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The Margaret River region, whilst famous for its wine, and rightly so, has something for everyone. Whether you are coming to escape the hustle and bustle of the city and want a quiet retreat. If you have come to celebrate a big occasion and want to taste some of the highest quality wines in the world. If spending time in the ocean is your thing. Or just hiking in the bush. One thing is for sure, Margaret River, and the surrounds, have you covered.

Start the day well

And what better way to set yourself up for your day, than an invigorating early morning walk along the oceanfront. Take off your shoes and feel the sand beneath your feet. Pause, listen to the seagulls squawking, circling above, and marvel at the ease with which the early surfers navigate the huge swell.

Whilst surfers have the sea to themselves, my priorities are a little different. No day starts without coffee, right? The best coffee in Margaret River right now is being pumped out by the Commonage Coffee Company (http://www.commonagecoffeeco.com.au/). On your way to the beach, take your reusable coffee cup and pick up one of the best brews you are sure to have on the west coast.

Suitably caffeinated, drive the short distance to the quaint bakery, Yallingup Gugelhupf, and pick up a small treat, still warm from the oven. I personally recommend the pain au chocolat. You won’t be disappointed.

Breakfast

The early start, the long walk along the beach, your mind will now be turning to thoughts of breakfast, and definitely more coffee.

Fast becoming a firm favourite, and not just for their excellent bacon benedict. Or the chilled vibe. Although both are a factor in always drawing us back. The great service, together with the strong, quality coffee ensure that a visit to the Sea Garden Café is always top of any itinerary in Margaret River. 

All the breakfast classics are here, together with a few asian influenced dishes. Judging by the number I saw leaving the kitchen, the Nasi Goreng is a hit with the locals.

In town for more than one day? Of course you are. On your second morning, head along the coast to Gnarabup and have an equally impressive breakfast, with an even better view, at the unmissable White Elephant café. With possibly the best beachside location in the world, the “Ele” is always packed to the rafters with locals filling up after their early morning swim in the ocean, whatever time of year. 

Wines and Vines

Breakfast done, and enough coffee to start your engine for the day, it is time to explore what Margaret River is most famous for. The premium wine that is produced from the 5,000 plus hectares under vine. Predominantly boutique, that are in excess of 200 wineries, enough to keep even the most enthusiastic oenophile busy for a long time.

Jarvis Estate

Greeted on arrival by AJ, the friendly family dog, Jarvis Estate (https://jarvisestate.com.au/)  is a great example of one of Margaret River’s boutique vineyards. Thankfully, we arrived just as a large tour bus from the popular “Wine for Dudes” company was leaving. This meant we had the cellar door to ourselves, and AJ.

We were guided through a full tasting, of some rather excellent wines, and I even got to try a tawny, straight from the barrel. These are the kind of experiences that you don’t get from some of the larger, more commercial wineries.

Whether you prefer the classic Cabernet, famous in the region, or if white is your go to drink, there is sure to be something in the range that you will want to take home with you. If you would rather not go home, there are even a few unpowered camp sites available.

Rosily wines

Moving on to Wilyabrup, next on the list is Rosily vineyard (https://www.rosily.com.au/Rosily-Wines). Named after a French count, who was exploring the area of Western Australia in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, Rosily maintains its French influence through the use of the fleur-de-lys on the label, and the French style in the wine making. 

Enjoy an outstanding Sauvignon Blanc, but just don’t compare it to those produced over the Tasman in New Zealand. There was a friendly feeling of “them and us” when the subject was raised.

At Rosily, all the fruit is produced onsite and hand harvested, with the vineyard certified organic. The result is a full range of excellent wines that will make a welcome addition to your wine cellar.

Time for lunch

All this wine tasting has left you feeling as though you need some sustenance. And Margaret River has you covered. The options are almost endless. As I sat down to sip my Filius Chardonnay, from Vasse Felix, I decided that Meelup Farmhouse (https://www.meelupfarmhouse.com.au/) was certainly the right choice.

Located at the top of the Margaret River region, a stone’s throw from Meelup Beach, the Farmhouse feels like an oasis. Large picnic areas to while away a long afternoon, and a restaurant that feels relaxed, and refined at the same time. I can highly recommend the chargrilled Fremantle octopus and the Goldband snapper fillet. And I am told the chilli prawn spaghetti was delicious.

