Margaret River: In vino veritas!

Margaret River… where to start???!?

Bushtucker Winery and Brewery Tour

Britt and I decided to start off our escapade in the wine region with a proper tour to ensure that we were well informed before venturing out on our own. The Bushtucker Winery and Brewery Tour picked us up from our hostel around 10am (1^st dibs on seats!) and then made a loop to pick up the rest of our 14 person group from each of their respective accommodations. We lucked out with Silvano was our tour guide… Not the most politically correct Aussie in the world, so obviously I loved him!!!! Our group consisted of visitors from all over Australia, as well as England, Germany, and Canada. It was quite refreshing having an Aussie make fun of the Canadian rather than picking on us Americans… we get plenty of that! As soon as she told Silvano she was from Quebec, he responded with “Oh, Quebec! The gay part!” Pause for laughter from the bus, then adding with a sense of nostalgia: “Ah the days when gay meant happy and pansies were flowers.”

our tour guide, Sylvano

Bushtucker tour group

Now for a brief background… Margaret River is possibly the most well known wine region in Australia, located about 4 hours driving distance south of Perth. In comparison to other wine regions around the world, this area is still relatively new to the industry. A professor by the name of John Gladstone actually discovered the areas favorable climate while performing research on the soil. The average temperature in MG is about 28-30 degrees Celsius with zero frost in the winter. It’s also surrounded by 3 different oceans, which ensures that a breeze will flow continually from at least one of these. Professor Gladstone also discovered that the soil composition closely resembled that of Bordeaux, France. Backed with scientific data, many families moved to the area to start their own Bordeaux-like vineyards. Vasse Felix was the first vineyard to open in MG as recent as 1967. Similar to Bordeaux, the winemakers of MG are most successful with their Semillon Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Shiraz varieties.

Bettenay’s Wines

This was our first tasting of the day. Silvano started us off by teaching us the proper way to sample a wine: Holding the wine glass with your thumb and forefinger pinching the stem and your other fingers on either side of the base, you swirl the glass in order to let the wine breathe. This allows all the complex flavors to surface so that you really get the full effect. After swirling, you stick your nose into the glass and take a nice deep whiff. Then you take a big ole swig and let it rest in your mouth for 3-5 seconds before swallowing.

I’m not sure if it was just because I had a fresh palette, but this was my favorite winery of the day! Desiree, a French woman, was our hostess. She talked us through 2 of their whites, 2 reds, a white dessert, a red dessert, and 2 ports (1^st flush and hot flush). I’m not very big on dessert wines and I’ve only tried a port once before, so that was different for me. However I loved their Sem Sav and Cab Sav! I would be confident in ordering any of their wines if I were to see Bettenay’s listed on a drink menu.

Bettenay's Wines

Bettenay's Vineyard

Knotting Hill Vineyard

The vineyard takes its name from the unique knots used in its fencing. With over 600km of fencing, there are roughly 1,200 figure-8 knots that were individually tied by hand. Quite a lot of work!

Sandra was our hostess for this particular tasting. She was very cute and friendly, but she rushed through the tasting a bit and let us rely on pre-written tasting notes rather than explaining them to us. These wines were a bit too sweet for me, but of the lot, I strangely think I preferred the Verdelho best (yummy hints of pear) and their award-winning Cab Merlot. (They also won awards for their Shiraz and Cab Sav).

Knotting Hill Vineyard tasting entrance

Knotting Hill Vineyard

Bushtucker Lunch at Knotting Hill Vineyard

KH hosted our delicious lunch prepared by the Bushtuckers tour. We were given roast beef, wild turkey, and cured kangaroo meats, accompanied by pumpkin bread made with tomato, herb seeds and melted cheese on top. The highlight for me was what aboriginals call “bill-yun-gah” (I’m not really sure how to spell it) which translates to “hot in, hot out.” It’s a spread made with Tasmanian bush peppercorn, olive oil, and cashews. The anticipation made it seem far worse than it was in actuality. The real interesting part was the 2 desert limes (miniature bush limes) that each of us were given to finish our meal. The grape-sized “limes” are known to serve multiple functions by the aboriginals: it’s a palate cleanser, breath freshener, digestive aid, and even a tooth whitener! Certain to shock your senses, the lime was super condensed with sweetness, but also tasted more like the chalkiness of the lime zest rather than the citrus itself. Very curious!

