In Season Specialties
Now everyone knows that good food goes hand in hand with good wine, and the providores, producers, restauranteurs, and grocers of the Southern Downs and Granite Belt will sort you out with the best, freshest, tastiest produce to complement the bumper crop of wines you'll discover. The Southern Downs & Granite Belt is the source of so much of South East Queensland's rich, quality produce and summer is the perfect time to seek out the best of the region's fresh bounty. Fresh fruit and vegetables are available from farmers' markets and fruit shops but some of the best can be purchased from roadside stalls through the region; or pick your own (grapes, apples, strawberries) straight from the vine, it doesn't get much fresher than that! To take home some of the fresh produce at this time of year, you can look for our famous fresh, crisp Stanthorpe apples; delicious stone fruit including apricots, cherries, nectarines, peaches and plums; divine berries such as boysenberries, raspberries and strawberries; and there's plenty more to load your car with. An abundance of seasonal produce means gourmet goodies are a regional specialty in the Granite Belt. Stock up on local preserves, relishes, chutneys, sauces, jams, vinegars, coulis, ciders, juices and liqueurs and sample handcrafted chocolates, fudge and other sweet treats. Or learn about the flavours of the region at a cooking class, and take home some local knowledge to match your wine and other treats that could not be ignored. While in the region you can sample the regional fare by dining in one of our fine dining a la carte restaurants, quaint cafes or enjoy an authentic counter meal at one of the local hotels. Many of the vineyards also offer either full a la carte dining, or accompaniments to wine tasting, such as cheeses and antipasto. Summer is also the start of vintage season for our 50-plus wineries and vineyards on the Granite Belt, which keeps them very busy picking and crushing through to about mid-April. Local farms also treat visitors to spectacular displays of sunflowers and lavender, so look out for fields of yellow around Warwick and purple on the Granite Belt and around Inglewood. The Southern Downs & Granite Belt Lavender Farms sell a range of natural body care products, as well as having on site cafes and offering tours of the lavender fields. The best time to visit to see the lavender in full bloom is from mid November through to Christmas (however, whenever you visit the region you will nearly always catch lavender in bloom). MARKETS
For more information contact Southern Downs & Granite Belt Regional Tourism (07) 4661 3122 |
