Margaret River, Western Australia – Wine Tasting Tour

I always had this image that Australia had balmy weather all year round, but oddly, this doesn’t seem to be the case. Neighbours lied to me. Home & Away lied to me. On my arrival in Perth I was greeted with showers and rain and most of all, cold temperatures. Their coldest for years, apparently. It’s currently been raining in Sydney for about three days nearly solidly. I had to buy a jumpers and everything.

And is is why English ex-pats are referred to as Whinging Poms.

Anyway. In between the rain has been some shine and also, more to the point plenty of wine. Starting in Perth and joined by my nefarious drinking buddy Richard, we decided to take a road trip to the Margaret River wine region to take a wine tour and see the surrounding area.

The tour started quite informatively and inevitably ended up as a lash up well into the night after the official tour ended. Some things I did learn and commit to paper were:
- Because wines from Margaret River are regarded as finer, the region takes a disproportionately high share of Australia’s wine revenue, producing 4% of the volume and taking 20% of the revenue.
- The vines in the region only date back to 1967 when a doctor named Tom Cullity decided to try making wine. Quickly (by wine growing standards) it gained international recognition and in 2008 there were 138 wineries (Wikipedia)
- Australia’s wine export market has become of notable national importance in a relatively short time; it’s grew from $40m in 2002, to $3bn in 2007
- The main grape varieties grown in the region are cabernet sauvignon, chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, shiraz, merlot, chenin blanc and verdelho. (Wikipedia)

As part of the Bushtucker Tours outing we had a great (and much-needed) lunch of smoked kangaroo & turkey, beef and salad. Other than the Aussie meat, there was a distinct Mediterranean mezze feel to the food, which in the sunny – albeit cool – weather and pretty surroundings at Knotting Hill was great.

As well as Knotting Hill, the tour took us to the Hay Shed Hill, Tasselled Park and Grove wineries, a cheese factory and a chocolatier. The Grove had a number of sweet aperitifs including white port, limoncelo and raspberry/white chocolate and macadamia liqueurs. these were made into some great layered cocktail combinations like lemon cheesecake.

Sadly due to Australia’s silly responsible serving of alcohol laws, these had to be mixed before they served them to us.

All in all, it was a great day out and I’d recommend the Bushtucker Tours experience. I’ll be doing some more wine tours in the not-too-distant future, nearer Sydney, which along with (hopefully) some better weather offers a big ray of sunshine

A wine recommendation – The ‘Crux’ New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc

I’ve not written about wine previously, mainly because I feel slightly intimidated by the knowledge of those who regularly take an interest in it. I came across a great wine in the last week that was particularly memorable, so thought I’d start keeping tabs on those bottles that have caught my interest.

The staff at my local Wine Rack in Pitshanger Lane are always extremely friendly and helpful. Last weekend I asked for a good wine for afternoon drinking and/or a barbeque and I was recommended The ‘Crux’ New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, which was on for half price at £5.98 from £11.99 (an offer that lasts until 09/06/2009).

It came highly recommended on personal experience by the staff and Wine Rack staff always seem to be highly knowledgeable. The taste was very fruity and citrus and it was very drinkable. The citrus seemed to work particularly well with the lemon I used to dress the barbequed asparagus. Definitely one I’ll be drinking more often!

Gordon’s Wine Bar – New Cellar!

Exciting news for fans of earthy cheese-and-wine venue Gordon’s Wine Bar.

The place is going to get slightly bigger, which will be exciting news for the many who know and love the place. The current wine cellar (located at the back – see picture) is going to be made available for seating space and most shockingly of all, the new seating area is going to be …wait for it… available for bookings. A serious break from tradition.

Most people remember the place for being a busy and intimate place, where it’s always hard to get a seat. I suspect many traditionalists will wonder how the changes will affect the feel and atmosphere. As the place hasn’t changed barely at all in its many years of existence, some will probably greet the news with apprehension, while pragmatists like myself will most likely wonder how the hell they’ll enforce the bookings in one section, when the place is fit to burst with commuters on a Friday.

Personally I don’t think the atmosphere will be negatively affected and I’ll definitely welcome the fact that it will make the place more accessible for less mobile people.

Says Simon Gordon:

“Finally, we are soon going to be breaking through from behind the bar to an old and unused cellar which continues on from Gordon’s – this is something I have been working on for 3 years and my father had tried to lease it many years before that, so it is the culmination of a lot of perseverance.”

I’ll be sure to do some primary research once the changes are made to check the wine and cheese are still okay.