Boutique cider is a growing industry in Australia, like boutique beer, people are becoming more willing to pay for quality products that are hand-crafted here in Australia, made with Australian ingredients. This is particularly relevant for cider, in which the general population just assume all cider is made from fresh apples. Unfortunately, this is not always the case, there are many large cider companies that make cider by simply diluting and fermenting foreign apple concentrate. A heap of sugar is then added to the end product, with some companies even adding artificial apple aromas and flavours! This is hardly healthy, nor does this process support the large number of hard working apple farmers scattered throughout Australia. However, the rise of boutique cider is changing this common perception, and showing the public what cider made from real apples actually tastes like (and it is so much better than the alternative). Of course, at Oha ...

As winter is nearly upon us here in Childers QLD, it means the 400 Jaboticaba trees in the Ohana Winery and Exotic Fruit orchard will be coming into flower very soon. This means it won’t be long before there will be an abundance of fruit ready for harvest and processing! At Ohana Winery, the Jaboticaba will have one of three fates. The first, and most important, is wine, the second is jam, and the other is for the fruit to be consumed fresh off the tree.

**Image by www.timetravelturtle.com

Childers is a charming little town, situated on the Bruce Highway approximately four hours north of Brisbane. The vibrant red soil, rolling green hills and abundance of activities makes this scenic town the ideal stop for a day or two. Here's our top five activities to spend a day in Childers....

People often ask us here at Ohana Winery…why make fruit wines? Well despite the fact they all taste amazing, they are also full of health benefits. Like with certain grape wines, the fruit wine fermentation process leads to a concentrated amount of certain beneficial vitamins, antioxidants and enzymes. In fact, some fruits even have additional health properties that are not found in grape wines. Below, the winemaker discusses the health benefits of wines produced here at Ohana Winery and Exotic Fruits.

One of the most popular cocktails going around is the Espresso Martini - a concoction of vodka, coffee liqueur, fresh espresso shot and a sweetener. We'll share a secret recipe to easily make them at home!

On Saturday the 11th March, the team at Ohana Winery and Exotic Fruits ventured out to Kingaroy for the South Burnett Wine and Food in the Park. It was a beautiful warm sunny day in Kingaroy and after stocking up on plenty of ice, we were ready to go! After a slow start, things really picked up as the weather cooled down. The crowd were fascinated by the unique products we had for tastings. These included our Lychee Sparkling, Lychee wine, Mango wine, Jaboticaba Rose, Pineapple wine and the old favourites, cold drip coffee liqueur and lemoncello. To our surpirse, it was the pineapple wine that won out on the day. People really enjoy the fresh pineapple aromas and flavours that this wine displays, perfect for drinking on a sunny afternoon. Suddenly, it was 730 and time to pack up! The music and crowd were still pumping and it was an enjoyable afternoon for all. Definitely an event worth visiting! See you in 2017.

Hi everyone,