May 28, 2017
Kingaroy State High School students are going into the wine business, and fans of what is arguably the South Burnett’s smallest winery can look forward to a KSHS Rose later this year, along with a port and a sherry.
The school recently expanded their long-standing winemaking program to embrace the entire process of producing and selling wine.
Appropriately for the capital of one of Queensland’s biggest wine regions, KSHS has been home to a small, fully functioning winery since the early 2000s that boasts $100,000 worth of wine-making equipment.
Until now, the school has been using to it to teach students the chemistry of wine-making.
But this year, students studying everything from media and public relations to sales and marketing, IT and creative art will be joining student winemakers to create fully finished products that will be sold to the general public.
The idea is the brainchild of maths and science teacher Ross Whiteford, who was a well-respected international winemaker before he took up teaching.
Ross was chief winemaker for a local winery in the early 2000s, and played an important role in the early development of the South Burnett’s wine industry.
Using his extensive knowledge of the industry – and with the support of KSHS Principal Ashley Roediger – he was recently able to secure a small scale winemaking licence for the school.
This makes Kingaroy State High one of the few in the country able to make and sell the wine that students produce.
In future the winery will function as a school-based enterprise, returning income for reinvestment in the winery, as well as serving as a real-life teaching laboratory for a wide range of business skills.
“Production levels will be low and the styles innovative,” Ross said.
“But importantly, all aspects of the business will involve students and student learning.
“Students will be involved with production, media and public relations, sales and marketing, data management, IT, and creative art in alignment with a number of relevant curriculum areas including science, accounting, legal studies, business, information technology and art.
“Workshops involving professionals both within the school and within the local community will be held to train the students to become productive and proficient in these areas.”
Wine from the business will be sold through the internet, and the school is also planning a presence at the annual Wine and Food in the Park Festival held in Kingaroy every March.
Right now, wine grapes sourced from Clovely Estate’s Moffatdale vineyards are in the vat, slowly being turned into a dry-style rose.
The school has also purchased a $2000 American Oak wine barrel that will ultimately be used to store up to 300 bottles of aged port.
On Saturday, students and principal Ashley Roediger put in some extra-curricular time when they learned the ancient art of how to roll the wine barrel along a concrete path, taking advantage of its convex shape to quickly move it along end-over-end.
Ross was quick to point out the High School will not be competing with the region’s commercial wineries, and all wine produced by the school will be securely stored.
Students will be unable to sample the output of their efforts until they turn 18.
All the same, their parents will be encouraged to purchase a few bottles to try themselves, or perhaps store away for a post-graduation celebration.
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