A Visit of Australia Part 2

Before we start I have a little confession to make. Before we arrived in Perth, I had little knowledge of one of Australia's great wine making regions and where some of the finest wine in the world is made. That is, of course, the Margaret River wine region of Western Australia, an area we were going to be be spending four days.

I mentioned in my last blog that I had always been rather dismissive about Australian wine and for my WSET certificate knowledge of Australia was rather confined to the Hunter Valley in New South Wales and the areas near Adelaide in South Australia. So to 'discover' Margaret River was a bit of a gem.

We were staying in the lovely seaside town of Busselton in the north of the region and travelling in our friends car. They have a young son so getting to a few wineries was going to be difficult but I came across a great idea whilst reading a tourist brochure on our first night in Busselton. A guided tour of the region including 5 wineries, lunch in a brewery and they pick you up and return you to your accommodation. Ace, Louise thought so too so we made the necessary arrangements for two days time.

Gerry and Astuti of Cellar d'Or Winery Tours

Cellar d'Or winery tours is run by Gerry and Astuti Cunningham who we met on the day. They appear to offer the best value tour in the area at AUS$82. I checked them out on Tripadvisor and the feedback was glowing. There are more expensive tours available on which you may see higher profile wineries and perhaps have a more formal lunch but for us they were perfect. I felt relaxed from the second Astuti collected us from our accommodation. We picked up two further couples and made our way to our first winery for our first tasting of the day at around 10.45am!






Yours truly discussing the wines of Mongrel Creek with Shirley

Mongrel Creek is a relatively young winery, having opened in 1996. There slogan is 'No Pretence, No Bullshit'. This marketing angle seemed slightly at odds with the lovely tranquil atmosphere in their beautiful cellar door where we were guided through the wines by Shirley, wife of Larry who own the Vineyard. We started with some fizz, always the best way to start a day, and worked our way through six lovely wines which included a rather delicious sweet red, a style which you hardly ever find in Europe but seems to be something of an Australian speciality. A great start to the day and we came away with a bottle of said sweet red.

Swooping Magpie range of wines

At the next winery we met up with another group meaning that for the rest of the day there would be 13 of us . Swooping Magpie appeared to be a rather larger operation than Mongrel Creek and we were met by owner Neil Tuffield who was clearly very passionate about his wines. With the larger group the atmosphere was busier and there were also some members of the general public in the cellar door. A nice touch was to offer several varieties of cheese and biscuits with the wine and we liked it so much we bought some cheese and biscuits to take home for later along with a rather fine Verdelho, although all the wines were great and I really loved the 'kid on a bike' motif.

Next stop was the Bush Shack Brewery for lunch where we also received a 100ml taster of one of their brews. The lunch consisted of a simple platter of meats, cheeses, pate, bread and salad. Simple, yes but perfect for us and there was more than enough to go round.

Cape Naturaliste, Lovely view shame about the attitude

After lunch we visited the nearby Cape Naturaliste Vineyard in Yallingup and our first poor experience. We were met by Lisa whose presentation style could be most kindly described as 'in yer face'. She started by pouring everyone water and telling us how to taste wine. Now, as someone in the trade this is important, but not so important for tourists out to have a good time. She then told unnecessary stories which included some rather off colour material about lesbianism, I kid you not. Maybe she was just nervous but it did not come across well.

The winery had won quite an auspicious award in London for their Torpedo Rocks Cabernet Sauvignon 2009. Lisa gave us the impression that they were quite nonchalant about entering it, winning it or even collecting the trophy. I noticed they were not quite so nonchalant about charging an eye watering AUS$110 a bottle for said wine with the rest of the wines priced at an also quite pricey AUS$35. A whiff of profiteering filled my nostrils. The general public are a great barometer and when the tasting was over everyone went immediately back to the bus with no one buying anything. This was the only time this happened during the whole day.

Liz and the fabulous House of Cards

Spot on!

The next winery could not have been more different. The House of Cards winery is owned by Travis and Elizabeth Wray and Liz was on hand to guide us through the tasting. The styling of the winery was really beautifully done both with the marketing of their wine and the layout of the Cellar Door. There was lovely cook books, art, jewellery and various ornamental nick nacks to purchase as well as the wine. The wine was also a joy and after trying the full range I purchased a bottle of the 2011 Cabernet Merlot which I have yet to open. It is also the place where I got my favourite photograph of the holiday with me and the Sauvignon Blanc sign. As it's my favourite variety it could not be more appropriate.


The final winery of the day was Fermoy Estate a rather grand winery with considerable pedigree having been opened in 1987 which by Margaret River standards is a long time. I shouldn't say this but I was kind of expecting the same look down your nose attitude that we got at Cape Naturaliste but I'm pleased to say that wasn't the case, indeed the wines we tried were definitely the best of the day. They make quite a big deal about the fact that their wine, the Estate Cabernet Sauvignon was chosen to be served at the Danish Royal Wedding when Australian Mary Donaldson married Crown Prince Frederik in May 2004. We tried the same wine in the 2010 vintage and it was absolutely superb, by far the best wine of the day with soft tannins and lovely chocolate and cherry flavours. A purchase was made.

By this stage we were all tiring, as you probably are reading this, and it was time to say our goodbyes and return to our accommodation but not before Gerry organised a prize draw where one person (sadly neither of us) won, yes you guessed it, a bottle of wine. All in all a fantastic day and something I would recommend to anyone able to visit the fabulous region of Margaret River.

Next time: A visit of Australia Part 3. My personal visit and tour of Barton Jones Wines in Donnybrook, oh and Mitz the dog!

Enjoy your wine. Cheers!

Simon