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Pinch punch...
WINE TOUR DAY!! I was obviously far too eager to start the day as I woke up at 4.30am (most likely due to the anticipation of all the wine I was going to consume), but I managed to doze until the more suitable time of 5.30am when I couldn't lie in bed any longer. Upped and showered and even pushed the boat out and applied some make up. Feeling much more ladylike than I had in a while I headed to town for some pre-wine tour nourishment (and a good liner for the stomach) at the Margaret River Bakery. Breakfast consisted of a brekkie burger with egg, avocado, rocket, tomato, an absurd amount of different sauces, OJ and a coffee. It was all very nice!
Back to park the car to brush teeth etc I then headed to the store which was my pickup location. Had a short wander round and noticed there was a bottle of Malbec... Anyway, was picked up at 8.30 by Andy, a proper Aussie bloke and we drove around collection all the other tourists. The stop after mine we picked up a lovely English couple who I got chatting to. The only other wine tour they'd been on? Stellenbosch. Small world. After we had collected everyone (almost all of whom were British) Andy gave us some info about what to expect from the day and we headed to our first stop, a boutique winery called Stella Bella.
We had several whites and reds, interspersed with dry crackers and water to cleanse the palate, and then a delightful pink muscato, which was the best of the lot in my opinion. As we were finishing up, one of the group noticed we had a flat tyre, so a horrified Andy went to sort it out whilst we all indulged in a few extra wine tastings. One very sweaty bus driver later, plus the group all feeling slightly more tipsy than we probably should have, we ambled back onto the bus and off we went to stop number two, all the while Andy giving us a running commentary on the wineries and surrounding areas.
Leeuwin Estate was our next winery. The grounds were immaculate, giving the Harragin's garden a run for their money, and we were shown where the concerts are held on the lawn outside the front of the building. Again we were permitted to try a selection of reds and white, plus a fortified wine at the end, but we all felt as though we were particularly rushed by our sommelier. We were shown the cellar where they had all the original artwork for their art series wine.
Back on the bus again, we headed to the Voyager Estate. Here I finally found a slightly above average Cab Sauv which I was happy with, and a Chardonnay that wasn't repugnant, which was a surprise. It was at Voyager that we delved into the world of fine dining - I chose an exquisite dish consisting of red snapper, sweet potato purée and garnish accompanied by a glass of the aforementioned Cab Sauv. It was a truly delicious meal! We were allowed a short exploration of the grounds, including their vegetable garden which was fairly impressive, then it was back on the bus to winery number four.
Watershed Winery was set against a backdrop of rolling vines and a small lake in the background, so after the wine tasting (unimpressive once again) we had a short break to take a few scenic snapshots. Mchenry Hohnen was next. The wines were average again here, however they were accompanied by a selection of various home cured/smoked/cooked meats. The lamb chorizo was a favourite amongst many.
A platter of food was handed round the bus on our way to the final winery: Vasse Felix. Same situation with the wines but we were told that we could try any additional wines at the bar. I saw one of my peers request a sparkling white, Blanc de Blancs, and gave it a go. It was very tasty with a prosecco-like fizz so I purchased a bottle! (NB: it was only later I found out it was sparkling Chardonnay, to which I was quite shocked.)
Next up was was the chocolate factory. Free samples of buttons as you walked in immediately sold me to indulging in a packet of milk and white, but I managed to control my impulsivity aside from that. Lastly, a quick trip to the dairy factory where we sampled several flavours of cheddar (plain, port, chili and smoked), Brie, and some vanilla bean yoghurt which was all very delicious. Sadly that was the end of the tour, so feeling full and heavy headed we were dropped off at our requested locations. I managed to make it to Surfer's Point for the beautiful sunset then read some of my book and went to sleep feeling chuffed that I wasn't steaming drunk from the 60+ wines we had tried!
Conclusions? Sadly Margaret River is reknowned for its Chardonnay and Shiraz, the mushrooms of the wine world, and all the reds we tried were a blend. I decided that the best wines we had were the fortified/pudding wines, but I attribute this to my inexperienced and immature palate! It was a brilliant, interesting and educational tour nonetheless.
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