“Focused on Satisfying the Five Senses”
Reviewed May 16, 2011
Have you ever stood alone on a street corner waiting for someone to take
you on an adventure; someone who promised to tantalize your every
sense? To experience the pleasure of some of the most beautiful
Australian Valley terrain the eye has to see, vibrant colours of
flowering trees, the bouquet smell of the finest wines made in
Queensland; a taste of heaven. My wife and I met Peter in front of our
hotel. We had just wished some friends a pleasant day when we turned and
Peter called our names as if he was speaking to us as an old friend.
The connection was so warm, so personable, and so right!
Peter
walked us to his car, an immaculately clean SUV and then we were off on
an all day adventure. As we sped way, Peter prepared our senses by
sharing a snippet of what we were about to experience. We drove to
Tambourine Mountain Valley. The drive began as hilly landscape with
outcrops of stunning panoramas and climaxed as mountainous rainforest
that is forever etched in our memories.
We had booked a wine
tasting tour, but the day became more of a history of the land, the
people that made the land what it has become, and what the land has
provided to the families that live and work the land; the fruit of the
valley. My wife and I learned more about different wines, and wine
making than we have ever known before. We sampled Queensland’s finest at
five different wine tasting vineyards and cellars.
All the while
as we rolled along the country roads, Peter shared his knowledge of the
wine industry that has flourished right in his backyard, for Peter lives
in the Valley he is showcasing. He told of families, years earlier
building spectacular houses, planting vintage European vines creating
the heritage that Queensland celebrates today. We gently swirled the
wines of harvest of the last two years to cherish the wonderful smells
of the wines as our senses became aroused to their taste on our tongue.
My wife saw Kangaroo crossing signs along the roadway. She wanted to
see kangaroo in the wild. Peter made her dream come true! He knew
exactly where to drive to fulfill her wish. Peter shared a day in his
world with us and made himself a friend of ours for life. You can tour
the same countryside with other tour guides but none as focused on
satisfying the five senses of the body.
Lynn and John Martine
Bellville Texas, May 15, 2011
“A great day out!”
Reviewed June 28, 2011
Despite the freezing weather this was a fantastic way to spend a day.
Went to a variety of places, and tried wines, etc that normally I
wouldn't. Friendly atmosphere, value for money, and the lunch was great!
Would make a really great gift. The pick up and drop service was
awesome, no worrying about who has to drive. You're in good hands when
you do this tour!
“Fantastic day out”
Reviewed July 19, 2011
NEW
We had a wonderful experience with Cork "N Fork Winery Tours from the
moment Judi picked us up at our Gold Coast hotel until she dropped us
off again. Judi has a sixth sense when it comes to knowing what her
clients want from the experience and she certainly delivers. Her
knowledge and local insight of the area was enlightening, and on
realising it was our first visit to the mountain she took the time to
show us the sights and gave us tips on how to get the best from our time
at Mt Tamborine. Judi showed us many attractions that we could
otherwise have missed and because of this we will definitely go back to
Mt Tamborine for a longer visit. All the wineries we visited were
excellent and we certainly made some very enjoyable purchases of wine,
olive oils and flavoured balsamic vinegars. Witches Falls and AU
Wineries were among our favourites and I can't wait to spend a sunny
Sunday afternoon at AU, enjoying some music , good wine and delicious
cheese and bread platters. Meeting the winery owners was a bonus and
made the experience more personal. Our lunch at Heritage Wineries,
included in the cost of the tour, was astonishingly good, my husband
said it was the best steak he ever had anywhere in his life. Again, we
will definitely go back to Heritage Wineries, not only for the food and
wine but also the views and the best roaring log fire you will ever see.
We were lucky to enjoy a visit to the Distillery and samples some
awesome, and very potent, liquors and vodka! Judi was also kind enough
to take us to The Cheese Factory, where we bought some Red Leicester and
Tamembert (Mt Tamborines own camembert cheese) that was to die for.
Judi is an excellent host, very down to earth, friendly and welcoming.
We wondered what we would find to chat about for a whole day but the
conversation flowed as if we had known each other for years. This tour
is definitely a must do for anyone visiting Brisbane, the Gold Coast or
Mt Tamborine.
“A fantastic way to spend the day!”
Reviewed July 19, 2011
NEW
A great tour is 50% attraction and 50% tour guide and we were lucky
enough to have excellence in both. Pete was a wonderful tour guide with
years of knowledge and interesting anecdotes to bring the tour alive -
he is genuinely passionate about the area and the wine and clearly
maintains good relationships with the wineries we visited. The wineries
were all quite different but all beautiful with friendly staff. We
sampled a WIDE variety of wines and had the opportunity to make
purchases at each winery (although in no way pushed to buy!).
A very enjoyable tour - I'd recommend it to anyone - except a tee-totaller!!
Hi Peter
Just a quick note to thank you for a fantastic day yesterday - we are already looking for our next free weekend to book again!!
Thanks to our hosts at the cellar doors - it was great to hear
stories and learn a little about the making of our favourite drink!
