City Winery

City Winery in Fortitude Valley is a micro-winery, wine bar and restaurant offering a unique inner-city experience with wine tastings, winery tours and wine-blending workshops.   

Brisbane’s first urban winery since 1860, City Winery (a sibling for Carl's in Teneriffe) resides in a converted warehouse on Wandoo Street (formerly Campos Coffee) and is open daily for lunch, dinner and drinks.

The cellar door/wine bar sits at the entrance with an impressive wall of wine-barrels overlooking the industrial space. Here, customers can taste-test City Winery’s boutique, small-batch wines produced under the wine label Gerler (named after Carl Gerler, one of Brisbane’s first vintners).

Handmade by acclaimed winemaker, David Cush, some of the world-class wines on offer include sauvignon blanc, grenache rosé, verdehlo, chardonnay plus a preservative-free shiraz.   

At the rear, you’ll find a Modern Australian restaurant adorned with artwork by local artist, Kris Cush, who happens to be the winemaker's wife and who designed all the wine labels.  You'll find her originals hanging on the walls.

The mouth-watering menu features locally sourced produce cooked over charcoal - Killarney beef, Mallow organic lamb and free-range pork. In addition, there’s grilled market fish served with smoked tomato, fermented zucchini and Mexican cucumber. 

Small plates and snacks range from marinated Coolmunda olives and pork and liver terrine to smoked mussels and grilled red claw. Alternatively, customers can order a charcuterie board piled with pickles, cured meats and fresh bread.

For dessert, there’s watermelon, honeydew, ginger curd and rockmelon sorbet, pineapple upside down cake and baby sweet potato glazed with miso and mead served with burnt honey ice cream.

Need to know – Winery tours are available most days at 11am and 4pm. Guests can enjoy a guided tour through the barrel room, learn more about the winemaking process, and sample a wine or two direct from the barrel. There is a per person cost. Check here for updated times and costs of the tours.

Good to know – City Winery boasts a stunning cellar room which is available for private functions. You can also visit the Brisbane CBD venue, too, offering a cellar door and groovy wine bar. Link here to view.

By Deb Lidster  

Check out our full list of Fortitude Valley bars HERE

Check out our full guide to the best wine bars in Brisbane HERE