Breweries

Wine is what Margaret River became famous for, but hot on the shoulders is craft beer. With new breweries seemingly popping up all the time, you are spoilt for choice. Located at the top of the region, in Naturaliste, is Eagle Bay Brewing Company. A micro brewery situated on a working family farm that has been going for over 60 years.

The best way to sample the beers is to get yourself a tasting flight. Six of the tap beers, lined up in order of heaviness, saving the nut brown ale to finish on.

Situated down in Cowaramup, in a rural location on North Treeton Road, Cowaramup Brewing Company is a delight. Open every day, from 11am to 6pm, serving a range of quality handcrafted ales and lagers.

Again, the flight is the way to go. Getting to taste each of the Cowaramup Pilsener, Hefeweizen, Lightsign Summer Ale, Special Pale Ale, India Pale Ale and Cowaramup Chocolate Porter, leaves you wondering which one you will try a pint of. Just as long as you are not the “skipper”, and that someone else is in charge of the car keys.

Something for Everyone

The Margaret River region really has something for everyone. Now that the borders to West Australia have been relaxed this beautiful area, of natural beauty, and world class food and wine, should be top of your 2021 bucket list.

With so much still to explore, we have already booked a return visit for January. See you there?

Do you know your Chablis from your Chardonnay?

Do you know your Chardonnay from your Chablis? Your Sauvignon Blanc from your Sancerre? (these are trick questions, which we will get to later.”) Well, follow on with me as I go on a journey of discovery, deep into the world of wine.

My aim is to simplify things and make wine a little more accessible for you. It can be daunting, sitting in a restaurant and you are passed a wine list that looks thicker than a Harry Potter book. And the sommelier stands over you like she owns the world. Where do you start?

Start here, exploring wine with Fran.

The home of wine

Whether you agree that Georgia (the country, not the US state) is the spiritual home of wine, and whether you called your Shiraz, Syrah, I am here for you.

Starting out as a passionate lover of wine, my interest has deepened over the years and now I am embarking on Level 2 of the WSET (Wine & Spirit Education Trust). A globally recognised qualification in the wine world.

This journey may have been started with my sister as an early catalyst, presenting me with birthday gifts of a wine decanter and the voluminous “World Atlas of Wine” by Jancis Robinson and Hugh Johnson. This led to a membership with the Sunday Times wine club, my entry point into a selection of wine not available in my local Tesco superstore. At least not then. Things may well have changed in the intervening 20 years.

Wine tasting across the world

In those two decades I have been fortunate enough to visit cellar doors and taste some of the world’s best wine from across the globe. Day tripping in the Casablanca Valley in Chile. Cycling around the Malbec laden vineyards of Mendoza, Argentina. Sipping Pinot Noir in Sonoma, a neighbour to the world famous Napa Valley. In recent years I had the great opportunity to travel across the centre of the wine world. 

Just whisper it so we don’t upset our Italian friends. France. Travelling through regions such as Champagne, Burgundy, and Bordeaux had us tasting some of the wines that sing across your palate. 

Margaret River wine region

Closer to home, Australia has been where I have done most wine tasting. Having the Margaret River wine region on our doorstep is something that wine buffs can only dream of. A relatively recent member of the wine fraternity, the vines in this region only date back to the late 1960s. And in this short space of time Margaret River wine makers are making their mark on the wine world. Until you have tried a Chardonnay from Vasse Felix, have you even ever had Chardonnay? And the Cabernet Sauvignon? Full bodied, balanced tannins, and a long finish. Writing this has me heading to the butchers for a t-bone steak.

Live long, drink wine

However, this blog is about wine, not food. Not that you can ever separate the two. Food and wine have gone together since time immemorial. And, research from the Blue Zones, where people regularly live to over 100 years, suggests that part of that longevity is related to the diet which includes a daily glass of wine.

That is something I can drink to.

Short explainer

* Chablis is Chardonnay. Sancerre is Sauvignon Blanc.

Wine production is often defined as New World and Old World. France is a country that sits in the Old World and the wine labelling is based on location, not the grape variety. Hence their Chardonnay that is grown in the village of Chablis is named as such. Same as the sauvignon blanc wines that are produced in the village of Sancerre.

To avoid a lot of the confusion, and partly a marketing ploy, New World producers, which include Australia, label wines with the name of the grape on front.

In our last chat we discussed everything Chardonnay. And I am curious, have you been exploring with new expressions of this very versatile grape? I would love to hear what you experimented with and what you discovered about your palate.

