The Auswine Forum

All,

Im going to Perth for the next couple of weeks and have a free weekend, so thought I might head south and visit a few wineries. I know in a weekend I wont be able to cover too much - say half a dozen wineries over the two days, including a drive down from Perth (maybe a Fri evening depart) and Sun late PM return to Perth.

Im interested in smaller places, and am partial to the rieslings as well as nice reds.

I'd welcome any suggestions on:
- Regions, wineries and places to visit
- Places to stay
- Where to eat

Thanks in advance, Mark

Mark

Being from Perth and being a Margaret river fan I think I can guide you.

Accomm: if you are cashed up then stay in Bunker Bay resort,it is part of the Accor group and is located just out of Dunsborough, some 20 mins drive from the wineries. Otherwise I would recommend any of the chalet style stays in the region ( Google margaret river chalets).

Wineries: I really enjoy Woodlands which is a small family run non pretentious winery with a focus on Chardonnay and Cabernet. Note that very few MR wineries do Riesling. The best Riesling is about about 1-2 hour drive further south in the porongurups. MR is all about Cabernet and Chardonnay.

Vasse felix: very flash and a bit over the top but great wines

voyager estate: I really enjoyed. Very opulent but not arrogant once you get to cellar door tastings. Their cab sav/ merlot is superb as is their Shiraz.

Moss wood. Difficult to get a tour and tasting as it needs to be booked but probably the greatest tour and tasting I have ever had. Outstanding from the Mugfords.

Others: Woody Nook and cape grace are smaller quirkier wineries which I enjoy. Under the radar wineries but very friendly and quality wines.


For food we usually stop at the cheeky Monkey brewery which is in the heart of the district. good food, relaxing, nice setting and many beers , wines.

Also throughout the district are many boutique food outlets - olives,cheese, chocolates etc. We enjoy and recommend Providore.

All the best

Cheers
Mark

I can second Voyager for lunch...try Brown Hill for the best value reds in MR IMO. Hilltop Studios for accom.

I'd second most of the above, adding the fact that Vasse Felix has, in my view, the best high end restaurant in the region.

If you get down as far as Voyager it's worth pushing on to Leeuwin. Further north, Flametree is excellent and while the wine at Wise is more solid than spectacular it's worth a stop for the ocean views.

Smith's Beach another accommodation recommendation - if you've got a decent budget.

Thanks all, hopefully I'll be able to make it down and try some of the suggestions.
Regards Mark

I strongly recommend Ashbrook for its rieslings, and for all of its other wines. Remarkable fruit purity from a 40 year old vineyard.

When you have limited time grouping your intended visits is the key. MR is surprisingly large, and the wineries *can* take longer to get to than you think, especially the inland ones because its all criss-cross roads, some windy, some still unsealed, so you DON'T want to end up spending most of the time hiking between stops.

For pure value-for-your-time it's hard to beat starting at the top (Yallingup) end of Caves Road and basically tracing down the coastline. Credaro Family Estate is a a quirky first stop. Wills Domain for views, Semillon and Chardonnay. Down to the Willyabrup heartland of MR and you have Lenton Brae (still the best SSB in the region), Moss Wood (Mark Perth is bang on: if you want to call and try and arrange an appointment it;s totally worthwhile), Woodlands (definitely a great boutique winery to visit), then Pierro (quintessential MR chardonnay), Brookland Valley (commercial now but still great wines), the Cullen ('nuff said) and Vasse Felix. If you still have anything left in the tank then Howard Park, Juniper and Thompson are all right there as well.

For a winery lunch you can't go past Cullen or Vasse Felix. Anywhere you DO want to eat, book NOW. That goes for any evening restaurants you want to try as well. You'd be amazed at how hard it can be to get in somewhere even on like a Tuesday night.

Day 2 then is the southern end: Cape Mentelle, Stella Bella, Watershed (also an awesome restaurant), Voyager (stunning) and Leeuwin (fine dining with spectacular wines; sometimes they do actually have some Art Series Chard open, which is a nice treat) and also worth it just for the beautiful surrounds and imaging the WA Symphony Orchestra playing with Sting or whoever on the grass with 4000 people partying:).

High end staying options as others have said - Smiths Beach Resort is just fantastic if you want something on the ocean and 5.5 star fully self-contained accommodation, Bunker Bay Resort is really lovely if that's your thing and the restaurant there is pretty good (Wise Wines is round the corner; another great restaurant), Seashells in Yallingup is more your 4-star hotel/studio property with a nice restaurant and the very old school Caves House pub, or also as Mark suggested find yourself a nice little house for hire somewhere.

Both Margaret River and Dunsborough are great towns to visit: lots of good food options - the MR Hotel in town itself is also a really nice and easy accommodation option, and Settlers Tavern has great burgers and probably the best wine list of any simple but great pub I've ever been in.

Seriously you could spend a week there and not scratch the surface, but a whirlwind couple of days it a really wonderful way to spend some time. Have fun!!!

Thanks all for your responses.

Unfortunately I fractured a toe (kicked it in my hotel room) so couldnt spend the weekend down south. Maybe next time .....

Regards Mark