At Riversands you can create your own 'bush story in every glass'.... or discover one of theirs!
Riversands Vineyards has been a Blacket family venture since 1996. In that time David and Alison have developed the vineyard and raised three boys, Nick, Loxlee and Jock.
A redevelopment focused on improving irrigation and fertiliser capability, new grafted vines, re-trellising and management practices that improved both yield and quality in table and wine grapes.
Table grapes comprise Menindee Seedless & Midnight Beauty. Wine varieties include sauvignon blanc, chardonnay, vermentino, shiraz, merlot, saperavi, ruby cabernet, white muscat & black muscat.
In 2016, Riversands Vineyards picked a record table grape harvest of 28,000 (10 kg) cartons. In 2020 the vineyard picked its second biggest harvest of 24,000 cartons. The vineyard is known as a producer of premium supermarket fruit. The Costa Group market the fruit directly to Woolworths, Coles & Aldi along the Eastern Seaboard. A smaller quantity of Midnight Beauty was successfully exported to Vietnam in 2020.
Riversands has a well established brand name in the wine industry producing around 50-60 tonnes of wine grapes per annum which makes around 3,000-4,000 dozen wine. Wines are processed at Ballandean Estate, Stanthorpe. The vineyard is best known for its fortified wines, in particular Golden Liqueur Muscat and vintage port. However, it also produces a popular range of sparkling, dry white and red table wines along with sweeter Moscato styles.
Over 25 years the business has built an extensive tourism following with over 8,000 visitors in the 2020 calendar year, a long way from its humble beginnings! Almost half the wine is marketed to Qld domestic and interstate tourists via its cellar door outlet. The balance is marketed through 50 retail outlets mostly located in Qld including 8 satellite licenses, 30 shows and festivals and on-line sales.
The cellar door is well served by an attractive outdoor garden café area. Half of its visitors come from interstate locations via the Great Inland Way while many also come from the Qld south-east corner. In addition to servicing an increasing tourist trade the vineyard also hosts an increasing number of functions and events.