Granite Belt winery shows wine tasting isn’t just for the mouth offering Queensland’s first five senses dinner experience

The classic expression that people ‘eat with their eyes’ has been embraced by one Granite Belt winery, where a new sensory degustation dinner allows guests to engage all five senses in a first for Queensland.

The classic expression that people ‘eat with their eyes’ has been embraced by one Granite Belt winery, where a new sensory degustation dinner allows guests to engage all five senses in a first for Queensland.

A Granite Belt winery’s newest degustation event is one that allows guests to not just appreciate a good drop of quality wine paired with a food dish but engages all five senses of taste, smell, touch, sight and sound during a seven-course dinner.

Heritage Estate Wines co-owner Therese Fenwick said after watching a video last year about the pairing of Thai food and chardonnay, two foods that typically “don’t go together”, it inspired her and husband Robert Fenwick to introduce a five senses degustation dinner to their winery.

“We realised last year during COVID lockdown that many people do not know enough about food and wine pairing so we studied online and looked at what foods that maybe don’t typically go with a particular wine and we put them together,” she said.

The couple posted videos on social media to showcase to the public what foods best enhanced the wines and it was “very successful”.

“It seemed like a natural progression to offer visitors an opportunity to taste the exquisite dishes that our international chef Sharah-Bree Cowper had been demonstrating to them via social media cooking videos during the lockdown,” Mr Fenwick said.

Heritage Estate Wines owners Robert and Therese Fenwick. Photo: Madison Mifsud-Ure / Stanthorpe Border Post

Following the winery’s reopening after lockdown, the couple invented the five senses degustation dinner to create an “in-person” food and wine pairing event that would take guests on a sensory journey while indulging in a seven course-meal prepared by the renowned chef.

“It’s the first experience of its kind in Queensland, combining all the five senses into one enjoyable dinner delight,” Mrs Fenwick said.

During the dinner guests taste the gourmet dishes and wines, smell the Le Nez du Vin aroma kit to help identify wine scents, hear the sounds of a string quartet ensemble, touch the expensive crockery and see a silent movie projected overhead.

“It makes pennies drop for our guests, as by smelling the scents individually in bottles they are able to identify them in the wine tasting,” Mr Fenwick said.

“Our guests are finding it totally enlightening to be able to verbalise a smell that they know is familiar in the wine, but it’s hard for them to verbalise until the kit reveals the scents.”

Some of the aromas guests are able to smell in the Le Nez du Vin bottles include licorice, chocolate, tobacco, truffle and boxwood.

Some of the aromas guests are able to smell in the Le Nez du Vin bottles include licorice, chocolate, tobacco, truffle and boxwood. Photo: David Martinelli

Overhead during dinner conversation, remastered classic movies classics like African Queen and Breakfast at Tiffany’s are played.

The high-class dinner is also a dining experience in itself where guests are invited to dress up in formal attire to capture the essence of a traditional black tie event typically experienced on cruise ships.

Guests are seated at a grand oval table with leather inlaid, which was the original Queensland Parliamentary Table from 1859 where seated members of parliament sat.

The next five senses degustation dinner is on this Saturday at 6pm at Heritage Estate Wines, 747 Granite Belt Drive Cottonvale.

Tickets are $170 per person, and to book follow this link.