Go beyond the cellar door

Leeuwin Estate would have to be one of not only Margaret River’s – but Australia’s – most recognised wineries, least of all for its spectacular Art Series Chardonnay. The powerhouse operation includes a cellar door, art gallery and fine-dining restaurant.

The aptly titled Art, Wine & Ultimate Lunch, includes morning tea, an intro to the estate and its winemaking, an art gallery tour and tutored wine tasting, culminating in a seven-course menu at the restaurant expertly paired with Leeuwin wines.

There are many other niche experiences to be had, including their  Chardonnay & Cabernet Sauvingon Flights looking at the winery’s flagship varieties, The Art of Wine Tasting taking in top varieties and museum releases, or the seasonal Art, Wine & Farm-To-Fork Experience with a glass of bubbles on arrival, an art gallery tour and a flight of five wines matched with West Australian delicacies followed by lunch.

Vasse Felix is the founding wine estate of the Margaret River Region, with wine experiences befitting of the estate’s long history. The Original Tour is a behind-the-scenes winemaking discovery and private tasting of the wine collection. The Cellar Experience focuses on their star varieties – Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay, starting with a historical tour of the old vines on the property before exploring The Vault and ending with a five-course paired tasting menu.

The Epicurean Tour stops in at the winery to meet the winemaker and later dives into the world of food and wine matching, learning the insights and philosophies behind the food with a five-course tasting menu paired with rare Vasse Felix wines. The Cape to Vine Tour combines the Epicurean experience with a preceding spot of the outdoors, thanks to partners and nature specialists, Cape to Cape Explorer Tours.

Cape Mentelle is conveniently one of the closest wineries to Margaret River itself, and its history lies with local wine industry pioneer David Hohnen.

It was one of the first wineries in the region to offer a Behind the Scenes Tour and Tasting to guests, which takes in the vines, the winery, its equipment, barrel halls and cellar.

Guests have the option to add various inclusions onto this original tour, such as a private tasting in the ambient barrel hall, or a food and wine pairing of six wines and gourmet morsels featuring local produce, or take a picnic basket and wine flight outside onto the lawn to enjoy.

It’s the experience we all romanticise: strolling the vines, glass in hand, chatting away to the owners of the winery. Winemaker Nigel Ludlow started EVOI Wines with just two barrels of Chardonnay in 2007.

Limited to six guests, The Small Group Tour with Nigel invites questions and learnings about the whole process of grape to bottle, lifting the curtain on the winery and its equipment,  sampling wine from the barrel, and finishing with a tasting of EVOI wines.

The Davies family of Windows Estate prides themselves on being multi-generational farmers with an ethos of organics – values which extend into their estate experiences.

The Organic Vineyard Tour and Tasting is an in-depth look at farming and an exploration of the Windows site with one of the owners, followed by a private tasting at the cellar door. Seated wine tastings with matching cheeses can also be enjoyed daily at the cellar door.

Whicher Ridge is famed for its beautiful sensory garden, around which all its wine tastings are based. The garden embodies all those descriptive notes you’ve heard about in relation to wine tasting (think “herbaceous”, “citrus”, “floral”) and quite literally puts them under your nose, to better understand what’s in your glass.

Each wine tasting is run by the winemaker Cathy, with multiple bookable options to choose from. The pièce de résistance is the Pick, Sip and Savour in the Garden Experience, where you are guided through the garden (and three wines) with the winemaker herself before enjoying a gourmet local platter.

Or for an afternoon experience in the warmer months The Soiree in the Garden is a unique opportunity to enjoy the grounds at twilight from 4 – 6pm, with three glasses of wine in the garden.

The Domaine Naturaliste cellar door is memorable for its sheer proximity to the vineyard (think head-height Merlot vines planted right outside). This provides an ever-changing backdrop to the wall-to-wall windows of the cellar door from one season to the next – from lush green to red to bare and back again.

The inside/outside nature of the space is designed for ultimate relaxation and is the perfect setting for Domaine Naturaliste’s tasting flight: six wines presented at a seated tasting with a personalised description of the wines from cellar door staff. Charcuterie and cheese boards are available to purchase as a recommended accompaniment.

