GRAPE FUN: Kingsley Grove hosts biggest wine stomp to date

A grape time was had by all at Kingsley Grove Estate’s ever-growing grape stomp, drawing in visitors from around the state.

Kingsley Grove Estate's 3rd Annual Grape Stomp was a grape success. Photo/Holly Cormack.

Visitors flocked from around the region and wider Queensland to get their feet dirty and enjoy some healthy competition against family and friends at Kingsley Grove Estate’s biggest grape stomp to date.

Kingsley Grove is a renowned Berry family owned and operated winery here in the South Burnett, well known for their concept ‘From Berry to Bottle.’

Jo Berry, who co-owns the winery with her husband Simon, said she is astounded by the outcome of their third annual event, which lured visitors from far and wide to the South Burnett region.

“I’ve been speaking to a couple of people today and they’re from Toowoomba, Sunshine Coast, Brisbane. It’s awesome,” Mrs Berry said.

“They love it, and many aren’t just staying one day, but a couple of days. This is the third year and it’s just gone gangbusters.”

The grape stomp began in 2018 after a large hailstorm tore through the area, destroying the Berry’s precious crop.

“We couldn’t use it for winemaking so we actually decided that we’d pick the grapes and use them for a grape stomp. So that was our first annual grape stomp and we’ve just done it every year since,” Mrs Berry said.

And in three years the grape stomp has grown phenomenally, now hosting a range of boutique markets which enable local business owners from across the South Burnett to share their skills and products with a statewide audience.

Last year, Mrs Berry said the winery was sadly closed to visitors for about three months at the height of COVID, however post lockdown they’ve seen a bit of a boom.

“Since we opened in June, we actually found that we were busier in that six months following reopening. We sold over a years worth of wine in six months,” Mrs Berry said.

“We had a captive audience, because people could only travel intrastate.”

Mrs Berry said the event was possible through the hard work of generous volunteers, including Farm to Fork Collective and Jason Ford, who worked his magic with the catering.

PHOTOS: Kingsley Grove Estate’s third Annual Grape Stomp

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