From coffee to wine, a small building in Fortitude Valley is being transformed into Brisbane's first micro-winery and revealing part of the city's history along the way.
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The former site of Campos Coffee on Wandoo Street, behind the upmarket James Street precinct, is about to become City Winery, launching early this year.
Co-founded by former Tasmanian winemaker Dave Cush and managing director Adam Penberthy, City Winery is planned to be not just a winery but a restaurant and event space as well.
The development follows a rising trend in Brisbane of micro-makers, from breweries to distilleries and now wine, creating a space for themselves within the city's limits in old industrial spaces.
Mr Penberthy said one of the challenges was finding the right warehouse that could be converted into an appropriate winery, where grapes from across the country could be brought to be transformed into boutique wines.
After 18 months, the former Campos site was selected as the right location not just for a winemaking space but also a 70-seat restaurant and a private dining room for 20 people within the wine cellar.
Chef Travis Crane will bring paddock-to-plate local food to the planned restaurant, while the winery is planned to be experience-focused, offering visitors the chance to participate in the winemaking process.
Mr Cush, formerly of family-founded Springvale winery on Tasmania's East Coast, said Brisbane had a longstanding history of tiny vineyards and wineries within the city limits.
"Most Brisbane residents probably don’t know that in the 1800s there were over 350 acres of grape vines planted throughout the city," he said.
"The Lamberts had a vineyard along Lambert Road in Indooroopilly, there was substantial vineyards throughout Mitchelton, and of course Carl Gerler who had a 14 acre vineyard along the Brisbane River where Kingsford Smith Drive is today."
A pop-up winery run by the City Winery Team, named Carl's, is at Wyandra Street in Newstead to showcase the micro-winery's range.
The development application submitted to Brisbane City Council showed a proposal for 2000 to 3500 litres of wine on site per year.
Mr Penberthy said while City Winery was still in the planning stage, the reaction from Brisbane residents had been overwhelming, showing how small boutique food and drink businesses were tapping into the market.
"Brisbane’s ready for it, when you just look at that macro-economic story around the city with Howard Smith Wharves and Queen's Wharf and Brisbane Live, it’s a changing city," he said.
"We knew that we would have a positive reception from Brisbane residents for putting something like this in."
