Growing a Region, Not Just a Vineyard

Feb 20
3 min read

The Road Between Brands continues: a series celebrating the real marketing lessons happening far beyond big cities

Each month, we sit down with someone whose work is grounded in place, presence and connection. People who don’t rush the story, but notice it as it unfolds.

This chapter introduces Sue and Warren, the owners behind Pyramids Road Wines in Queensland’s Granite Belt, a region quietly building its reputation through people, not promotion.

What they’ve created isn’t just a vineyard. It’s a place shaped by returning visitors, shared recommendations and a deep connection to the region around them. Their business hasn’t been built through heavy advertising or constant visibility, but through years of conversations, relationships and a network of neighbouring businesses working together.

Through their work, you start to see regional business differently. It’s not about standing out individually, but about contributing to something bigger. A destination, a community, an experience that people come back to.

Their perspective offers a reminder that marketing in regional areas doesn’t follow the same rules. It’s slower, more relational and far less about pushing a message. Because when the product is tied to place, people don’t just buy it, they experience it and it’s that experience that stays.

Understanding the Work

“I think people don’t understand sometimes how wine is made. Once they see the hard work that goes into it, that it isn’t factory-made and that it comes from small producers who really care about their product, they start to get it. They want to be involved in that and they want to drink that kind of wine.”

At the Cellar Door

“People come in and say they don’t know much about wine, and I tell them you don’t have to, you just need to know what you like. People are actually very good judges when they taste something genuine.”

Learning Who Your Customers Are

“When we first started we went to Brisbane, walked the pavements and knocked on restaurant doors trying to sell our wine. It was quite demoralising, so we stopped doing that and decided to focus on our customers and the local tourism community instead.”

How People Really Hear About You

“We don’t spend a lot of money on advertising. For us it’s mostly word of mouth and the support of the regional network around us.”

The Role of Social Media

“Everybody’s on social media. They look up where to go and what’s happening and follow businesses closely. I don’t use it heavily myself, but I’m surprised how many people contact me after finding us online, even radio stations wanting interviews. It’s powerful, and it’s free.”

Working as a Region

“We can’t work individually and compete with all the other brands advertising everywhere. We have to work together across accommodation, attractions and wineries. It has to be the whole experience.”

A Destination, Not an Activity

“You can’t just say come visit a winery. You have to offer a stay, things for the kids, places to eat, activities to do. People come for a few days, not one night.”

Changing the Seasons

“The Granite Belt is known for winter, but we wish people would visit across the whole year. Spring and autumn are beautiful and even summer is wonderful, walking through the vines, swimming, seeing the grapes.”

Looking Ahead

“This region is growing and we all need to keep recommending each other and working as a network, not just wineries but accommodation and food as well. Building those packages together will bring people to the region.”

What we love most about this story is how clearly it captures what actually matters when building a regional brand:

People don’t connect to products alone. They connect to the care, the process and the people behind them.
Regional businesses don’t grow in isolation. The strongest ones are built through shared visibility, recommendations and a network that supports each other.
A destination will always outperform a single offering. People aren’t travelling for one experience, they’re travelling for how a place makes them feel.
Word of mouth still leads. Visibility matters, but trust is what carries a business forward.
Good marketing isn’t always about doing more. Often, it’s about showing what’s already there in a way people can understand.
And growth in regional areas isn’t about competing for attention. It’s about contributing to a place people want to return to.