Wednesday, 21 July 2021

Queensland wine pioneers celebrate shiraz success


Imagine the reaction 50 years ago when Angelo and Mary Puglisi decided they wanted to make fine wine in Queensland. 

The Puglisi family, pioneers of viticulture on the Granite Belt, will celebrate 50 years of making shiraz on July 22 - the second annual Shiraz Wine Day in Australia. 

Ballandean Estate’s single vineyard premium shiraz is sourced from the Opera Block’s oldest vines, planted in 1968 - testament to the pioneering Puglisis. 

“Our cool-climate shiraz is a family jewel," says Angelo Puglisi. "Many shiraz vines in Australia are under 15 years old - and the older the vines, the lower the yield and more luscious the fruit.
    

We’ve come a long way since the sixties, when the naysayers told us the vineyard would fail — because only wogs drink wine in Queensland!

“Our expression of terroir begins in the vineyard, our hands and in our hearts.  We work the soil, we tend the grapes — every bottle tells a story, the people, the place, the passion.

"Fifty years on, these vines are bearing incredible fruit.” 

Queensland’s oldest family-owned and -operated winery future-proofed its reputation for quality shiraz by planting 5000 shiraz plants next to the Opera Block vineyard in early 2021.

Look out for social media posts using the hashtag #shirazwineday 


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