Wine | Postcards From Here and There

5 Reasons to Visit The Margaret River Region

The town of Margaret River is 277km south of Perth in Western Australia and is a good three hour drive. The distance means that it is better to plan to visit the region for a few days rather than just take a day trip from the city and the town of Margaret River makes for a good base. The town has a good variety of cafes, bars, restaurants and shops as well as an excellent Farmers market which is held every Saturday morning.

We rented a very well equipped Airbnb apartment just a short walk from the town centre and we were very pleased with our choice. we very much enjoyed our four day stay in the region and would thoroughly recommend a visit if you are visiting Perth.

The Margaret River wine region. The Margaret River produces less than three percent of the wine made in Australia but twenty percent of the countries premium wines so this is the area to visit if you want to try some of Australias best wines. There are over two hundred wineries in the region and many have cellar doors open for tastings for only a few dollars. Some of our favourite visits were to Vasse Felix, Cullen, McHenry Hohnen and Domaine Naturaliste.

Beaches. The town of Margaret River is only 9Km inland from the Indian Ocean so a visit to a beach while you are in the area is a must. Prevelly is the closest and is a lovely white sand beach and just a short walk away from the mouth of the Margaret River itself which is a good place to rent a kayak if the fancy takes you. As you might expect surfing is a very popular activity in this part of Western Australia and if you don’t fancy having a go yourself there are excellent viewing platforms for you to catch the action at Surfers Point. Gnarabup beach is also pretty close to town. There are ofd course many others in the area if you don’t mind a slightly longer drive.

Cape Naturaliste. The cape is in the north of the Margaret River region just north west of the town of Duinsborough. Its beautiful here with some excellent beaches at Eagle Bay, Meelup and Bunker Bay. There is a nice short walking track around the Cape Naturaliste lighthouse which gives you a good feel sense of the landscape and its vegetation as well as affording some excellent views. Close to Eagle Bay Beach is the Eagle Bay Brewing Company, a small microbrewery, restaurant and vineyard, it ticks all the right boxes in my opinion.

Caves. The limestone caves, located in the Leeuwin-Naturaliste ridge, formed one million years ago and are well worth investigating if you feel like you need a break from beaches and wine tasting. Four caves are open to the public, all are spectacular but do have slightly different viewing options. We only had time to visit one and chose Mammoth Cave as it was relatively close to the town of Margaret River and offered a self guided tour using personal headsets to provide a commentary. Self guided means that you can go at your own pace and enjoy the spectacular rock formations. Close by is Lake Cave, the smallest and deepest cave so it has plenty of stairs to climb. Jewel Cave is the largest and tours are fully guided. Ngilgi Cave is in the north of the region and a visit here can be combined with a trip to Cape Naturaliste. Have a look here for some useful information to help you make the best choice of cave to visit.

Cape to Cape Track. The track is a long distance walking route along the Leeuwin-Naturaliste ridge joint Cape Leeuwin in the south to Cape Naturaliste in the north. It is 123Km in length and includes cliff top, beach, bush and forest walking. It can be walked as a self guided trek or you can join a guided, small group walk. Conversely if you don’t have the time to spare to complete the whole walk you could walk a small section of the track as a day walk. There are many different options available.

Fleurieu Peninsula Top 5

The Fleurieu Peninsula is an hours drive south of Adelaide in South Australia. It is a delightful area to explore as it is largely unexploited by large scale commercial tourism and so is a quiet and tranquil area so close to a large city. The cooling influence of ocean on three sides results in a climate that avoids excessive heat in the summer while still being warm and pleasant. The area is renown for its wines, beaches and cuisine made with local produce. Often overlooked by tourists to South Australia it is well worth spending a couple of days here.