Thank you
Katie and Michelle
Name:
Phil & Jan
Guppy
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Date24
Mar 2010
Please
write your enquiryHi Pete & Judi, thank you for a
great tour we had on Wednesday 23rd March 2010. We had a great time and
thoroughly enjoyed the personal touch Pete gave us. We will be
spreading the word! Keep in touch! Cheers Jan & Phil
28/3/2010
Dear Judi
Thank you so much for a wonderful weekend, last
weekend. I was so delighted when my husband, for a surprise, booked a
winery tour for my 30th birthday with all the girls. It was the best
day and you were a fantastic host and bus driver. Your knowledge and
down-to-earth personality made the day very enjoyable. All of the girls
thought that it was great and some have recommended it to friends. The
wineries on your tour were great and they were a wonderful mixture - our visit
to the schnapps disterillery was a great surprise and enjoyed by
everyone.
The lunch was also beautiful - what more could a girl
want.... great food, great wine, great friends, great family and a few great
laughs.
I will have fond memories of my birthday and wish to
thank you very much for that. I loved the tour and loved Mt. Tambourine.
You have a wonderful mountain and I will be revisiting it within the next 12mths
with my husband and family.
Thanks again.
Kindest Regards
Tammy MacAndrews - happy customer!
:-)
Wednesday 2nd Dec 2009
Hello Judi
I wanted to touch base and thank you for our successful group
tour over the weekend. Already we have feedback from half the group and
everyone has rated the tour as good to excellent, actually 70% said it was
excellent and the other 30% said it was good. No one said it was average or
below.
Also, we had some individual comments i wanted to share with you.
- Bus driver was great, all the
wineries had wonderful staff and we were looked after very well. Very very
hot day. ...
- Great bus driver.
- loved this tour. Great driver
and wineries. Lunch was wonderful.
- Very hot in the restaurant at
lunch
- The lunch on this trip was
outstanding. I will definetely be going back and also recommending this
tour to others.
Thank you! What a brilliant way for a group to enjoy a day
out together. I will be definitely including your tour again when we next have
a holiday group on the Gold Coast.Kind regards
A Rendezvous for Singles
Questions/Comments
Just
wanted to let you know, that back in 2001 I took a full day tour with
my then boyfriend and mother. We are still raving about the tour to
anyone who is asking us what is good to do. James and I were so taken
with Albert River Winery that we celebrated our wedding there in June
2004.
It is lovely to see that the business is thriving and we look
forward to joining you on a tour in the future ... when we can get a
babysitter for our 2 young children: ages 2 and 4.
Best wishes
Claudine
20/02/2009
Hi Judi & Peter,
Just thought I would send a photo from our wine tour that we went on
Last Friday (20th February).
Rod and I had a great day and can't wait
to do another tour with you.
We were on holidays for 10 days and out of all of those days the wine tour was the best. Peter is a great host.
Thankyou and can't wait to do it again.
>From Rod and Lee-Anne.
7/3/2009
Kim O wrote:
Hi Judi & Peter,
Thankyou again for making our day so memorable. I have never been on a
winery tour before and I can assure you my first won't be my last.
You
can expect to see us again with others in tow. My sister was so
delighted and it's probably the first present I have given that she
was
really blown away. I still can't believe I kept it a secret for so long.
Have a great Week, Kim :)
10/1/2009
Hello Peter
Mara here, we had a great day, not having to worry about driving, best hospitality and relaxed atmosphere, peter your personality and friendly nature are the best.
Especially enjoyed John's personality and dancing at Cedar Creek Winery! Thank you! Mara
13/12/2008
Hi Judi and Peter
I just wanted to let you both know that we had the best day! Judi's knowledge and her ability to choose wines that suit all of us is amazing. this is my second trip and I will be back again. We loved everything, great products and terrific service.
Thanks Leonie
Hi Judi
My family and I came on a winery tour with your husband Peter last
Saturday (10th January 2009)
and I'd like to say thanks for providing us
with such professional yet personal service. We all had
the best time
especially our darling Mum who doesn't get the opportunity to get out
& about much.
Not only was the tour informative it was also
entertaining and most importantly, extremely relaxing.
We, as a
family, now have fond memories of an enjoyable day spent together
(celebrating the old timer's (baby sister!) 40th birthday).
Once again thank you both. My mission now is to work on my boss to
ensure that he will choose
Cork n Fork as our next Christmas Party
venue! Shouldn't be too hard as he's a lover of wine ... &
luckily
for me, a push over.
Hope to meet you both again later this year.
Regards
Mara Renwick
Toni wrote:
The winery tour with Peter was awesome. It was the best day I've had
in ages.
Peter was informative,entertaining and a fabulous host. I
*loved* the Cedar Creek Winery
& could have stayed there for the rest
of my life - would the owners like an adopted daughter??!
The meal
was yummy and the staff were very professional and helpful too. I
will definitely
be recommending your tour to family and friends.Many thanks
Toni
_______________________________________________________
27/12/2008
Shane wrote: We found cork n fork through the Cedar Creek winery Glow worm tours link/
we are so glad we did!My partner and i had a great time with the best part of no driving
so no worrying about the amount of alcohol consumed.Everything about the day was great.
Thanks. Shane and Jackie
___________________________________________
Kate wrote:
Judi and Peter
Hello to you both. Mum and I just wanted to say THANK YOU SOOOOOOO MUCH for a wonderful day.
Mum has been talking about it ever since. We truly enjoyed ourselves and
everything about the day
was pleasureable. (especially having a man to
carry our shopping!!) We felt as though
we'd known you both for a long
time as you were so easy to talk to and we truly enjoyed your company.
Also, the meal, service and atmosphere at Cedar Creek was sensational -
if you could please pass on our compliments to them. I will be
recommending your services to anyone who'll listen!
__________________________________________
Andrea and I really enjoyed the day and would certainly recommend Cork n Fork to anyone wanting to visit our wine region.
In addition to not having to drive, we felt we were given the VIP treatment by
any place we visited (a testament to your good relations with the wineries) and Peter's background
information was certainly something we would not have had we self-drove. Many thanks again and
hope you and Peter have a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Best regards,Keer
________________________________________________
Aloha from hawaii-
Hi Judi and Peter
We took your full day tour last year February and we will be back in
Coolangatta February 11, 12, 13. 2008.
This time another couple will be
joining us, and hopefully we can drag the boys away from the surf....
checking availability for the listed dates. Hopefully for 4 people and
not just 2.
Attached the photos of our last trip- we enjoyed ourselves, even though
the best waves at
snapper rock were on the day I booked the tour! My
boyfriend was still happy....
Francine
______________________________________________________
Dear Peter and Judi
Well here it is, the big thankyou to you for a fabulous time. What
a special way to spend my birthday with family,
friends, good wine and
company. We all had such a great day. Peter is so casual and friendly
and the best part
was that we were never rushed. Sometimes on Wine
Tours you can feel pressured to hurry and not enjoy
yourselves but not
with CorknFork. You are obviuosly well respected and liked in your
community and that is
something to be proud of. I would also hope that
you could pass on our thanks to the lovely lady at Albert River
Winery
who actually taught us about wine and gave me a Pug Dog postcard for my
birthday.
Cheers Julie Boydston
_______________________________________________
Hi Judi
Just a quick (although belated) note to say many
thanks for a memorable tour you gave Ken and myself of your
wonderful Mount
Tamborine territory.We felt truly privileged to be your only guests for
the day and to have you
exclusively to ourselves.We have not stopped talking about the tour and the
delightful lunch we had at
Cedar Creek (hope I got that right !!). I'd
kill for a copy of that pasta recipe!! Once again, many thanks for
the tour and also the
wine glasses. We will think of you each time we use them.
Kind regards
Gay Papworth
_______________________________________________
Hi Judi & Pete
Just wanted to thank you so very very very much for our wonderful weekend.
The
Food was great and the knowledge you has been given to us to help us
appreciate
wine more was fantastic. We had the best time and I am
hoping to organise a couples weekend
in November for my birthday maybe
just a day trip beer & wine. Pete is fantastic and we apologise
if
we were rowdy but we had an excellent time. I will be sure to
reccommend you to anyone that
asks as you really offer a fantastic fun
outing.
Hope to see you both again soon.
Cheeers
Annette Hart
_______________________________________________
Hi Peter and Judy
Just a comment on your
tour. Colleages and I went on a tour with you about 18 months ago and
thought how excellent it was and what a great time we had, we still
talk of it.Friends and I went on
a wine tour in the Yarra Valley, Vic.
this weekend and of course compared it to your tour. Not even close.
As far as we were concerned there was just no comparison at all. It
was a bit of a lecture tour.
The food was not near as good. There was
no souvenir to take home. The driver had not a lot to say during the
journey.
We went to 4 wineries for a full day tour.So even though this
is long overdue, thankyou for the excellent time we had.
I have
recommended your tours to others and will continue to do
so.
Regards Christine Mocker
________________________________________________
Hello Peter & Judi
I would just like to say thankyou again for our
Wine Tour on the 21st Oct. The girls had such a great time and well worth the
money.
Peter you really did look after us, keep up the good work, I'm sure
you got a laugh out of us. Cheers for now.
The Ballina Girls.
________________________________________________
(testimonial--I'll be sure to attach a picture once I get them back! I just
got back to New York the other day)
Hi Peter and Judi,
I just want to let you know that I had so much fun on BOTH of the wine
tours I did with Peter.
The first time was so memorable, I had to bring my
mother and sister back to experience it all over again with me.
The tour
wasn't just all about wine---it was about good food, good wine and also good
company. I especially enjoyed
all the little tid bits of information Peter
would give us throughout the tour. Not only did I become more aware of the
different types of Queensland wine, I also got a wonderful little picture of the
wine community up there on Tamborine Mountain.
It was an unforgettable
experience and I've recommend you guys to all of my fellow students at
Bond. I'm now back home
in New York City and you can be certain
that if I ever hear of any city slickers going to visit the land down
under,
I'll be sure to send them your way. Take care!
Kristen Oliveri
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Love your newsletter...very informative. Talk soon H
