Queensland’s Granite Belt is Queensland’s serious wine country, and Stanthorpe sits right at the heart of it.

At 800 metres above sea level, the region produces cool-climate varieties that surprise people who assume Queensland means heat and therefore shiraz. This is Australia’s highest wine region, and this means boutique cellar doors and diverse varietals.

When you visit, the challenge isn’t finding wineries. There are more than fifty cellar doors spread across the region. The challenge is choosing which ones to visit and pacing yourself!

Want to know the best wineries near Stanthorpe for a weekend visit? This guide gives you eight wineries worth your time, organised by what they do best, plus a two-day itinerary that starts and ends at Country Style Holiday Park.

Key takeaways:

• The Granite Belt is Queensland’s premier wine region, producing cool-climate varieties that regularly outperform expectations, from crisp whites to bold reds and genuinely unusual alternative varietals.
• Quality beats quantity on a winery weekend. Eight well-chosen stops across two days will give you a richer experience than rushing through fifteen.
• Different wineries suit different moods. This guide organises recommendations by experience type: first-timers, alternative varietals, long lunches and couples.
• Opening hours vary significantly, so check before you go. Many smaller cellar doors are open only on weekends or closed midweek.
• Your base in Stanthorpe matters as much as your itinerary. Staying at Country Style Holiday Park puts you steps from Kominos Wines and well-placed for everything else on the Granite Belt Drive.

Best wineries near Stanthorpe for a weekend visit

Best for first-timers: Heritage Estate and Robert Channon Wines

If this is your first Stanthorpe winery weekend, start somewhere that takes the time to explain what’s in the glass. Heritage Estate at Cottonvale does this consistently well. The cellar door is unhurried, the hosts know how to read a crowd, and the wines themselves, particularly the reds, give you a reliable entry point into what Granite Belt viticulture actually tastes like.

Robert Channon Wines on Bradley Lane is another good choice for newcomers. The setting is gorgeous, a lake view and relaxed bush surroundings, and the sparkling verdelho alone is worth the drive.

Staff are genuinely easy to talk to, which matters when you’re still learning the difference between a barrel-aged chardonnay and one that isn’t. Both are open Saturday and Sunday, making them natural anchors for a two-day itinerary.

Best for unusual varietals: Savina Lane and Ravenscroft Vineyard

The Granite Belt’s real point of difference is what the industry calls “strange bird” varietals: Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese grapes that thrive at altitude. If you want to understand these properly, the official Strange Birds program explains how over 40 alternative varieties are grown across the region.

Savina Lane in Severnlea is a small, boutique operation, and you’ll notice the staff and owners have the kind of focus that comes from genuinely loving what you grow. The wines are niche in the best sense: specific, expressive, and worth the conversation that comes with tasting them.

Ravenscroft Vineyard on Spring Creek Road has built a loyal following for its fresh, modern approach to winemaking and the warmth of the experience at the cellar door. Caitlin and Nick run a tight, considered operation, and the wines reflect it. Their Cherry Bomb, a lighter style red, is the kind of bottle you open weeks later and still talk about.

Best for a long lunch: Balancing Heart Vineyard and Banca Ridge Winery

Some wineries are built in an hour. These two are built for an afternoon.

Balancing Heart Vineyard, down near Wyberba, is farther south than most visitors venture, but the reward is a property that feels genuinely removed from the world. There are animals to feed, a beautiful outdoor setting, wood-fired pizzas that consistently draw raves, and wines that hold up across a long, relaxed session. Friday and Saturday evenings run until 9 pm, making it the obvious choice if you want to stay for dinner.

Banca Ridge Winery on Caves Road sits on the former Queensland College of Wine Tourism site, alongside Varias Restaurant, where the food-and-wine pairing menu is one of the more considered lunch experiences in the region. Winemaker Arantza brings genuine craft to the cellar door, and the restaurant’s “medley of mains” with matched wines is the kind of meal that anchors a day.

Best for couples: Kominos Wines and Ridgemill Estate

These two wineries consistently earn the kind of reviews that start with “My wife and I” or “we will absolutely be back.”