Today, our palate shifts focus. From the green grape to the black grape. Yes, red wine is made from black grapes. What may surprise you is to learn that both grapes, the green and the black both contain clear pulp and juice inside. This begs the question of how do wines become different colours if the juice in the grapes is the same colour?

The magic is in the skins. And the skin on a Cabernet Sauvignon grape has a thick skin. Which is your first clue. It is the thick skin on the Cabernet Sauvignon grape that contains high levels of colour. But, how does that colour get into the wine? It is through skin contact.

The making of red wine follows a process. After the crushing of the grapes, there is a period of fermentation. With the skins in contact with the juice. The colour is absorbed by the grape juice and the result is a red liquid. The skins of the Cabernet Sauvignon grape also contain high levels of something called tannins.

Have you ever noticed that when you take a sip of red wine your mouth feels as though it is drying out? Your gums feel like they are attaching to the insides of your mouth. This is the effect of the tannins. Present in the grape stem and the thick skins of the Cabernet Sauvignon grape. Tannins in a young Cabernet Sauvignon are very high and if a wine is to be drunk young, it may well be blended with a grape like Merlot. The effect of this is to soften the tannins and make the wine eminently more drinkable, without the need to age it.

As Cabernet Sauvignon wine ages, often in oak barrels, the tannins soften and the wine takes on secondary and tertiary flavours of cedar, vanilla, and dried fruits, amongst others. Having flavours of “forest floor” may not sound appealing and this is a possible aroma of an aged Cabernet Sauvignon.

Now you know a little bit about the grape, how about a little of where it is grown. France is the homeland of Cabernet Sauvignon and the most famous region is in Bordeaux, widely regarded as one of the world’s finest wine regions. Needing a moderate to warm climate to allow it to ripen, the Left Bank of Bordeaux is well known for gravelly soils that allow for excellent drainage and heat retention which aids the ripening. Across the Gironde river, on the Right Bank, Merlot is the dominant grape, with Cabernet Sauvignon still playing a large role. 

From our previous discussion on wine labels, you will remember that “Old World” wine regions, of which France is one, rarely put the name of the grape on the wine label. This is where a little knowledge goes a long way. Now you know that if you are drinking a red Bordeaux, you are drinking Cabernet Sauvignon. Whether that is the dominant grape, or whether it is Merlot, depends on which side of the river the wine is from. Left Bank and you can be confident it is led by Cabernet Sauvignon. Right Bank, you are probably drinking a Merlot dominated wine.

Whichever side of the Gironde your wine is from, Bordeaux reds are a very distinctive wine, copied across many of the world’s wine regions. One excellent location to grow Cabernet Sauvignon is Margaret River, three hours south of Perth. With a unique maritime climate, similar to Bordeaux and with the Indian Ocean providing cooling sea breezes, Margaret River Cabernet Sauvignon has excellent balance, powerful tannins and wines that display aromas of blackcurrant and bay leaf notes.

For such a bold, full bodied, fruity wine, what would be a good food pairing? Before we explore that let’s just clear something up. The very best pairing is the one that you want. The one that you enjoy. Yes, some wines pair better with food than others. This is because of the flavour profiles in wine. Sweet wines pair better with sweet food. Crisp white acidic wines pair well with oily and fatty foods. This is why Champagne with fish and chips is a classic pairing.

And yes, there is a lot to be said by the maxim, “what grows together, goes together.” Anything Italian goes well with a Chianti Classico or an easy drinking Valpolicella. White wines do tend to pair better with fish and light dishes. You wouldn’t want your full bodied Cabernet Sauvignon with your delicately flavoured scallops.

What you would want with your Cabernet Sauvignon are grilled steaks. Hearty lamb dishes. Hard cheeses. The tannins that we mentioned earlier, that are high in a Cabernet Sauvignon bind to the proteins in red meat, providing a refreshing contrast.

All this talk is making me both thirsty, and hungry. I think I will head out for a glass of wine.

Cin cin.

Reality Bites

It only feels like last week that I collected the work laptop and rather reluctantly started my Perth working career. I say reluctantly as it is not what I expected to be doing. As you all know, and it has been well documented, we left Sydney intending to embark on an open ended trip around the world. 

With the next milestone birthday only a couple of years away it was time to step off the hamster wheel and take stock of what the next chapter would hold for us. As we changed seasons in life, what life did we want. Without the distractions of needing to work, and in the creative haven of changing world settings, we hoped to achieve a little bit of clarity. Only, we didn’t get to go.

