Fassifern Valley · Mount Alford · Gold Coast Hinterland
Kooroomba Vineyard and Lavender Farm
Six hectares of vines, fields of French and Italian lavender and a cellar door looking at the Scenic Rim ranges — about an hour west of Brisbane.
Kooroomba is the one winery near Brisbane that people visit for reasons that have nothing to do with wine. It sits in the Fassifern Valley at Mount Alford near Boonah, and alongside its six-hectare vineyard are fields of lavender, with the Scenic Rim ranges filling the horizon behind them.
The estate describes itself as offering a southern France experience on Brisbane’s doorstep, which is a bold claim and a reasonably earned one. It is roughly an hour to ninety minutes from the city depending on your route, and it is the closest thing in South East Queensland to a Provence day trip.
A vineyard, a lavender farm and a valley
The Fassifern Valley is farming country west of the Scenic Rim ranges, and Kooroomba was built as a destination rather than evolving into one — a cellar door, restaurant and lavender shop grouped together, looking out over the vines and the lavender rows.
The lavender is the reason most first-time visitors come. Several varieties of French and Italian lavender are planted so that something is in flower through most of the year, with the strongest display in the cooler months. That makes winter — which is a quiet season for most Australian vineyards — the peak season here.
It also explains the wedding trade. The combination of vineyard, lavender and mountain backdrop makes it a heavily booked ceremony venue, which matters practically: the property closes to the public on some dates.
In the cellar door
The range is broader than the boutique hinterland estates and closer to classic Australian varieties: Chardonnay, Shiraz, Cabernet, Sauvignon Blanc and a sparkling Chardonnay Pinot Noir.
Tastings run at the cellar door without a booking, with the option of a short flight or the full range. The restaurant serves modern Australian cooking built on local produce, and it is as much of the reason to come as the tasting is.
The lavender shop stocks products made from what is grown on the property and from a local supplier, which is the practical souvenir if wine is not what you came for.
Visiting Kooroomba
About an hour to ninety minutes west of Brisbane depending on which way you come, near Boonah. Published drive times vary between sources, so allow the longer figure.
Two things are worth checking before you set out. First, the property closes to the public on wedding days, and those are frequent. Second, opening days are limited rather than daily. Both are on the estate’s own site, and both are the difference between a good day and a wasted drive.
The venue publishes accessibility information covering wheelchair access, and there is coach parking — worth knowing if you are coming as a group.
Before you drive out
Hours, tasting arrangements, bookings and what is actually open at the bar are set by Kooroomba Vineyard and Lavender Farm, not by us, and they move with the season and the day of the week. This is a visitor guide rather than the venue’s own listing, so confirm the detail with the estate before you make the drive out to Mount Alford.
Getting there, and going with a driver
Kooroomba Vineyard and Lavender Farm is not a stop on any of our scheduled departures. Our regular Brisbane wine day is the Hinterland Heritage Wine Tour, which runs three heritage cellar doors south of the city. If Kooroomba Vineyard and Lavender Farm is specifically where your group wants to go, it is a private charter conversation — see the Brisbane wine tours hub for what departs the city.
Unless you are at City Winery, Mount Alford means a drive each way and somebody in the group staying off the tastings. That is the trade-off worth pricing before you choose between doing it yourself and putting a charter on it.
The other wineries near Brisbane
Sirromet Wines
South-east of the city at Mount Cotton, with Granite Belt fruit and Moreton Bay views.
Ocean View Estates
North at Mount Mee, where the vines and the winery share the same hundred acres.
City Winery Brisbane
In the Valley, for the version of this that requires no drive.
Where else to drink wine near Brisbane
Kooroomba Vineyard and Lavender Farm is one of 4 cellar doors within reach of Brisbane, and they sit in four different directions out of the city — one in the Valley itself, one south-east towards Moreton Bay, one north on the D’Aguilar Range and one west in the Fassifern Valley. They are not a circuit; pick one and give it the day.
- Sirromet Wines — Mount Cotton
- City Winery Brisbane — Fortitude Valley
- Ocean View Estates — Mount Mee
South of the city there is a denser run of cellar doors — eight of them across the Gold Coast hinterland, which our hinterland wine trail guide covers as a day out of Brisbane. For tours, start at the Brisbane wine tours hub or the Mount Tamborine wine tour, or Queensland wine tours for the state as a whole.
Frequently asked questions
Where is Kooroomba?
In the Fassifern Valley at Mount Alford near Boonah, west of the Scenic Rim ranges. Published drive times from Brisbane range from about an hour to ninety minutes — allow the longer figure.
When is the lavender in flower?
Several varieties of French and Italian lavender are planted so that something flowers through most of the year, with the strongest display in the cooler months. Winter is the peak season here, which is unusual for an Australian vineyard.
What wine does Kooroomba make?
A broader and more classic range than the boutique hinterland estates — Chardonnay, Shiraz, Cabernet, Sauvignon Blanc and a sparkling Chardonnay Pinot Noir. Tastings run at the cellar door without a booking.
Is it always open?
No, and this is the thing to check. The venue closes to the public on wedding days, which are frequent, and its opening days are limited rather than daily. Confirm on the estate’s own site before driving out.
Make a day of it
Kooroomba is a drive west and a slow lunch. When you want three cellar doors and no driving at all, we run that day south.