Kominos Wines sits right on the New England Highway at Glen Aplin, directly across from Country Style Holiday Park. Tony and Mary are hosts in the truest sense: knowledgeable without being performative, warm without being intrusive, and the outdoor tasting area on a good afternoon is hard to leave—rating 4.9 from over 110 reviews. If you’re staying with us here at CSHP, you can walk across the road. It doesn’t get more convenient than that.

Ridgemill Estate in Broadwater offers something a little different: a cellar door that consistently earns praise for its food and evening events. We recommend a dinner booking.

Best for evening energy: Summit Estate Wines

Most cellar doors close by 4 pm. Summit Estate on Granite Belt Drive stays open until 7 pm on Fridays and Sundays, runs bonfire nights, and brings an energy that younger visitors and groups particularly enjoy.

The wines are well made, the staff are funny and genuinely engaging, and the cashew cheese board is a better snack than it sounds. Worth building into your Saturday evening if the timing works.

How to plan the perfect Stanthorpe winery weekend trip

A few things that will make or break the trip after you have chosen the best wineries near Stanthorpe for a weekend visit:

• Book ahead for lunch stops. Balancing Heart and Banca Ridge, in particular, fill up on weekends.
• Check opening hours before you leave. Smaller cellar doors, such as Ravenscroft and Savina Lane, have limited weekday hours and are closed on certain days. The Stanthorpe Visitor Information Centre is also a great first stop for up-to-date maps and local recommendations.
• Pace your tastings. Two or three wineries per half-day is enjoyable. Add to this number and things will start to blur…. and you may miss day two of your adventure.
• Bring an esky or a cooler bag. Keep your purchases somewhere cool.
• Consider a tour for day one. If you’d rather leave the driving to someone else, Granite Highlands Maxi Tours runs full and half-day guided winery tours with local knowledge built in.
• Allow driving time between properties. The Granite Belt spans a significant stretch of the New England Highway and surrounding roads. Factor 15 to 30 minutes between some stops.

Explore more with the Stanthorpe Passport

If you are planning to visit multiple cellar doors, it is worth picking up the Stanthorpe Passport. This initiative adds an extra layer to your winery weekend by rewarding you for exploring more of the Granite Belt.

The passport lets you track your visits across participating wineries while unlocking exclusive offers, tastings, and experiences along the way. It is a simple way to turn a relaxed tasting trip into something more interactive and memorable.

Guests staying at Country Style Holiday Park have easy access to the passport, making it a convenient starting point for building your itinerary.

A two-day Stanthorpe winery itinerary

Day One

Start the morning with a coffee at your campsite or cabin, then cross the road to Kominos Wines when it opens at 10:30 am. Spend an unhurried hour, then head north to Robert Channon Wines for late morning, catching the sparkling verdelho and the lake views.

Drive south to Banca Ridge for a long lunch at Varias Restaurant with matched wines. Finish the afternoon at Summit Estate if energy allows, staying for the early evening atmosphere. Back to base by 7 pm.

Day Two

Head to Ravenscroft Vineyard when it opens at 10:30 am Friday through Sunday. Take the winery tour and pick up a bottle of whatever they recommend from the current vintage.

Drive to Savina Lane mid-morning for something genuinely unusual in the glass. After lunch, head south to Balancing Heart for a relaxed afternoon among the animals and the vines, and stay for pizza if the timing works. Return to Country Style Holiday Park via the New England Highway as the sun drops behind the range.

Stay at Country Style Holiday Park: The Perfect Base for Stanthorpe Wineries

A good winery weekend needs a good base. Country Style Holiday Park accommodation sits within walking distance of Kominos Wines and is well positioned for the full sweep of the Granite Belt Drive north and south.

The park is spacious, well-maintained, and the kind of place where the managers actually know your name by the second morning. There is an off-leash dog area for anyone travelling with pets, and a fire pit to gather around in the evenings.

After two days of wine tasting, coming back to a comfortable site rather than a long drive is not a luxury. It’s good planning.