Witches Falls Winery on Tamborine Mountain, QLD: Gold Coast wine-tasting

The Witches Falls Winery on Tamborine Mountain in the Gold Coast hinterland offers several unusual varietals for tasting. Try a garnacha, Marsanne, aglianico or nero d’avola at the Witches Falls cellar door.

The Witches Falls Winery comes as something of a surprise, largely because of its location. Australia has many excellent wine regions, but the vast majority of them are in the southern states.

Queensland, it is fair to say, does not have a stellar reputation for wine. This is mainly because the state is too hot and humid. Well, in most regions, anyway.

There are, however, wine regions in Queensland. In the very south of the state, there are a few areas that are either high enough, dry enough or far enough south to grow decent wine grapes. The Granite Belt region around Stanthorpe is the best known of these, but there are also a few wineries around Beaudesert in the Scenic Rim region.

Best day trips from the Gold Coast – 7 ways to improve your stay

The Gold Coast is a destination in its own right, but there are several excellent day trips you can do while using it as a base.

Deluxe Tamborine Mountain winery tour – with gourmet lunch.
Full day Springbrook National Park tour – with waterfalls and bush tucker tasting.
Snorkelling with turtles at Cook Island.
Evening glowworm-viewing experience – with guided stargazing.
Lady Elliot Island day trip – with glass bottom boat & guided Great Barrier Reef snorkelling tour.
Hopping between microbreweries – with lunch included.
Northern Rivers fruit & distillery tour – with Tropical Fruit World and Husk Distillers.

Gold Coast hinterland wineries

O’Reilly’s Vineyard in Canungra is perhaps the best known of these Gold Coast hinterland wineries. It’s where Gold Coast hot air balloon flights go for a celebratory drink after landing.

There are also a few wineries dotted around Tamborine Mountain on the Scenic Rim. The Witches Falls Winery is one of these.

There’s a little bit of cheating going on at Witches Falls, as the grapes are sourced from the Granite Belt. As the Granite Belt vineyards are about 800 metres above sea level, they make for cool climate wine. Conditions there are roughly similar to those in the Northern Rhone region of France.

Witches Falls Winery varietals

The main reason to go wine-tasting at the Witches Falls Winery is that there are some fairly unusual varietals to try. The range include unusual-for-Australia wines such as the garnacha, aglianico and nero d’avola. Among the whites, there’s a marsanne, viognier and vermentino.

Unlike many Australian cellar doors, wine tasting at the Witches Falls Winery on Tamborine Mountain is not free. There’s a $10 per head charge, but this gets you six tasting pours of whichever wines you fancy from the range.

Gold Coast wine tasting at the Witches Falls Winery on Tamborine Mountain, Queensland — Gold Coast wine tasting at the Witches Falls Winery on Tamborine Mountain. Photo courtesy of Destination and Events Queensland.

Witches Falls winery tastings

Bookings are required, and they reserve a table for 90 minutes. There’s no on-site restaurant, but you can tuck into cheeses, chutneys and crackers alongside the tasting. For more information, visit the Witches Falls website.

Other options in the Gold Coast hinterland include Curtis Falls and walking the Purling Brook Falls Circuit in Springbrook National Park.