Granite Belt wineries — where to start

The Granite Belt is Australia's highest wine region, with cool nights, granite soils, and four distinct seasons helping shape elegant cool-climate wines with real character.

While you'll still find beautifully made Shiraz, Chardonnay, Cabernet and Riesling here, the region is perhaps best known for its "Strange Birds" — alternative grape varieties rarely grown elsewhere in Australia.

A wine earns the Strange Bird name when the variety represents less than 1% of vines planted nationally and is grown right here on the Granite Belt. The result is a region known for experimentation, small-batch production, and wines that regularly surprise even seasoned wine drinkers.

Expect cellar doors that are more personal than polished — conversations with winemakers, relaxed tastings, and bottles you're unlikely to stumble across back home.

The best way to experience the Granite Belt wine region is slowly: a couple of cellar doors, a long lunch, and nowhere particular to be afterwards.