My journal reminded me of the day last year when this dream took on a more permanent hiatus.

“Back to reality. It had to happen. Hopefully this 6 months of work will fly by.”

Time Flies

And they did. So much so that the following 6 months went just as quick and here I am into year two of my current role. In fairness, a lot has happened in that year. And my role has evolved into something that I am really enjoying. Working with the organization in making work a better place to be. Changing to a more modern, emergent way of working, where people have more autonomy and purpose. 

Coupled with this, having trained as a professional coach in the last 12 months, I am also able to blend this work in, allowing me to help even more people, on a one to one basis. Very satisfying. Being a vocation that I can do from anywhere in the world, coaching is an area that I see playing a big part of the future.

Will we ever see the back of COVID?

What the rest of the future holds, we really don’t know. Just this week we had another snap lockdown in Perth. 3 cases of COVID resulted in the state premier, Mark McGowan, slamming the whole of the Perth region into a 4 day lockdown. A circuit breaker, to “crush” the virus, as he never tires of telling us. I do wonder where the right balance is when I see the sharp increase in cases across the UK and yet there are thousands allowed at the football, jumping all over each other in drunken delirium as England progress.

And one of the poster childs of early COVID success, Israel, also living life as normal whilst their own numbers are on a sharp incline. I guess what both these examples are showing us is that getting everyone vaccinated is key. The only way to move from a suppression strategy to one of management, which is the pivot the Australian government made this week.

All well and good if we get people vaccinated. Currently we have only around 6% of the whole population vaccinated. Which is just not good enough. We were looked on with envy from around the world as we lived our lives in relative freedom over the last 12 months. And this bred complacency. Why rush the vaccine? Why should anyone in the lucky country get vaccinated? So, the government did not make this a priority.

A glimmer of hope

Now, with most of Australia suffering lockdowns, with each state struggling with containing the new Delta variant, we now look wistfully at those countries that have really cracked on with getting people vaccinated. In Australia we have got a bad case of catching up to do. And catching up is what the government says we will do. With a new target (about the tenth we have had) of having the majority of people vaccinated by Christmas, there remains a glimmer of hope that the borders will open for international travel next year. 

Magnificent Margaret River

In the meantime, we will continue to do what we do best. Exploring all the best that Western Australia has to offer. Which last weekend meant another trip to Margaret River. Somewhere I have written about previously. Quite possibly, close your ears in Europe, the best wine region in the world. The quality of wines are hard to beat and the region has everything. Some great beaches hugging a wild coastline and inland there are forests that need to be seen to be believed. Magical. The Boranup Forest will forever hold a place in our hearts.

This trip we had the opportunity to stay at Barn Hives. We were in one of only 6 self-sustainable luxury-eco pods, based in Yallingup, at the top end of the Margaret River region. Very convenient for a great dinner at the nearby historic Caves House Hotel. Even more convenient was the Cape Lavender cafe next door, serving up quite possibly some of the best scones I have ever had. And I have had a lot. That said, I have yet to try the legendary Mrs B’s high tea, the talk of Yorkshire. Maybe if we ever get to leave Australia.

Lunched is served

Whilst in Margaret River we took the opportunity to have a long lunch at Wills Domain. Not quite as long as the 4 hour chef’s table the people behind us were enjoying. I am sure with every course they ate, the ladies’ stool just got lower and lower. A very heavy handbag. Apparently.

Our lunch started off with a glass of obligatory bubbles. The Wills Domain Cuvée d’ Élevage Chardonnay Pinot Noir. Made in the champagne style, and much to the chagrin of winemakers outside of France, unable to call it so. The food that followed was delicious, as was the 2019 “Eightfold chardonnay” that we chose to have with lunch.

Margaret River cellar doors

There are over 100 cellar doors to choose from across the entire Margaret River region and we are on a mission to try every one of them. We visited 7 new ones on this trip bringing our total visits up to 45. A few more trips required to tick off the whole 100. Not that you will find either of us complaining.

So, whilst we navigate the end of our current lockdown, I will get out the map and start planning which vineyards to visit next. Until we can next raise a glass to the good life in Margaret River.

Salut!

