Bungawarra Wines is historically underpinned by an Italian immigrant Angelo Barbagallo who began the vineyard on the site in the 1920’s.
Purchase of the property by an ex-Brisbane Chemist Jeff Harden began the brand Bungawarra Wines after an aboriginal word meaning ‘Granite Rock by Shallow Water’- I’m always amazed at the richness of meaning by just one word in a language!.
Jeff has now been making wines at Bungawarra for many years and consistently produces lovely reds and a very enjoyable Gewürztraminer from his Traminer vines. Jeff is a very amiable person who seems to have all the time in the world when he’s offering you tasting at his Ballandean cellar door. The atmosphere here is relaxed, almost dreamy at times as you fade into a world surrounded by natures soporific rhythms and Jeffs gentle laid back approach.
Jeff is well known for a Liqueur Muscat made from vines planted by Angelo and now pushing centurion status. I can personally attest to the sustaining power of Jeff’s liqueur muscat on many cold winter nights while offering up a silent grateful prayer to Angelo.
The 2000 vintage was one of the great Granite Belt vintages. In that year Jeff made one of the best Shiraz wines I have tasted anywhere in the world, the balance was superb with great fruit weight, a seemingly endless complexity as the wine gently transitioned from one nuance to another and a glycerol smooth mouth feel. Currently Jeff has a very good Malbec wine from the 2018 vintage. I tried it at the Magnificent Seven Event at Victoria Park Golf Complex in Brisbane on 24th October 2019. It’s a big wine for a Granite Belt red and would perform well in any Malbec company. Jeff says it will be a shorter cellaring style though as the fruit was ripe and the wine is showing so early in it’s life. He suggests a good drinking window of 5 years. I often find that wine makers underestimate the drinking window of their wines, so if you get some of these nurture one or two very well and see how they are beyond that 5 year drinking window, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.
The Wines
Red Wines:
• Shiraz | • Cabernet Sauvignon | • Malbec
White Wines:
• Gewürztraminer | • Foundation Chardonnay | • Reserve Chardonnay | • Thomas Semillon
Others:
• Rosé Noir (dry) | • Moscato con brio ( sweet style) | • Bliss (sweet) | • Festival Red (sweet) | • Liqueur Muscat
Details
Location: 181 Bents Road, Ballandean 4382.
Hours: Daily – 10 to 4pm.
Call Jeff 
0746841128
Bungawarra Wines Web Site
Bungawarra Wines – Jeff at far left – is one of seven local vineyards who have formed a group called The Magnificent Seven Wine Makers. These are vineyards which are owned by the person who is also the viticulturist and vintner – owner, grower and wine maker if you prefer. Once each year the group show their wines on an evening in Brisbane. This is a wonderful opportunity to sample a range of excellent Granite Belt wines where you can also chat to the wine makers concerned. The current venue is Victoria Park Golf Complex. I cannot recommend this event to strongly to winelovers everywhere, it’s a great night. The pours are most generous and they often seem to increase as the night progressses. A range of very tasty canapes appears approximately thirty minutes after the wine tasting begins and they keep coming for around 45 minutes. The Facebook page is here:
