Ridgemill Estate — Attraction in Broadwater

I want to start by saying the owners have taken a lot of pride in creating a great space with outdoor settings, accommodation, and a great little goat paddock right on site. Unfortunately that's the only positives we found. We made the trip from Brisbane to Stanthorpe (5hrs return from our house) solely to visit a winery as my friends had never been and were quite new (but super enthusiastic) to learn about wines. I spent the entire trip there raving about how I had loved the wineries in Tasmania as they'd been so welcoming, friendly, and keen to teach. Unfortunately what we experienced here was the complete opposite. We arrived as the place was emptying and sat down with a wine menu, individually picking what we thought might be our favourites to try and buy (we love having something nice in the house to enjoy from locals, whether it be food, wine or anything in between). We were immediately met with cold indifference to us being there and our experience did not improve. After the first tasting of Ellie (which was delicious, job well done team) I tried to ask questions to the owners to get my friends engaged so we could build on our knowledge but were met with short sentences or one-word answers. After this we were roundly ignored by both staff members in favour of the one other customer. We get it - we're in our 30s (while the other person was older) and young people could be seen as not as "advantageous" for a tasting or perhaps taking advantage of a cellar door, but we'd genuinely all picked a bottle we'd like to buy and were keen to taste, purchase, and support local. I tried to tell the girls the little knowledge I had about wines to make up for the enormous gap that was left by us being ignored. After this continued for an embarrassing amount of time, the girls felt so uncomfortable in a space where we clearly weren't wanted that they asked if we could leave. This was our first stop. We had not had a drink before we arrived. We'd dressed for the occasion, so we weren't in tight/exposed or otherwise unsavoury clothes and we were all very friendly, growing up in small towns knowing the importance of country hospitality. I was looking forward to my friends feeling the excitement I had felt learning about wine by people who were passionate about it. Unfortunately we all left really disheartened in the experience. Please don't discount young people coming through. We're keen to learn. We're at the start of our wine journey and everyone has to start somewhere. I came home with several bottles from Tasmania that I still cherish in a wine fridge waiting for a "big day" of mine in the future - so don't discount the positive impact you can have on someone well down the track. We thankfully left and found a winery within 1.5km of here. I went to great lengths to explain that I knew a little bit about wine but the girls were new and eager to know more. We had a fantastic time after that was set! A learning for me is to set a stronger foundation next time so we're not immediately written off as time wasters, and this is great knowledge that I'll use going forward for any newbies. So if you're new to wine, perhaps this isn't the place - but the region has 43 wineries (fun fact!) so you'll find your place...

My husband and I just returned from what is now our fourth stay at the fabulous Ridgemill Winery Estate in the beautiful Stanthorpe wine region . We generally choose to stay in one of the twelve contemporary self contained studio cabins set amongst the vineyards. |The cabins are very comfortable and include a King sized bed, living room area, Complementary bottle of Ridgemill estate Wine kitchenette with coffee maker and coffee pods, tea, toaster, Electric frying pan, microwave, medium size fridge, complementary breakfast items such as fresh bread, fruit and cereals, tea, coffee, milk and butter. |There is a smart TV , DVD player and numerous DVDs. As a bonus the hosts also provide complementary Mor luxurious bath and body products in the form of Shower gels, hand and body lotion, Shampoo and hair conditioner Delicious fragrances! Fluffy white towels Hairdryer makeup mirror all complete the bathroom provisions.|The cabins have a wood fireplace with kindling and wood provided. We certainly made good use of the fireplace as we were there during a cold snap which only added to the cosy experience. |The studios have a lovely front wooden deck where you can sit and take in the views overlooking the the vines and out to the spectacular views across the valley and nearby Girraween National Park ranges in the distance . Sitting on the deck in the evening and taking in the great expanse of the Southern night sky. |There are farm animals such as cows , bulls , goats wandering the property. |Complementary wine tastings in the winery are also a great way to start your stay in the winery , Ridgemill Estate is a Five Star winery and perfectly located 7 min drive away from Stanthorpe town, between 5 to 15 minutes drives to all of the numerous wineries in this ever expanding wine region . |A must do visit is highly recommended to the close by Qld College of Wine Tourism where you can enjoy delicious meals in their spacious modern Varias restaurant created by the students of the college and enjoy the excellent Banca Ridge wines made at the college by the students, an experience not to be missed! |We absolutely love what is now our annual visit to this delightful winery and look forward to our next visit within the next 8...

We just spent 2 nights staying in the Winery Escape House. The place is huge and can easily accommodate up to 6 people in the 3 bedrooms. The living area has plenty of seating, a TV and DVD player (There were several DVDs in the room plus plenty more down at reception) and a fireplace with plenty of spare timber. Adjacent to here was the large dining area and a huge kitchen with everything you could possibly need. There was a big fridge/freezer, oven, microwave, kettle, toaster, cutlery, crockery etc. Out the front of the entrance there is a BBQ and even a pizza oven. There was cooking equipment for these appliances in the kitchen also. The main bedroom has an adjacent bathroom, with the main bathroom/toilet down the hall for the other 2 bedrooms. We enjoyed having this place as a base for our activities in the area. It was quiet and peaceful and the house is about a 50 metre walk from the main reception which also hosts the wine tasting experience that we enjoyed on the day we arrived. As a bonus, we received a bottle of Ridgemill wine, fresh bread, cereal, milk, apple juice and sachets of butter, jam etc. There was enough to last for the duration of our stay. Overall we had a...