Wine is a beautiful thing: loved the world over and the perfect accompaniment to the next best thing in the world – cheese. Happily, the Gold Coast Hinterland is home to several world-class wineries, all of which are around an hour or less drive away. Pack your picnic blanket and make space in your boot for a case or two; here are the best cellar doors to take a sip at.

Witches Falls Winery

A self-proclaimed small but bold winery, Witches Falls are passionate about big tastes. Not only do owners Jon and Kim love the end product, but they’re also pretty keen on the growing, making and matching aspects of the fruity liquid. They offer personalised wine tastings that permit access to their entire range. And be sure to try their fantastic cheese board when you go!
Where: 79 Main Western Road, North Tamborine

Cedar Creek Estate

With a tree-lined entryway and lush green surroundings, Cedar Creek Estate is all your charming winery dreams come true. The vineyard consists of two varieties, including Chambourcin and Verdelho. Although the vines are relatively young, their Chambourcin, in particular, is producing a fabulous Rosé. Cedar Creek Estate also boasts the Arthur Hamblin Art Gallery, if sipping wine overlooking vineyards doesn’t fill your cultural cup entirely.
Where: 104-144 Hartley Road, North Tamborine

Sirromet Wines

Passionate about sustainable wine production, Sirromet Wines state-of-the-art, family-run facilities can be found in picturesque Mt Cotton. From the award-winning 2014 Signature Collection Shiraz Viognier and 2012 Saint Jude’s Merlot to a fresh Vineyard Selection Rose, you’ll be spoilt for choice at the Sirromet cellar door. Tastings run every day and you can also choose to do a behind-the-scenes tour of the vineyard. Plus, there’s a nine-hole golf course too – before or after wine, it’s up to you.
Where: 850 Mount Cotton Road, Mount Cotton

O’Reilly’s Canungra Valley Vineyards

A picture-perfect location, O’Reilly’s Canungra Valley Vineyard is a boutique vineyard and historic Queenslander homestead dedicated to fine food and fine wine. Enjoy a wine tasting, stay for lunch or purchase a gourmet picnic basket and stretch out by Canungra Creek with a bottle of bubbles. Take the kids who can also run around and take the resident alpacas for a walk.
Where: 852 Lamington National Park Road, Canungra

Sarabah Estate Vineyard

Further along the Canungra Valley, before you begin to make your steep ascent up to O’Reilly’s Rainforest Retreat, is this enchanted and sun-soaked vineyard and cellar door. The folks here wear many hats as viticulturists, alpacas herders, cheesemakers and gardeners: meaning there is plenty to see, do, eat, and drink! Weekends see their Chalet Bistro open for delicious lunches and the Smoke & Vine Bar is perfect for a stone-baked pizza, and of course a glass of wine (our pick being their 2018 organic shiraz).
Where: 46 Rymera Road, Sarabah

Mount Nathan Winery

Mount Nathan Winery is a progression of the Gibson family’s involvement in the wine industry over generations. After developing a unique range of honey-based products in Cessnock, the winery was born. Award-winning wines include the Bubbly Brut – a not too dry and not too sweet sparkling – and the Autumn White – made up of late-picked grapes with explosions of fruit. If you’re visiting, wine tastings are direct from the barrel. Doesn’t get more authentic!
Where: 220 Clagiraba Road, Mount Nathan

The Overflow Estate 1895

If your idea of a perfect winery involves lake views, long lunches and pretending you’ve escaped to the European countryside, allow us to introduce The Overflow Estate 1895. Perched on the edge of Lake Wyaralong in the Scenic Rim, this dreamy destination is just over an hour from the GC and well worth the drive. Expect estate-grown wines, sunset-worthy scenery and a lingering lunch at their French-inspired restaurant, Roastbeef and the Frog. It’s relaxed, romantic and dangerously easy to lose an entire afternoon to, just how we like it.
Where: 1660 Beaudesert – Boonah Road, Beaudesert

