We took a visit down to the Western Australian wine country (Margaret River Region) and spent a few days in the beautiful Bunker Bay. I had heard a lot about Margaret River wines and have tried a few different wines but had never actually visited the vineyards and learnt about their wines. A friend of ours lives in Perth and know a lot about wines, so we were very grateful to be guided by them as to where to try. We absolutely loved the experience and so I wanted to share some of our discoveries for anyone who may be overwhelmed by the vast region with too much choice.
We decided to stick to the key vine yards of Margaret River and so over 2 days we visited the following vineyards, that I would highly recommend:
They are all very distinct vineyards and have very distinct wines. As a whole, Margaret River is known for their Chardonnays and Cabernet Sauvignons. I have been to vineyards and done wine tasting before, but I think this is the first time I actually learnt something from the "tour".
Did you know that there are not only different grape varieties but different clones of grapes? Margaret River's flagship Chardonnay clone is known as the "GinGin" clone. The different sized berries, a phenomenon colloquially referred to as the"hen and chicken" that is unique to this clone of Chardonnay. The mix of the big (hen) and small (chicken) berries is what results in the complexity behind the wines produced from these regions.
The Gingin clone originated from the "Old Foundation" Block in the University California Davis. It was a horticulturalist and viticulturist by the name of Professor Harold Olmo from UC Davis, who discovered the great growing potential for these grapes in the Southern Region of WA, specifically (Mount Barker and Frankland River) in the early-mid 1950s. He is almost revered in these areas as the "Godfather" of these grape growing regions. When it comes to actual first plantation, the first vines brought in from California were planted in 1957, in Valencia Gin Gin's property in Moondah Brook (north west of Perth), which is where the name GinGin clone was said to have come from.
So in 1967, 24 canes of GinGin clones were planted in Moondah Brook, and the plants from here were used to plant Leeuwin Estate, Moss Wood (the only main vineyard we have put for our next visit - as you need to book in for a tasting session), and Cullen in 1976 and 1978. You can read more about the history of Margaret River wineries here... and the rest is history!
Stay tuned for my next blog post, where I will talk a little more about my wine tasting experience at some of these historic wineries.
I hope you had a chance to visit the chocolate factories too!
Interesting article. Thanks Caroline. Interesting to read how the grapes 🍇 are mixed.