The McLaren Vale. The McLaren Vale is one of Australia’s oldest wine regions with vines first planted as long ago as 1838. The regions reputation as one of Australia’s best is centred around its red wines, most notably Shiraz but there are so many other wines to explore here including some superb old vine Grenache and a range of exciting whites. With over 65 cellar doors open to the public for tastings there is much to discover in the region. Many visitors head for the futuristic looking tasting room at d’Arenberg and the experience here is like no other in the region as it also includes the Alternative Realities Museum as well as an exhibition of fine art. There are however many other fantastic places to visit, personal favourites of mine include Coriole, Battle of Bosworth and Yangarra. To get the best out of the area pick up a map of the wine region from the tourist information centre situated at 796 Main Road at the northern end of the town of McLaren Vale. I have written separate articles about the region in general and visits to d’Arenberg and Yangarra.

Willunga. A short drive south fromMcLaren Vale is the town of Willunga. The distance may well be short but the two towns couldn’t be more different. Willunga is one of the oldest towns in South Australia and can date its origins back to the 1840s and it retains much of the old town feel where times moves at a gentle pace.The Main Street has a great selection of cafés, restaurants, bars and shops. It is a place to linger over that cup of coffee and just let the hustle and bustle of the day pass you by. If you are lucky enough to visit at the weekend then don’t miss the much heralded Willunga Farmers Market which is held in the town every Saturday morning, it offers some of the best produce that the region has to offer.Visitors in January (exact dates vary) may catch the colour and excitement of a stage of the Tour Down Under cycle race which tradtionally includes an ascent of Willunga which ascends as you head south out of the town.

Victor Harbor. The town of Victor Harbor on the south coast of the peninsula is about as busy as it gets, especially in the summer m months when it becomes the go to holiday destination of the region. The highlight for me was Granite Island which is linked t the town by a wood built pier. A horse drawn tram is a big attraction and will take you across in relative comfort but it is also a pleasant walk if you are on a budget. Once on the island a well defined path, complete with strategically placed sculptures, takes you on a circuit of the island and affords some stunning coastal and sea views. If you walk in an anticlockwise direction you will finish at the café which makes good refreshment stop. It is a pleasant walk, relatively short but with much to recommend it. If you visit Victor Harbor between June and September you can take whale watch trips to see migrating Southern Right Whales. The South Australian Whale Centre on Railway Terrace is the place to visit for all the information you may need. The Encounter Bikeway is a 31Km path that links Victor Harbor with the beach town of Goolwa, passing through the pretty town of Port Elliot. We struggled to find suitable bike hire on our visit which was disappointing but probably says something about our lack of planning as it was very much a spur of the moment decision to ride it.

Beaches. The Fleurieu Peninsula has more than its fair share of magnificent beaches many of which are big enough for a good walk and finding your own spot well away from other visitors. Many are just a short drive from Adelaide and make for a perfect day trip from the city if you don’t have time to explore the region in full. These include Christies, Maslin which has some wonderful cliffs with layers of different colours, Sellick/Aldinga which allow vehicles to be driven onto the sand though visitors will have to pay a small fee and Port Willunga. Further afield there are great beaches at the southern end of the peninsula including Goolwa and Horseshoe Bay in Port Elliot. No visit to South Australia is complete without a visit to the beach and you are spoilt for choice.

Cape Jervis. At the southern tip of the peninsula is the small town of Cape Jervis. From here you can catch the ferry to Kangaroo Island which sails hourly between 9am and 7pm in the summer but with fewer daily sailings in the winter. The Cape Jervis Lighthouse located on the headland has been in operation since 1871 but the current structure replace the original in1972. Its design is somewhat unusual being in the form of an inverted pyramid. The Deep Creek Conservation Park is just a short drive east of Cape Jervis and is the largest area of natural vegetation on the peninsula. With walking trails and camping grounds it provides the perfect opportunity to see wildlife in its natural habitat.