Carafe Wine

GC, say “Chardon-heyyyy” to our newest winery experience. Located in Southport, you don’t even need to leave the GC for this environmentally conscious tipple. Carafe Wine has been an established premium wine on tap supplier for several years, before opening their bricks and mortar space in March 2023. Sample wines direct from the barrel, enjoy crafted winery blends and share a charcuterie board. Sounds like our kind of afternoon outing.
Where: 49 Johnston Street, Southport

Pineapple Tours

Want to visit some wineries without the hassle of finding a designated driver? Pineapple Tours offer half day, all day or fully customisable tours, with door-to-door service to/from your abode or hotel #VIP. They cover all areas of South East Queensland and Northern New South Wales. Grab your bestie, your partner or your posse and check out all the best wineries, distilleries, eateries and super fun GC experiences in one of their luxury vehicles. Yes please!
Where: 3200 Surfers Paradise Boulevard, Surfers Paradise

Words by Belinda Symons.

We love a road trip, but driving around can often make you feel like you’re missing out on secret spots. That’s where Peddly Picnics rolls in, the ultimate sipping, snacking and cycling experience that lets you explore the Scenic Rim at a slightly slower pace.

Set against the lush surrounds of Tamborine Mountain, this brand-new, eco-friendly adventure combines fresh air and foodie fun with a modern, electric bike-powered twist. It’s the perfect day out for couples, friends, families and even your four-legged friend (yes, pups are welcome if they fit in the basket!).

Here’s how it works: book your experience instore or on the Peddly Picnic website, pick up your e-bike and picnic basket from their shop in Tamborine, and set off on a self-guided trail that loops through the mountain’s most celebrated cellar doors, distilleries, cafes, and farm-to-table eateries. Think of it as a progressive picnic on two wheels, with spectacular Scenic Rim views along the way.

And because no one wants to cycle on an empty stomach, the stops are seriously worth braking for.

Kick things off at Picnic Real Food Bar, a wholesome haven from chef Brenda Fawdon, where organic produce and closed-loop sustainability are the order of the day (literally – your scraps are composted back into the soil!).

Just a quick pedal away, Loborn Distillery offers a modern Australian take on amaro, the iconic Italian aperitif. Learn about their sips and soak in the mountain magic.

For wine and beer fans, roll on to Witches Falls Winery and Boxer Brewing Co for a double delight of wild ferment wines on one side, crisp lagers and ciders on the other.

Cauldron Distillery stirs the pot. Set across seven scenic hectares, it’s home to award-winning gins and brand-new agave spirits, best enjoyed with woodfired pizza on the sprawling lawn.

Then coast down to Saint Marthe Brasserie for a French feast before swapping your wine glass for a coffee cup at the Tamborine Mountain Coffee Plantation, where beans are grown, roasted and brewed right where you sip them.

Of course, no Peddly Picnic is complete without a little nature time. Park your bikes at Curtis Falls Track for a short rainforest walk to one of the region’s prettiest waterfalls or take in the views from Robert Sowter Park Lookout, the perfect place to lay out your picnic and watch paragliders drift over the rim.

If you’re anything like us, you’ll want a rest after all the sipping, snacking and cycling. With new accommodation, boutique stays, cabins and glamping spots popping up across the mountain, you might just be tempted to make a weekend of it. Tamborine Mountain is a few degrees cooler than the coast, making it the ideal summer escape.

So if you’re craving a day that’s equal parts adventure and indulgence, get geared up for a trip to Tamborine Mountain.

To book your ride, head to peddlypicnics.com.au.

Where: 43 Main St, Tamborine Mountain
When: 8.30am – 4pm Thursday – Sunday, 9am –  1pm Monday

Words by Lisette Drew

STORY SPONSORED BY PEDDLY PICNICS

Wellness can feel like a complicated chemistry experiment these days. Ten thousand steps here, three litres of water there, a sprinkle of meditation, a dash of manifestation and namaste – you’re suddenly an enlightened guru!