Glenarty Road has rustic charm in spades. Their Vino in the Vines is a progressive wine tasting through the farm and vines, tasting up to 10 wines right from the source. Enjoy a four-stage feast of seasonal produce, farm snacks and charcuterie. Or join a Where The Good Things Grow Experience, where you will be guided through the kitchen garden to learn and be inspired by the team’s passion, followed by a wine tasting and spread of food from the property.

Howard Park has a lot going for it – it’s a formidable producer of methode traditionelle (aka French-style) sparkling wine; it has a huge and diverse line-up of vino; and it has an ongoing cross-continental collaboration with French winemaker Pascal Marchand.

In addition, behind the scenes of its architectural cellar door, lies the Wine Chapel – a beautiful concrete and oak building with a wine cellar museum. Visitors can choose from either The Art of Sparkling or Heritage Wine Tasting masterclass-style experiences, followed by a tasting platter.

Opulence and Voyager Estate go hand-in-hand.  Their private experiences offer a rare level of personalisation, with every detail shaped around the guest.

Through the doors, the luxurious yet intimate Wine Room is the focal point of Voyager’s wine experiences. Options include the Savour Voyager guided tasting tailored to you, with a curated selection of our wines based on your preferences, enjoyed alongside paired snacks from our acclaimed Restaurant; the Discover Voyager private tour through the vineyard and winery, tasting wine straight from the barrel and finishing with a seasonal lunch or curated wine pairing, or the ultimate experience with Unearth Voyager. From guided vineyard walks and vertical tastings to blending sessions and garden dining, this experience is fully customisable to your preferences.

Tucked away among towering karri trees, Island Brook Estate is one of the region’s best-kept secrets. Family-owned, where charm and genuine hospitality coincide, the owners personally welcome guests to their boutique cellar door, pouring hand-picked, estate-grown wines, curating an experience just for you. Select from an array of local gourmet goods and build your own charcuterie board before a stroll next door to the Suzy French Art Gallery, wine in hand to admire stunning local artworks.

There are few photos of Fraser Gallop Estate that don’t feature the iconic Bordeaux-style Gallop House that graces the property and wine label. The landmark is usually closed off to the public, except for Fraser Gallop’s Wines & Vines Tour.

Go deep into the private gardens of Gallop House in a solar-powered EV buggy, sipping the award-winning Parterre range at picturesque locations along the way. The tour concludes with a stop at the winery, potentially to meet the winemaker or sample from the barrel.

Bettenays shares two old-world delicacies with a new world spin: wine and nougat. The family-owned and run cellar door gives classic country charm, set on a dam and among the vines.

Seasonal experiences include a wine tasting by the fire, finished with toasting your own nougat and enjoying a liqueur-spiked hot chocolate. Otherwise, nougat and wine matching is the ultimate naughty treat, or there is a Picnic Tasting option out next to the lake, which includes a wine tasting and delicious grazing board.

The Clairault Streicker cellar door is the perfect balance of family-owned and fancy. Wine tastings are a seated affair, but the dining is delightfully more familial, with a choice of indoors, under the verandas or on a picnic rug on the lawn with outdoor games.

The Wine Blending Experience will have you donning your best winemaker’s furrowed brow as you ponder what percentage of Shiraz to add to your Cabernet Sauvignon, before bottling the nectar to take home. (Post-blending three-course meal optional).

Hay Shed Hill is known for its barn-style cellar door building and mammoth wine stable. In the Wine Blending Experience, taste the five separate Bordeaux varieties that would traditionally be used in a Cabernet blend, and then try your hand at making a glass of your very own.

Go beneath the surface at Subsea Estate. This extraordinary behind-the-scenes tour at their marina-side headquarters in Augusta starts with an insider’s look at their world-class abalone ranch, with the chance to hold a live abalone straight from the tanks. The adventure then introduces Subsea’s pioneering underwater wine-making process, where bottles mature beneath the waves, shaped by swells. Then, head down to the Boat Harbour for a signature ocean-to-glass tasting experience.

Passel Estate’s Nature & Wine Walk is a private guided journey through the estate’s stunning bushland conservation sanctuary that is home to a family (a passel) of critically endangered western ringtail possums. Along the way, taste Passel Estate’s award-winning wines right beside the very vines they’re from. Available during spring, summer and early autumn, the experience concludes with a guided tasting paired with a local artisan cheese platter and a bottle of Passel Estate wine to take home.