Dunsborough is a great place to visit and somewhere most Perthians escape to at least once a year. There are beautiful beaches to explore, lots of fantastic artisan food producers (anything from cheese to chocolate and bread to berries), art & craft galleries and a choice of stylish boutique hotels or holiday villas to stay at.
Even if Nick and I are not big wine connoisseurs we always visit at least one of the many wineries for a tasting. 30% of Australia’s premium wines are produced in the Margaret River area so it’s easy to find a wine that you’ll love.
The experience varies widely, from large tasting areas at the best-known wineries, to more informal Cellar Door shops. I particularly enjoy the smaller wineries where you might have a personal tasting with the owner surrounded by vats and barrels.
We drove down Caves Road and stopped at Stormflower Vineyard as we’ve bought their Dry Red in Perth a few times and really enjoyed it.
The tasting area at Stormflower reflects their boutique approach and I would happily have spent the rest of the afternoon on their terrace with a glass of red but Nick was driving so that wouldn’t have been as much fun for him…
VineCollective is a great website helping you to decide which wineries to visit. Founded by Ben Thomas, a young Perth entrepreneur, it is both a wine tourism guide and an online wine store for WA’s boutique wines and wineries. http://vinecollective.com.au
On our way back to Dunsborough we stopped at Gugelhupf Bakery in Yallingup (it’s hard to miss the blue and pink shop) for a loaf of their organic woodfired sourdough bread. And if we hadn’t been leaving the next morning we would definitely have bought a gugelhupt cake – it comes in delicious savoury flavours with pancetta or olives but my vote goes to the chocolate cake!
After 3 really enjoyable days, we drove back to Perth well-rested and well-fed to finalise our big travel plans. Next stop Cambodia…