But what if you could skip the juggling act and find your zen in one place?
Big ask, we know, but we’ve found it (and you’re welcome). SOL Elements in Tamborine Mountain is your one-stop sanctuary for self-care, and it officially opens this week!

Four years in the making, husband-and-wife duo Russell and Shae Raven have poured heart, soul and an extraordinary amount of detail into this “floating” elemental bathhouse. Designed in collaboration with Design Artisan Co, SOL sits on the lake’s edge – home to turtles, ducks and curious native birdlife – with a circular exterior that appears to hover over the water.

Look closer and you’ll see layers of meaning in every angle. Beneath its curves lies a sacred geometry hexadecagon (that’s a 16-sided shape, for those of us who had to Google it), symbolising the bridge between earth and the divine.

Inside, a Yin Yang Zen Garden blooms around an Eastern Red Bud tree – a nod to the balance of masculine and feminine energy – and Yakisugi (traditional Japanese burnt wood) clads the space, each piece personally hand-burnt by Russell under the guidance of Japanese master craftsman Kenji Nishishita. This is a bathhouse with soul and serious design cred.

Inspired by the four elements – earth, air, fire, and water – SOL is all about unplugging from constant notifications and reconnecting with nature. And yes, phones are off the menu here (cue the collective sigh of relief).

Just 50 minutes from both the Gold Coast and Brisbane, this lush mountain escape is cocooned in rainforest and waterfalls. The soundtrack? Birds, breeze and water – no Spotify required.

From the moment you step inside, you’re guided on an immersive, soul-deep journey. Here’s the low-down:

Communal Bathhouse
Your SOL adventure starts in the Earth Suite and Botanical Scrub Bar – a lush living wall framing a four-metre ironbark slab topped with 111 hand-carved bowls. This is where you create your own luxe body scrub, choosing from ingredients like Australian sea salt, chamomile flowers, hibiscus, spirulina and rose petals – a sensory warm-up before your soak.

Then, it’s time to glide between three outdoor magnesium thermal pools (a toasty 38°C), two bracing 12°C cold plunges, a cedar wood sauna with glass-fronted lake views, a “silent” botanical steam room, and a glowing Himalayan salt cave. Float past the submerged outdoor firepit, tucked just below water level for a dreamy “fire on water” moment. With a cap of 30 guests at a time, it’s intimate, peaceful and worlds away from the hustle.

Elemental Secluded Suites
Need a little “do not disturb” moment? Retreat to one of two secluded suites (yes, one is dog-friendly) with your own mineral bath on the balcony, indoor infrared sauna, ice bath, panoramic lake views, and a private Earth Lab for exclusive scrubs and volcanic clay masks. There’s even a wellness mini-bar stocked with herbal teas by Cloud Hidden (including a cooling white tea called Resonance and a focus-boosting red tea called Transcendence) plus signature “spatinis.”

Float Caves
For a full mental reboot, sink into a magnesium float cave – infused with a powerful blend of Epsom and Dead Sea salts for next-level buoyancy. No noise, no phones, just you, water and bliss.

Massage & Treatments
Finally, drift into the Alchemy Spa where rituals by Synthesis Organics are designed to elevate your elemental journey. There are six bespoke treatments, including the two-hour Signature SOL Transcendence Ritual (energy cleansing, crystal hot stones, facial techniques and a restorative scalp treatment) and the Earthing Immersion – a hot stone and sound journey using stones respectfully gathered with permission from Indigenous Elders across Australia, each with its own connection to the land’s ancient energy.

This isn’t just a bathhouse. It’s an experience built with intention in every detail – from the burnt timber cladding to the bronze fixtures, from the lake-level firepit to the herbal tea station. And now, it’s yours to sink into.

Where: Tamborine Mountain Glades, Cedar Creek Falls Rd & Tamborine Mountain Rd, Tamborine Mountain
When: Monday to Thursday, 8am – 8pm, Friday to Sunday, 8am – 10pm

Words by Lisette Drew