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Visit the Vineyard

Riversands is easy to find in St George. Travel along Victoria Street towards the bridge. Before the Balonne River, turn left at Bowen Street (at the Riversands sign) and follow the signs for 2 km. Riversands is signposted on the right hand side of the newly bitumened Whytes Road.

A Family Business

We purchased Riversands Vineyards in 1996. Wine grapes were first grown at Riversands in 1992. Many hours of blood, sweat and tears (i.e. development) have been invested in the vineyard since then to bring it up to the thriving business that it is today . Our other major project in this time has been raising a family of three boys.

Our 40 hectare vineyard carries 17 ha of vines (20,000 vines) stretching along 40 km of trellis. Of these, one third are wine grapes and the balance table grapes. The hot climate, drip irrigation and well drained soils allow vines to thrive and produce wines of high sugar and fruity flavour.

Table grape picking starts in December. Boxes of Menindee and Flame Seedless grapes are sold through Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane markets.

Wine grape varieties such as Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Ruby Cabernet, Jacquez, Merlot and Aleatico are hand picked from January through to March. The chilled grapes are transported in bins to Ballandean Estate near Stanthorpe for processing. Our talented winemaker at Ballandean Estate is Dylan Rhymer.

Our cellar door is open 7 days per week. Our friendly staff welcome you for wine tasting, a BBQ, fishing or a walk in the vineyard. Take time out to relax in our garden cafe with a cheese platter or scones and chilled glass of wine. We also host bus groups and functions.

We look forward to seeing you at Riversands

Alison & David Blacket

Staff

David Blacket is joint owner/director of Riversands Vineyards. He is responsible for the financial operation of the business and overseeing vineyard production and development. David is also highly mobile as the face of Riversands showcasing our products at shows and festivals around Queensland.
Alison Blacket is joint owner/director of the vineyard. Alison is responsible for the marketing and development of wine and other products at the vineyard. Alison manages functions and staffing requirements. She holds the fort while David is away partying, sorry working!
Trevor Forbes is farm foreman at Riversands Vineyards. Trevor has been with the company since inception. He is also the resident handy-man; no job is too hard for this man!