Queensland's Little Morgue Winery
True to its history as a morgue, the Little Morgue Winery invites all souls to experience the most unusual cellar doors in Australia.
It started as a dream for Hannah and Michael Van der Merwe who over a fifteen year period planned and prepared to open a cellar door on the Sunshine Coast. The fast growing wine industry in Queensland and particularly the Sunshine Coast attracted the family and they moved to the region in 2001.
While looking for an interesting location for a new winery they stumbled upon a much neglected old Morgue. Driving past the property one day they saw a sign up “For Sale - Funeral Parlour” and immediately realised the potential for the building and purchased the property.
Over the space of a year, the Van der Merwes transformed the morgue into the unique cellar door and opened its doors on 6th December 2003.
The building is a landmark in the area. Originally built as a textile factory it was then converted to a morgue, and now into a winery and cellar door. The building style is Gothic with wrought iron through out.
The new interior aims to bring the new and the old aspects of the building together. Hannah designed the stained glass windows in the chapel area that is now a cellar door, utilising her background as an artist.
The cellar door is on the upper level that was originally the chapel. With high vaulted ceilings, there is a viewing platform into the winery operations below. The viewing platform is the glassed in section where the coffins used to be hoisted during services. At the cellar door guests can taste a wide variety of wines, quirkily named such as Dead Smooth, Supreme After Life and Rest in Peace.
The lower level is dug into the ground making it the perfect environment for a cellar with a constant temperature of 18 degrees. This is where the bodies were stored prior to the funeral services, complete with toe tags.
The Little Morgue is now open five days a week (closed Mondays and Tuesdays), 10am to 5pm for light lunches and wine tastings. There is an attractive out door dining area with fountain and gardens.
Sunday is a hive of activity with guests dining Al fresco style at the fountain enjoying the new Morgue Munchies menu. Special functions for small groups during the day or evenings are also very popular.
August 2005 was again an exciting and hard working period with the Little Morgue Winery exhibiting at the Royal Brisbane Show for ten days. It was a most rewarding experience as the Little Morgue walked away with the First Prize for the best wine exhibitor. A lovely trophy was presented to Hannah by the Minister of Tourism, Fair Trading and Wine Development in Queensland, Margaret Keech.