Margaret River
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TRAVEL GUIDE Discover The best wines from Margaret River www.cellarmasters.com.au/ margaretriver Margaret River • Cellar Doors • Restaurants • Festivals & Events • Cheese & Chocolate • Things To Do • Breweries • AND MORE! Explore other wine regions with our series of travel guides for wine lovers! www.cellarmasters.com.au/travelguides PUBLISHED OCTOBER 2018 Margaret River In a relatively short space of time, Margaret River has grown to become a powerhouse of Australian wine. The first commercial vineyard planting was in 1967, and the region’s strength lies in its quality. Margaret River is a relatively – Australia’s premium small producer of Australian wine “on the national scale, but the region produces a massive 20% of the country’s premium wine. wine region The region also draws interest because no two wines are the same. The pristine environment has a variety of microclimates, but overall the climate is considered Mediterranean-like thanks to the maritime influence. In fact, comparisons are often drawn to the famous Bordeaux region, except that Margaret River is twice as lucky when it comes to rainfall. The vineyards enjoy everyday warmth tamed by cooling winds from the Indian and Southern Oceans. The region has the country’s lowest mean temperature range and the most even warmth throughout the growing season. As a result, Margaret River produces elegant,“ medium bodied reds that are fine in flavour and have the potential to age superbly. Cabernet Sauvignon is the most widely planted, followed by Shiraz and Merlot. White lovers can also expect superb Sauvignon Blanc Semillon blends as well as mouth filling, intensely flavoured Chardonnay. Christine Ricketts Cellar Director Please note: Prices and information correct at the date of publication based on publicly available information. It is always best to contact the supplier directly to ensure the information presented in this guide remain accurate. Page 2 | | Page 3 5 Practical Facts 5 Fast Facts Best time to visit journey offers stunning views and scenery, Margaret River is known for its four distinct with lots of interesting towns to stop along Take time out in nature seasons and visitors can enjoy the region the way. Margaret River is also a perfect place to take some time out. At the Lake and Jewel Cave year round. Summer has little rainfall with you can see highly decorative limestone and crystal formations and the towering Boranup the hot days usually cooled by afternoon Expect stunning wines Margaret River’s premium reputation is Karri Forest is home to the third largest tree species. breezes. Winters are mild with plenty widespread. This means that if you only of glorious sunny days and its just cool manage to stop at a handful of wineries, enough in the evenings to enjoy a log fire. If you can be assured you’ll still have the you make the trip in spring or autumn, you’ll opportunity to taste a selection of top quality enjoy lovely warm weather with plenty of wines. sunny days. Relax with a beer Visit from Perth While Margaret River is renowned for the Only a three-hour drive south of Perth, quality of its wine, the region is also a great Margaret River is a destination many spot for beer drinkers. There’s plenty of visitors combine with a trip to Perth. The breweries to visit, many of them award drive there is also part of the fun. The winning, and some of them make delicious ciders as well. CREDIT: ELEMENTS MARGARET RIVER 100+ cellar doors While Margaret River is considered a boutique wine region, there is no shortage of cellar doors. With over 200 vineyards and more than 150 wineries, wine lovers are spoiled for choice. A vibrant coastal town The town the region is named after, Margaret River, is known for its restaurants and art galleries, providing an interesting and vibrant base during your stay. During the day the town is bustling with cafes, gourmet and curiosity shops, boutiques, and galleries. At night, the town comes alive with fantastic foodie restaurants, wine bars and pubs with live music. Make time for a sunset If you’ve travelled from the east coast, make sure you take time out one evening to enjoy a West Australian sunset. You can watch the sun set over the Indian Ocean at Surfer’s Point in Bring your surfboard Prevelly, which is only 10 minutes’ drive away from Margaret River. The surf breaks near Margaret River are legendary so if you’re the surfing kind, don’t Stock up on local produce forget to pack your surfboard. There are around 40 surf breaks to choose from, so Dinner at one of the restaurants isn’t the only opportunity you’ll have to enjoy the everyone from beginners and pros can be confident of catching a wave. magnificent food of the region. You can stock up on fresh local produce at the weekly Farmers’ Markets held every Saturday