Ridgemill Estate takes gold at the Queensland Tourism Awards

The best tourism winery, distillery or brewery in Queensland this year is five minutes’ drive south of Stanthorpe.

The story of Ridgemill Estate starts in 1998, when Tom and Cath Jimenez planted a vineyard at Severnlea and called it Emerald Hill. Their plan to experiment with alternative grape varieties was, in Ridgemill’s own words, bold and iconoclastic for the Granite Belt at the time.

In 2004 Martin Cooper, a Brisbane project manager, was in the region managing the build of the Queensland College of Wine Tourism. He fell for the landscape, the lifestyle and the wines, came across Emerald Hill, and within a week the Cooper family had bought it. The new name, so the story goes, came out of a trip to Singapore and a few too many gin and tonics with the late designer David Winter. Peter McGlashan joined as head winemaker that same year, and in 2013 the estate grew with the purchase of the neighbouring property.

Today Martin and his wife Michelle Feenan run Ridgemill as a winery and a place to stay: a cellar door open every day, tasting experiences, and cabins among the vines.

On Friday 6 November, at the 41st Queensland Tourism Awards on the Gold Coast, that combination was recognised twice. Ridgemill Estate Winery took gold in Tourism Wineries, Distilleries and Breweries, ahead of Beenleigh Artisan Distillery and the Bundaberg Rum Distillery Visitor Experience. Ridgemill Estate Cabins in the Vineyard took bronze in Self Contained Accommodation. The judges’ citation points to its tastings, its immersive cellar door experiences, its knowledgeable service and a strong commitment to sustainable tourism.

The gold recognises the experience of visiting Ridgemill: the tastings, the cellar door and the people who run it. QWIA’s strategic plan puts wine tourism at the centre of growing demand for Queensland wine, and as QWIA President, Adam Penberthy, put it at our industry night this month, a winery is a tourism business whose product happens to be wine. Ridgemill is proof of what that looks like, judged against the best tourism operators in the state.

The Stanthorpe Festival Association also took silver in Major Festivals and Events.

Congratulations to Martin, Michelle, Peter and the whole Ridgemill team. We wish them every success in the years ahead and many more nights like this one, and here’s to the continued success of Queensland wine.

See all the 2026 winners on the QTIC website