The Grove Liqueur Factory

This was without a doubt the most entertaining stop of the day! My expectations were set high because even before we departed from the bus, Silvano fed us stories about one of their employees being in the witness protection program, and another one who stocked their pond with piranhas (which then ended up eating their stock of crocodiles). I honestly still have no idea whether he was joking or not.

The Grove Liqueur Factory

Regardless, I was definitely thankful for our massive feast because The Grove certainly took good care of us with their ports, liqueurs, and cocktails. Nicholas was our host for this tasting… again, such a funny guy! Blasting through the list, the Semillon port was a zinger but nice, the Shiraz port was sweet but soft, and the chocolate port tasted exactly like a dark chocolate filled with cherries. All the liqueurs were made with natural fruits with no additives or extra flavoring. And they still use foot crushing! We sampled their strawberry liqueur, first by itself and then with ginger ale. I thought it was quite nice by itself to be honest. Then Nicholas busted out the macadamia nut liqueur. YUM! On top of the macadamia nut, he added coconut liqueur, milk chocolate liqueur, and cream. It was beautifully layered, but he had to serve it to us stirred because apparently shots and shooters are now illegal in New South Wales, Queensland, and Western Australia. (Pretty sure they still serve them everywhere though!) Up next was the Turkish Delight, which tasted like rose water. Interesting, but not my favorite. Finally, we ended with a Lemon Cheesecake: Lemoncello, white chocolate, and vanilla liqueurs. This can also be served with cream, or lemon and lime bitters. Nicholas wasn’t shy to add that it’s “nice on ice cream… served on your partner.” I wonder what else he slid in there when I wasn’t fully listening, HA!

lemon cheesecakes

Churchview Estate

This tasting was especially cool because our host was “young Greg,” the winemaker himself! I wasn’t absolutely in love with these wines, but we got to try some really interesting varieties, including Chenin Blanc (which I’ve never even heard of before!) and a Noble Riesling. He even opened bottles of 2009 St Johns Vintage Brut (only 200 cases made) and 2009 St Johns Zinfandel (only 150 cases made) that usually are not allowed for tastings. Talk about special treatment!

Chocolate and Cheese Factories

I’m not too keen on chocolates myself, but most people seemed to relish in this little detour. There are milk chocolate, dark chocolate, and white chocolate tastings as soon as you enter the door. Then there is an entire world of chocolates available for purchase, including everything from rocky road brownies to chocolate massage oils… weird!

The cheese factory was quite a bit smaller than I expected. They laid out a couple trays of cheeses for us to try… my favorites of which were the garlic and herb crumbled feta as well as the chili cheddar (similar to pepperjack). Short but sweet.

Bootleg Brewery

In the spirit of our tastings, Britt and I decided to grab a sampler tray of the Bootleg’s beers. The Sou’ West Wheat was my favorite beer. It’s pretty basic, but I think I prefer basic when it comes to beers. I also really enjoyed the Wild Ginger Wheat Ale, which was a seasonal beer, only on tap! Britt’s favorite was the Hefe (Hefeweizen – German style of beer), which was also my absolute least favorite. We discussed my taste-buds with the brewer, and I learned that it’s not the hops I dislike but rather the particular type of yeast used in German-styled beers. Hence the reason I can’t stand Heineken, Hoegaarden, etc. To each his own. Perhaps our greatest effort of the day was trying the Raging Bull (7.1%). Silvano described it best: 1^st sip is like a coffee bean in animal feces, 2^nd sip is like burned rubber, but then 3^rd sip is intensely flavorful with hints of malt, chocolate, coffee, yada yada. It was super heavy but I can see how some people might like it.

