By Jeremy Cook
Sustainability has warmed the hearts of wine tasters visiting yet another one of the Granite Belt’s globally triumphant vineyards, its award-winning winemaker Mike Hayes said.
Balancing Heart Vineyards were one of three wineries from the region to earn Tripadvisor’s prestigious Traveller’s Choice Award for 2024, alongside Ballandean Estate and Ridgemill Estate.
The award recognises businesses which consistently produce great customer reviews and sit among the top 10 per cent of Tripadvisor listings worldwide.
For highly acclaimed Balancing Heart winemaker Mike Hayes, it’s little surprise wine tasters kept coming back.
“We get enormous visitation here,” Mr Hayes said.
“Here we have free wine tastings unlike others,” he said.
“People can just come here, relax with their kids, bring their dogs and they can stay as long as they want.
“I think the reason we’re getting such high visitation is that we’ve taken the snottiness out of the wine industry.“
One of the world’s largest online travel guidance platforms, TripAdvisor’s Traveller’s Choice Awards are judged on feedback received from visitors over a 12-month timeframe.
Good vibes aside, Mr Hayes, who is no stranger to an accolade himself, believed it was the winery’s environmental attitudes which had proved a hit with visitors.
“Everybody’s really liking our concept and we get enormous repeat visitation,” he said.
“We had a person only a couple of weeks ago on her 17th visit.
“This is a real pat on the back for the whole staff.”
Going somewhat against conventional viticulture practices, Balancing Heart does not use insecticides or chemical fertilisers in its vineyards and avoids adding extra acid to its wine.
The business also no longer harvests “unsustainable” oak for barrels, Mr Hayes said, and will soon drastically change its packaging plus shift towards using paper for flyers and brochures.
“We’re going down a certain path to be sustainable,” he said.
“It’s a real credit to Greg Kentish, the owner … he’s the one behind it all.”
