Margaret River Foodie Tour – Day 8

No pictures today due to an internet, not a wine issue!

Margaret River is about one hundred and fifty miles south of Perth and is renowned as a wine producing area, and also has become a centre for food production. So the car was parked for the day and we took a small bus tour round some foodie high spots. It was a mixed group, another English couple, a couple from New Zealand, while the rest were young people from all over Australia, led by John our knowledgeable guide. As the day progressed we all bonded and by the end of it were everybody’s best friends including me, nothing to do with the forty wines that we tasted.

We started at a coffee roaster where we sampled Ethiopian and New Guinea coffees. It was then onto the first winery, Redgate. You will see from the photographs that when the grapes ripen the vines have to be covered with netting to protect the grapes from birds including emus. It makes the fields seem as though they are covered in a white mist. What was interesting was that each of the wineries that we visited produced anything up to thirty different varieties of wine, quite different from the more specialised production of European producers. Redgate was a small-scale producer unlike the next winery Watershed that was on a very grand scale. It is obvious that wine production is a profitable enterprise here, as in most other parts of the world. The weather by now had improved and it was a glorious sunny day.

Lunch was at a brewery run by an Englishman, ever up for a challenge I tried the tasting flight of beers. Without exception they were excellent, in particular the wheat beer was a standout. I think that it would make an excellent location for a Men’s Book Club, good beer and food!!!! After lunch we visited a creamery for a brief cheese tasting, I thought that the soft cheeses were a little bland, however the cheddars were excellent, with a deep mature taste.

The next winery was Knotting Hill; yes that is the correct spelling, which was beautifully set on a lake. Finally we visited Fermoy where we tasted an exceptional Muscat, it was so good that it will be part of our luggage allowance.

I have left my impressions of the wines till last, I must say that in the main I though that they were unexceptional. Perhaps this is because the area specialises in white Chardonnays, a variety that is not to my taste and red Cabernets. I found that the wines lacked complexity, and too often it was difficult to distinguish between them. This could be because the area only started to produce wines about fifty years ago, so it is a fledgling industry by European standards. Now this was not my prejudice, canvassing opinion around the group and amongst other people that we have met this was the general consensus. So there were one or two stars but for the most part I thought that the wine was mediocre.

The day finished with an olive oil tasting, these were excellent particular the flavoured ones, a lime and a garlic being standout. Finally we rounded off at a chocolate factory for an ice cream. It was a really interesting day, providing the opportunity to explore the regions food culture fully, and also appreciate the lovely countryside around Margaret River. It was a highlight for our last full day in Western Australia; tomorrow we travel back to Perth to fly to Adelaide.