The tour definitely kept us busy all day, but it was a nice way to learn about the region and sample some really good wines. Tomorrow we will fill in the blanks with some of the other wineries we were hoping to see. Perfect!

Vroom vroom

We got a car! Funny little blue thing, but it was 4 door, auto drive, complete with a steering wheel on the right side of the dashboard (in order to make driving on the left side of the road easier). HA! We may have favored the left side of the lane a little more than the center, but for the most part, we’re pretty good international drivers! I’m certainly getting more comfortable with all these roundabouts the Aussies have stacked on every corner! Once we got our road bearings, we met up with Chris (my Canadian friend who just moved here from Sydney) and let him take on the role as our Perth Tour Guide. First things first: lunch at Hillarys Boat Harbour. We kept it simple with Wokinabox as our choice of venue for a nice, long, casual lunch.. perfect for catching up. Then we let our food digest while we drove along the coast checking out all the amazing beaches. Sydney beaches are beautiful, but they get sooo packed with all those pesky tourists and dirty backpackers, hmph! Just kidding.. that’s me! The beaches around here are just as beautiful except they’re so spread out with only a teeny tiny fraction of the amount of visitors on them. Just as Chris predicted, Cottesloe Beach absolutely had the most beautiful people-watching. Very impressive!

Cottesloe Beach

Once we had our share of beach-time, Chris showed us around the CBD. We parked directly across from the Bell Tower and decided to give that curious looking building a better look. It was closed for the day, but the exterior was still worth examining. Just as the Sydney opera house mimics the shape of a sailboat, the Perth bell tower resembles a swan (since it is located on the Swan River after all). Our main question was – “Where are the bells?” Upon further examination, we found a few hidden behind the swans wings. There are 12 swan bells in original use, but the tower is also a home to many of Australia’s most notable bells and clocks throughout history. The white rabbit would have a hayday in that one! Or maybe Captain Hook…

The Bell Tower

It was about that time that Britt and I needed to start driving down to Margaret River, so we went for a final stroll down Perth’s main street and shopping area. Our main objective: bubble tea!!! We accomplished that mission with a severe sugar high and uncontrollable laughter. We let Chris loose on the train system, then headed south.

London Court (Perth)

As much as we were trying to catch the sun setting over the ocean, Britt and I arrived in Rockingham just after sunset.. bummer. With a strip of 4 restaurants, we walked back and forth (even sat in one) until we finally decided on the Pink Duck for our dinner and resting point. To be totally honest, I wasn’t expecting much from this small town, but the food turned out to be amazing! Britt and I shared the Brushetta entre and an eggplant, mushroom, capsicum (red peppers) and mozzarella pizza. My mouth’s watering just thinking about it. After crushing down our meal, we completed our drive to Margaret River where we wheeled in to our next YHA hostel and prepared for our day of wine, wine, and more wine!

Love the Rotto

Rottnest Island earned its name in 1696 when Willem de Vlamingh mistook some local animals as giant rats. Rotte Nest is Dutch for Rat’s Nest. Sound appealing yet? Well it turns out the “rats” he saw happen to be the most adorable and friendly marsupials we’ve come across in Australia: Quokkas!

Quokka

ADORABLE Quokka!

As soon as we departed the Rottnest Express ferry, we jumped in line for a hired bike. Although we debated about whether or not to ride tandem, we decided we’d prefer to continue liking each other at the end of the day, so we each got out own one-gear bike. Minus the lack of gears, it turned out to be a great decision. The island is roughly 20km in circumference, and we ended up biking about 10-15 of those kilometers. In the hot sun. With loads of hills. Yes, we are great athletes.

Biking Rottnest Island

We saw our first quokka on the side of a trail and immediately tossed aside our bikes in order to get a closer look. It shied away when I tried to pet it, but I did manage to have it feed directly from my hand! And for all you conservationists out there: no, I did not feed it human food. In fact, I couldn’t figure out what it was eating, so I gathered up a lovely handful of what I later discover was quokka poop before I realized the nuts looked different.

feeding the quokka

I’d like to say that we’re best friends, but it was totally using me for my nuts. Cheap quokka. Apparently they’ve also learned how to knock over beers at the restaurant so they can drink it themselves. Sounds like the Memphis goats!