Yangarra Wine Estate

I have an admission to make, I loved everything about our visit to Yangarra. Arriving late in the afternoon the cellar door was quiet, calm, relaxed and very comfortable. for a short tasting of these super wines. The estate is a short fifteen minute drive from the town of McLaren Vale and just 2.5Km from the small town of Kangarilla. It is well worth the effort especially if Rhone varietals are your wines of choice. Located at 809 McLaren Flat Road the cellar door is open six days a week Monday to Saturday between 11am and 5pm. It is only a small space so try to avoid busy times such as Saturday and public holidays. These are wines for contemplation and should be savoured and enjoyed, you certainly don’t want to have to rush your tasting.

Yangarra, an aboriginal word meaning ‘from the earth’, is a single estate vineyard with all wines made from grapes grown here. Vines are grown in 35 blocks covering a total area of around 100 hectares. Low yielding old bush vine Grenache is a key varietal here. Other significant plantings are of Shiraz, Mourvedre, Cinsault and Carignan for the reds and Rousanne and Viognier for the whites. There are also up to eleven other varieties grown but in much smaller quantities.

Yangarra enjoys a moderate mediterranean climate with warm days for grape development and cool nights to preserve freshness and acidity. There are three distinct soil types found on the property. On the western side there is a sandwich of layers topped with semaphore sand. This provides the ideal environment for producing Grenache of depth and complexity. The central region sees little of the sand with exposed ironstone and a thin layer of clay while to the east the soil is a silty loam.

The estate has been organic since 2008 and certified biodynamic in2012. All wines have been certified biodynamic since the 2013 vintage. The philosophy here is one of minimum intervention, doing only what is absolutely necessary to produce wines of character, elegance and complexity. Wine making uses mechanical sorting and no crushing. Fermentation is in open top vessels and uses wild yeasts only. Pressing uses a modern stainless steel version of the traditional basket press. Wines are predominantly aged in old French oak so that oak doesn’t overly dominate allowing the wines true character to shine.

Estate Old Vine Grenache 2018. From fruit grown in four different blocks on 70 year old vines and matured for nine months in old French oak. Medium in body with delicious red fruits and perfumed dried herbs. Savoury with a lovely finish.

Ovitelli Grenache 2017. Fruit comes from block 30 where the vines are around 70 years old. Fermented and aged in ceramic amphora. A wild ferment with extended skin contact followed by maturation in the amphora, the wine has seen no oak at all. Elegant, perfumed red fruits with a touch of delicate spice. A delightful wine.

High Sands Grenache 2015. Only 2000 bottles of this superb wines were made. There are six blocks of old vine Grenache at Yangarra and this wine is made from fruit grown in block 31 which has vines almost seventy years old. It is located at a height of 210m and this is where the underlying sand is at its deepest and the vines most stressed. Vinification was 50% whole berry, 50?/5 destemmed with an open ferment using wild yeast. The wine was matured for eleven months in old French oak barrels. The nose is complex and beguiling with cherry, red berries and violets. The palate is wonderfully balanced and the fruit sings on through coupled with a lovely savouriness. If you are a lover of old vine Grenache you have to try this wine. Excellent stuff.

Estate Shiraz 2017. There are 12 individual blocks of Shiraz at Yangarra and fruit from six is used to make this wine, the average age of the vines is around 20 years. 10% whole bunch, of the remainder 50% was whole berry while the remainder were lightly crushed. A wild ferment was followed by twelve months on lees in French oak of which 25% was new. The nose is enticing with black fruits drawing you into a palate which yields peppery fruit and gentle spice. Great value.

Ironheart Shiraz 2016. Ironheart is made solely with fruit from block 15 which is planted on ironstone gravels. The vines were planted twenty years ago. Fermented with 25% of the fruit whole bunch and the remainder destemmed. Aged for 18 months with 35% in new French oak and 65% in older French oak. Black fruits, peppery spice and a savoury depth. I would love to try this again after a few years bottle age as it shows great potential. Excellent.

My only regret was that we didn’t get a chance to taste some of the other wines made here as we’d arrived late in the afternoon. Better planning is required next time. If you get a chance to visit don’t hesitate, get along there.