Wineries in Australia

There are a lot of very good wineries in Australia. Or maybe it’s just that I have a penchant for finding them.

My sister Marie came from Toronto to holiday in Australia for 4 weeks. To an outsider it would appear that her objective was to eat and drink her way across the continent. I decided I should help her.

We took a 4 day weekend and drove about 6 hours to the south coast of Western Australia (WA) to the city of Albany and the town of Denmark. It is beautiful countryside with rolling hills, beautiful wildflowers in bloom (spring time) and a gorgeous rugged rocky coast with awesome blue water (where the Indian Ocean meets the Antarctic Ocean. Although on the maps down here they call it the Southern Ocean. Maybe I fell asleep during that class in grade school????)

Oh, and there are some awesome wineries along the way too. Most of them have Cellar Doors where you can test their wares – usually a selection of whites followed by a selection of reds, and sometimes even followed by dessert wines. What more could a person ask for? Well, perhaps a chauffeur would be a good plan, since they take their “Drink Driving” seriously with zero tolerance on a 0.05 limit.

Albany was the first port in Western Australia and became a significant whaling centre. In the late 1970’s it was at the height of its efficiency, “processing” over 1,500 whales per year. Then, due to public pressure the whaling station was abruptly closed – the employees heard about it on the evening news! They have now turned the former whaling station into a museum.

Back to the wineries…. The second weekend Marie was here we drove 3 hours south west to the Margaret River region where there are over 120 wineries. They too have Cellar Doors for tasting the products – just to make sure they are suitable for export around the world. Did I mention there is a chocolate factory? They too have samples…

Perth also has wineries right in our own back yard – just follow the Swan River east and there were more wineries where we took Marie.

After Marie left Perth she went to Adelaide and toured the Barossa Valley, then on to Melbourne where her balloon ride over vineyards was canceled due to inclement weather. Not to worry, when I met her in Sydney there is the Hunter Valley. But I have to say, at that point we were through with Cellar Door wine tasting.

I think it can be said that Marie achieved her objective of eating and drinking her way across the continent. She is now back home attending a detox clinic in Toronto.