As we drove along the island, we stopped at a couple lookout spots, but only pulled off for 2 snorkeling beaches. Our main snorkeling point was Little Salmon Bay on the south tip of the island. I experimented with my new underwater camera.. unfortunately there wasn’t anything too exciting down there.

snorkeling in Little Salmon Bay

fishies

brain coral

Once we exhausted that snorkeling site, we decided to peddle back closer toward the ferry dock, so we turned around to stop at a wreck site off the coast. Then the typical Lucile move happened… I broke my new camera. Or at least the battery flooded. We’ll see what the manufacturer says once I turn it in for repair 😦

We ended up turning in our bikes and retiring to the Rottnest Hotel for a burger and beer. Britt found her Redback and I found my White Rabbit, so we were content. Next thing you know, a peacock is standing next to me at our table. No reason. Just a random peacock! Apparently everyone else thought it was normal except for us and one other table of girls about our age. Our immediate camera response mayyyy have frightened it off.

peacock??!

Quokkas were also running between the legs of restaurant patrons, grabbing fallen crumbles just as pigeons or squirrels would at home. It was quite an interesting picture. Minus the camera troubles and a few other idiotic moments, it was a fantastic day. Perfect weather. Great exercise. Beautiful views!

Open up a “Little”

Ahh finally, a full day to venture! Initially we were going to solicit tourism advice from the visitor centre down the road, but soon realized that we were already greatly more informed on “things to do” and services to use. We grabbed some brochures and wandered toward the Little Creatures Brewery.

Little Creatures interior

Little Creatures bar

Little Creatures bar

Bardo, our friend from Sydney, put us in touch with his buddy, Ben, who now lives in Perth. So we met Ben and Kirei, his girlfriend, for a liesurely lunch and some beers at the brewery. Britt and I started off with a sampler of all their most popular beers on tap (6 in total). We stocked the bright ale and pale ale at The Russell Wine Bar, and I just assumed the pale would be more girl-friendly because that was the more popular seller for us. However, the bright ale was significantly better and more flavourful in my opinion. And Britts and Kireis and Bens. The Rogers amber was probably my second favorite… that is until I tried the White Rabbit white ale from the bottle. I’m not a particularly huge beer drinker. In fact I usually stick to Coors Light back home in the States. However, I think I’ve found my beer-mate. The white ale reminds me of a wheat beer like Blue Moon, except the main flavor is HONEY! It’s delicious!

White Rabbit white ale - HEAVEN!!!

We spent a good amount of time just chatting away at Little Creatures, drinking our brews, and munching on some wood-fired pizzas and super salty frites. When Ben and Kirei parted ways, Britt and I conducted a self-tour of the brewery. All the workings were showcased through glass along the borders of the restaurant. A 2nd level walkway leads curious visitors through the entire brewing process. I really don’t see why they haven’t put together a formal tour, at least for weekends or something. It seems like an easy way to make a few extra bucks while also creating hype. But I guess in a small town like Freo, it’s already got a steady crowd of uni students to keep them busy.

After lunch, Britt and I went back to our hostel to make some formal plans for our next few days in Perth / Freo. Our hostel room is a dorm-style with 8 girls, including ourselves. The funny thing about hostels is you never know who you’re going to meet. Sometimes everyone shies away into their own corners, but other times it’s a madhouse. Today we met a really interesting woman from Milan, age 33. At first glance, I never would have considered her someone I would typically befriend. There was the obvious age difference, language barrier, style choices, etc etc etc, that clearly indicate we don’t have alot in common. But then again, she was to blame for getting Gossip’s song “Heavy Cross” stuck in my head. And she was a pretty decent conversationalist. Next thing you know, we’re negotiating plans for a joint trip to Margaret River. I was pretty fired up about throwing this curveball into the mix, but she was adamant about staying in Margaret River for 5-6 days, whereas Britt and I were thinking more on the lines of 1-2 days. What a shame. I wish her the best on her travels!

