Romavilla Winery, Heritage winery in Roma, Queensland, Australia
Romavilla Winery is a heritage-listed winery at 77 Northern Road, Roma, Queensland, built in 1877–1878 of cypress and imported Oregon pine. The earliest section housed the entire wine-making process, from crushing and fermentation in vats to maturing in barrels and bottling, and incorporated a large underground cellar. The building was extended several times and was mostly destroyed by fire on 22 June 2023.
Samuel Symons Bassett founded the vineyard in 1866 and constructed the initial buildings between 1877 and 1878, initiating commercial wine production in the Maranoa region. This establishment made it one of Queensland's earliest wine production sites.
Romavilla's wines won their first prize in 1886, then four first prizes out of eight at the 1900 Queensland Exhibition and nine out of ten in 1901, plus medals at competitions in continental Europe. By the late 1960s the winery had collected over 650 certificates and medals in Australia and overseas.
The winery closed in 2012 when the owners retired, and a fire on 22 June 2023 mostly destroyed the historic building at 77 Northern Road. The site is not open for tastings or tours, so plan to view it from outside rather than expecting cellar-door access.
Romavilla was among the first wineries in Australia to cool its fermentation vats with cooling coils, noted when the property passed to The Romavilla Vineyards Limited in August 1904. By 1903 the estate held 170,000 vines on 500 acres, mostly light and dark sandy loam, much of it under irrigation from two recently erected plants.
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