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October 23, 2020

Giallo Fiano Malvasia! World-first Strange Bird™ trilogy from Ballandean Estate

Estate founder Angelo Puglisi has spent over 50 years building his reputation as the father of Queensland wine and industry, from the day he rolled into town with two trucks carrying 1000-gallon barrels down the main street of Stanthorpe back in 1971.  His experimentation with Italian varietals has been a major contribution to the establishment of the Strange Bird™ alternative wine trail.

Fourth-generation vigneron and daughter Leeanne Puglisi-Gangemi says,

“We love our Italian varietals! It’s not just the increased diversity of bouquet and flavour, it’s structure: and most importantly, acid. We grow these Strange Birds™ for their natural acid balance. This delivers a fresh expression of our granitic terroir and a minimal intervention approach to the winemaking process.

Our GFM blend is sunshine in a bottle, think the Granite Belt meets Sicily! Island vibes, coastal cool, hints of pineapple, stone fruit and a delicious full body with a great weight of palate and crisp dry finish.

These rare varietals are now even more precious given the challenges our vintage faced last year with weather events. We’ve picked just one-sixth of last year’s volume: 400 kilos of Malvasia, 500 kilos of Fiano and 800 kg of Moscato Giallo.”

Ticket Release

  • Alcohol: 12%
  • Price: $30
  • Closure: Screwcap
  • Drink: 2020-21
  • Fruit: 24% Malvasia, 29% Fiano, 47% Giallo, single vineyard from Bellevue at Ballandean, 850m above sea level
  • Winemaking: A mix of whole bunch and destemmed fruit was combined into the press. The juice was settled quickly in stainless before yeast was added. Stabilised, no finings added, filtered and bottled, unoaked.

“We are beyond proud of our Fiano’s pedigree, its third vintage taking out Winestate’s Top Alternative White award. Our Malvasia has been our fastest moving white wine at the cellar door, selling out just months after its 2019 release!

Our GFM will not last long, as just 109 cases were made, of which 60 have been put aside for our Ballandean Gold club’s summer delivery,”

says Ms Puglisi-Gangemi.

Ballandean Estate’s GFM 2020 vintage will be available for tasting and sale at the cellar door and for online from Friday 23 October.

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