Embracing life

Travel is sometimes mistakenly, in my opinion, seen as running away. I have a different perspective. Of course I do. I see a decision to travel as a decision to run towards life. To embrace it. Travel is life. With all life’s ups and downs. Life is a rollercoaster. Life is described in Buddhism as suffering. We need to learn to accept. And move on. And so with travel. 

Undoubtedly, travel brings many highs. Seeing new countries. Experiencing new cultures up close brings a perspective you just don’t get if all you are ever exposed to is what you have always known. 

Travel opens your eyes to the fact that we are all the same. We are all human. All seven billion of us. Yes, many of us have different beliefs and values, and that is what makes the world so interesting. 

Travel Stories

So, making a decision to travel is making a decision to embrace all life’s uncertainties. Any traveller will tell you that the most interesting stories they have, have come out of adversity. Something that feels terrible in the moment and then makes a great story to tell a few years later over a few beers. 

I expect to have these ups and downs. I just don’t want to have them all in the first week. One week into our travels and already we have had our fair share. Starting on the first day we left Perth. 

Every Travellers Nightmare

We were stood around the luggage conveyor belt waiting for my bag. We already had Victoria’s. And we checked them in together. Mine won’t be long, I assumed. We waited. And waited. And waited some more. We waited until the airport had almost completely emptied. 

No bag. With a flight out of Brisbane the very next day, this was not the way we intended to start our travels. What was even more surprising was the queue at Qantas passenger services. Of other customers whose bags had not turned up. And from other flights. I have since read that this is a problem that is starting to blow out of control for Qantas as they suffer the ramifications of all those redundancies they made. You reap what you sow. 

A nervous night unfolded with us frantically searching for places in the Brisbane CBD that opened early the next morning, allowing me to pick up some essentials before flying out to Hamilton Island. Essentials such as underwear, toothbrush, deodorant, shorts, and a couple of t-shirts to wear.

Through dinner I got the phone call that brought much relief. My bag had been found and was being flown to Brisbane. I would be reunited with my life possessions early the next morning. Which in itself turned out to cause more anxiety. 

With The Clock Ticking Down

The bag was due to arrive early in the morning and yet we had to leave at 10am to head back to the airport. By 9.30am I still didn’t have my bag but I had tracking on my phone that showed an icon of a little van driving around Brisbane, dropping off orphaned bags. With minutes to spare it arrived at the hotel, and we were off again, with all our bags in tow.

Little did we know then that our next travel mishap was only a few days away. Laying around the pool at qualia, on Hamilton Island, we reflected on an amazing few days in paradise. Excitedly looking ahead to the next stage of our trip, four relaxing days in Noosa. A farewell champagne preceded an air conditioned ride to the airport. An airport we found ourselves stranded in all day.

Unexpected Cancellation

Our plane arrived in from Brisbane, on time, and then developed an “engineering problem”. Being the small island that Hamilton is, there are no full time engineers on the island. This was an issue. A big issue. That only got worse. After four hours of no further updates we were suddenly told to make our way outside where we were to collect our bags and we were being bussed to the ferry port.

Yes, my friends, we were leaving the island by boat. To Airlie Beach, almost a couple of hours away. From there, we knew that another bus was waiting for us to transport us to Mackay airport, ANOTHER two hours away. Whether we were staying at the airport, or getting on a plane, none of the frustrated passengers amongst us knew. And the Qantas flight crew travelling with us, who were supposed to fly the plane to Brisbane, weren’t saying much either.

Finding Mackay On A Map

By now, the sun had set, as had our hopes of making it to Noosa this evening. We had to ring and cancel dinner plans, and call to move the hire car to the next day. It was only en route to Mackay that our Qantas travel app suddenly showed us as checked into a flight from Mackay to Brisbane, that evening. But we had nowhere to stay in Brisbane. This was the worst possible outcome for us.

After much searching, and a few telephone calls, Victoria found us a budget hotel. And when I say budget, think broken lifts, and missing light bulbs, budget. That said, when we finally got there, just before midnight, we were just glad to have a bed. Somewhere to sleep, and put all memories of the day behind us.

How Travel Brings Perspective

The day was not what we had planned when we woke up that morning, but isn’t that just like life? We don’t always know what the days are going to throw at us, and yet the sun always sets, to rise again the following day. We take what learnings we can and share our gratitude that we get to start all over anew each day. And the new day brought Noosa, a tropical paradise a short drive from Brisbane.

We are hoping that the trip does not bring anymore dramas, at least for a while!