morning. Page 4 | | Page 5 Getting Here & Around By car Margaret River is a three-hour drive south of Perth. The most direct route is via the Kwinana Freeway, which becomes the Forrest Highway. Follow the signs to Bunbury then Busselton, travelling via the Bussell Highway. For a more scenic inland route take the South Western Highway, which will add an extra half an hour to your trip. By bus South West Coach Lines connects Perth to Margaret River departing daily from the City Bus Port, and the Domestic and International Airports in Perth. TransWA also operates a daily bus service from East Perth. www.southwestcoachlines.com.au Swan Valley www.transwa.wa.gov.au By Electric Highway The RAC Electric Highway® is a network of publicly accessible electric vehicle fast-charging DC and AC stations located PERTH between Perth and Augusta in Western Australia. It’s the first of its kind in Australia and allows you to travel in the most sustainable and efficient way possible around this famous wine region. www.rac.com.au/about-rac/advocating-change/sustainability/ electric-highway By Plane Perth Airport is serviced by over 20 international, domestic and Geographe regional airlines, making it easy to travel to from within Australia and beyond. Organised tours Margaret River If you’d like to sit back and relax and let someone else do the organising and driving, there is a range of wine tours on offer from various tour operators in the region. Many incorporate the region’s fine food while others will give you the opportunity to Great Southern see behind the scenes at a winery. For a list of tour operators, visit: www.margaretriver.com/eat-drink/wine-tours/ for a list of tour operators. Page 6 | | Page 7 Yallingup Cheese Company Cabin Fever Festival The Yallingup Cheese Company produces hand In lively Margaret River the locals don’t crafted cheeses using certified organic jersey 5 Happenings let winter get them down. Every July they 5 Local Produce milk sourced from a small dairy in the Metricup hold the Cabin Fever Festival to put a district. All of the milk received at the cheesery hold on hibernation. The event runs over Favourites is used for cheese production that day, which 10 days and includes chocolate, cheese Port Geographe Blessing of the helps preserve the fresh milk flavours. You and coffee appreciation, wine dinners, Fleet and Whale Festival can purchase their products at select retailers, degustation menus, bonfires, brews, live The Margaret River Chocolate North of Margaret River in Busselton, the restaurants and cafés around the region. music and more. Port Geographe Blessing of the Fleet and Factory 1017 Wildwood Road, Yallingup Whale Festival is a great day out for the www.cabinfeverfest.com.au The Margaret River Chocolate Company’s 08 9755 2121 whole family. Held in September, a decorated original factory in the Margaret River region was opened in 1999 and is one of the most boat procession welcomes the whale season Margaret River Dairy Company popular tourist destinations in Western and the marina jetties are open to the public The Margaret River Dairy Company’s origins Australia. It sells an amazing range of with live music, market stalls, food and drink, go back to 1966 when a group of Italian artisan chocolate products, with free entry and free and whale watching tours. cheesemakers began selling their farmhouse tastings, as well as viewing windows to see www.margaretriver.com/event/port- and ricotta cheeses in a small store in suburban the products being made. geographe-blessing-of-the-fleet-whale- Perth. Today you can visit them daily and festival 415 Harman’s Mill Rd, Metricup experience their delicious range of yoghurts, Ph: 08 9755 6555 brie, camembert and cheddars. 8063 Bussell Hwy, Metricup Margaret River Gourmet Escape Ph: 08 9750 6600 Held each November, the Margaret South West Beer Festival River Gourmet Escape is a unique event In February each year, The South West Craft attracting local, national and international Beer Festival brings together a record number visitors to enjoy a food and wine three day of breweries from Mandurah in the north festival program. Since 2012 the event has right through to the south coast of Denmark, attracted 100,000 passionate wine lovers allowing beer enthusiasts to experience the sharing in the unique flavours, incredible best of the region’s awesome craft beer, all in landscapes, and fun atmosphere of the one place. Expect over 130 craft brews and festival, including the opportunity to see ciders on tap! your favourite food and wine celebrities. www.swbeerfest.com.au/ The Margaret River Fudge Factory www.gourmetescape.com.au CREDIT: RUSS ORD Since 1999, The Margaret River Fudge Margaret River Farmers’ Market Factory has been producing award winning Seven Seas Tea For over 13 years, the Margaret River Farmers’ fudge and chocolates.