| The Vineyard |
Tobin Vineyard is located in the heart of Ballandean just south of Stanthorpe, and is some 830 metres above sea level.
In the past the Ballandean area was renowned for its table grape vineyards, which in their prime provided 40% of the Australian table grape market. The vineyards were established mainly by Sicilians in the early 1900s. Table grapes were cultivated from that time and some table grapes are still cultivated in the vineyard.
In the early 1960s the first wine grapes, a patch of Shiraz and Semillon, were planted. These 40 year old vines are recorded by wine writers as being the oldest Shiraz and Semillon in Queensland and are the source of fruit for our Premium wines.
The Wines
The Granite Belt now produces a host of award winning wines and is quickly assuming an area of great importance in the Australian Wine Industry.
A combination of older vines, low cropping, and no irrigation in some instances, produces very high quality fruit for which this area is becoming well known.
All our wines are Single Vineyard wines. This means that they are made entirely with grapes grown in our own vineyard.
The red wines are generally robust, fruit driven wines, aged for a couple of years before release and with any oak treatment being of a minimal nature.
The white wines all have strong varietal and regional characters and are again not reliant on oak for their appeal and enjoyment, but rather on their intense fruit characters.
All wines are produced in relatively small quantities.
Over the last 5 years that planting have been extended to include the white varietals Sauvignon Blanc, Verdelho and Chardonnay, and red varietals of Shiraz, Cabernet, Merlot and Tempranillo. All our vines are managed intensively in order to produce fruit of the best quality.
Ballandean enjoys the reputation of growing the best quality wine grapes in the Granite Belt area.
The Families
The Costanzo family operated the vineyard until the early sixties, followed by the Ricca family until the year 2000. These families excelled in grape growing and winemaking from their table grapes and traditionally that wine was sold in bulk.
The Tobins have always had a passion for wine and wine making, which was kindled in the Hunter Valley in the late 1960s with their fondness of Shiraz and Semillon wines in particular. The Tobins, and family of four sons, purchased this Vineyard for both its location its old Shiraz and Semillon vines, along with the ambition to make unique, hand crafted wines.
The individual wines now produced carry the names of our grandchildren.