Britt and I decided to take a hostelers recommendation for dinner, so we ended up at the Mexican Kitchen. Their specialty? Any of their 100+ tequilas! We weren’t feeling quite up to that challenge, so we washed our tacos down with some tap water then headed over to Sail and Anchor for a beer. Again we were faced with a huge assortment of unique beers on tap. After a couple tasters, I settled on the Rogue Somer Honey Orange Ale, an American wheat beer of all things. You would think I was on a honey kick, but this one actually tasted more strongly of orange than anything else. Still yummy. They closed their doors shortly after we sat down, so we wandered home tuckered out and eager for an adventurous day at the beach tomorrow.

And so it begins…

Britt and I arrived in Perth bright and early this morning, only to catch a train to Fremantle, just south of the city. We booked into the YHA Backpacker’s Inn and set off to discover the area. It wasn’t long before we stumbled upon the Fremantle markets, which they have running every weekend. So cute! They had everything from opals to model guitars to ostrich eggs!

Fremantle Market

Margaret River ostrich eggs - $8

We enjoyed a fun little lunch on the patio of The Monk.. or at least Britt did.. their BBQ ribs were amateur at best! It was nice to sit back with a sample tray of in-house brewed beers. I quite liked their wheat beer best, although the bacon-flavored one was certainly interesting!

The Monk beer sampler

The Leftbank was recommended to us as a solid location for a Sunday session, so we decided to check it out. Great atmosphere with lots of different levels and patios outside! We stayed for dinner and a drink or two (all pretty average) and casually participated in some people-watching as we experienced our first Australian west coast sunset (over a river and some trees… still holding out on the ocean view). All in all, it was a pretty successful day for squeezing in some time-filler activities on our day of travel and clock adjustments. I’m feeling pretty good about Western Australia!

In Media Res

Alas, I have decided to start blogging!

In these last 6 months, I have been living in Sydney, Australia… What an amazing place! So how did I end up there? Well in my junior year of college (“uni” as the Aussies call it), I spent a semester studying at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia. Since we only had 4 or 5 months to see EVERYTHING (which of course is impossible), we attempted to squeeze in as much traveling as possible over the weekends we had available. Balancing our travels with the time we also wanted to spend in Brisbane was quite difficult, but we were able to scratch a fairly decent amount off our bucket lists. During those few months, I was able to live aboard a sailboat in the Whitsunday Islands, scuba dive the Great Barrier Reef outside of Cairns (Cape Tribulation), attempt to surf in Noosa and again in Byron Bay, bungy jump the 134 meter (440 feet) Nevis Highwire Bungy in Queenstown, NZ, among loads of other amazing adventures.

Nevis

However I was left with an overwhelming desire to stay longer and experience The Land Down Under in a more natural – and less frantic – state. Thus when I graduated from Vanderbilt University, I packed my bags and returned to The Land of OZ, this time stationing myself in Sydney… Coogee Beach to be precise. I was living with 2 fellow Americans, Britt (whom I became friends with while studying in Brisbane) and Dave (who went to college with Britt). I then filled my time working at The Russell Wine Bar in the historical downtown district of The Rocks while also working to achieve my PADI Divemaster scuba certification through ProDive in Coogee. I am now officially a PADI Divemaster!

feeding a blue grouper in Gordon's Bay

Since my Work and Holiday Visa only allows me to work for the same employer for a maximum of 6 months, I completed my short-lived career in Australian hospitality and journeyed home back in time to meet my new beautiful niece, Lucy Grace! It was wonderful being back in my hometown and getting to spend time long overdue with family and friends, but now I am back in Australia, ready for the 2nd half of my journey abroad. I have decided to give New South Wales a break, so I am currently taking on a new role as a proper backpacker in Western Australia with my parter-in-crime, Britt… most likely to return to Sydney once I have seen my share of WA and am in dire need of a consistent shower. I’m looking forward to sharing my experiences with you! CHEERS!