 90.7 approached
me a few weeks ago with the idea of running a regular segment on South Burnett
wine and food in their morning show, and the first program went to air on
Friday 24th October. From now on - every Friday morning - I'll be part of
a live mini show with the station's popular morning announcer David
Nugent where we'll be discussing the latest wine and food news from around
the South Burnett that's crossed my desk over the preceding week. Crow FM
is a community radio broadcaster headquartered in Wondai that reaches a wide
audience in the area between Gayndah and the Bunya Mountains. It broadcasts
24 hours a day, 7 days a week with the help of its dedicated volunteer staff
and it's an avid promoter of our region and all the good things that exist
here. This latest development follows in the footsteps of my regular column
in the
South Burnett Adviser
which also began featuring articles from this web site in every fortnight's
edition earlier this year. Naturally, both Crow FM 90.7 and the South Burnett
Adviser can only present a portion of what gets covered online (and
believe me - a new story every three days barely scratches the surface of
what's happening in South Burnett wine and food sometimes!). But they're
certainly wonderful ways to pass on the news to those people who still
haven't joined the online revolution. I'm grateful to Crow FM 90.7 for this
extra opportunity to reach them.
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