Margaret River is a wine region just over 3 hours drive south of Perth, Western Australia. Margaret River town, is a small “country town” in the middle of the Margaret River wine region, but besides been a wine region there are other things to see and do too, such as beautiful beaches for surfing just 10-15min drive away, watching the sunset over the Indian Ocean, whale watching when in season, cave tours, mountain bike riding, bush walking etc.
The Australian wine law is not as strict as those in the old world regions, Margaret River wines are labelled as a Geographical Indicator (GI).
- Climate: Warm Mediterranean climate with strong maritime influences; with a majority of the rainfall during the winter months giving the region a more Mediterranean climate but the moderating influences of the ocean provides the strong maritime influences.
This is very evident when you travel from the Margaret River town to Busselton 45min to the north and is still next to the coast; you can significantly feel the cooler climate in the Margaret River town compared the warmer climate when you reach Busselton. Was told that further south of Margaret River, where you expect the vineyards to enjoy cooler climate for the growing season, but was told that the area around the Margaret River town is actually cooler due to this strong maritime influence. There were a number of theories and explanations given, but the most logical one that I subscribe to is that the location of Margaret River in comparison to the bays and inlets that affect the ocean currents, hence funnelling the cool maritime influences into the Margaret River region. - Grapes: Margaret River is famous for its Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon, however Sauvignon Blanc blended with Semillon is also very popular as a refreshing wine (locally known as an “SBS”). Bordeaux blends are common across Margaret River so Merlot is also planted as well.
- The Chardonnay in Margaret River
has a unique story, with wine makers mainly planting Margaret River’s own Chardonnay clone called the “Gingin” clone. The history of the “Gingin” clone was when the Australian government commissioned a study into an appropriate wine region near Perth, as part of that study which included international experts was an Chardonnay cutting from the United States specifically for the region. Originally the wine region selected was north of Perth called Gingin, which is the name given to the clone. As the studied evolved, a region south of Perth was identified which is now the Margaret River wine region as a better wine growing location. The “Gingin” clone is rumoured to have a “defect” which was not originally identified, but ironically this “defect” (or mutation) is what helped it thrive in the Margaret River wine region. The “defect” (or mutation) compared to the “Dijon” (Burgundy) clone is that the “Gingin” clone will produce fruit of varying sizes in the same bunch, this results in a mixture of freshness and flavour from the larger fruits and acids from the smaller fruits from the same bunch. Due to this wine makers mainly (not all) are more “aggressive” with their wine making (less protective wine making) introducing more oxygen and avoiding Malolactic Fermentation (MLF). Discussing with various people from the wineries, the premium Chardonnay’s from Margaret River need to bottle age, at least 5 years; even though the bottles are sealed using screw caps, the best explanation I received is that as the oxygen from the “aggressive” wine making will slowly age the wine in the bottle.
- The Chardonnay in Margaret River
- Wine Style: Wide variety of wine styles are produced across Margaret River, from refreshing drink-now Sauvignon Blanc blended with Semillon to full bodied Chardonnay intended for aging. There are also sparkling wines usually made in the Champagne style “Traditional Method” and also sweet wines which are late harvest or some use ”cane cut” (where the vine is cut and the fruit is left to dry on the cane before crushing).
- Size and Yield: Under 6,000 hectares under vine1
Winery
As with most wine regions throughout Australia, most wineries will have a cellar door with tasting. 
There is usually a small fee for tasting (around $5 AUD to $15 AUD) per person (most places will allow you to share between two people as they know one of whom is the designated driver) with various rules such as based on tasting price you can select certain wines only, or selecting a set number of wines you can taste off their available tasting wine list, or a table / private area to conduct your tasting etc; but pretty much all wineries will free the tasting fee per person for each bottle of wine you purchase.
In addition to the cellar door wine tasting, some (not all) wineries will also have wine tours and these wineries will actually offer different types of wine tours based on time, topic and the type of wines in the tasting. These wine tours options are usually on the winery website along with cost and pre-payment processes, selecting the appropriate wine tour for you is important, as some are quite long and detailed and may bore you if that is not you are after, or some are too “marketing” and more providing an “experience” than actually sharing the details of their history, wine making process and philosophy.
- Voyager Estate (map) - One of the larger wineries
in the Margaret River and they offer different types of wine tours to suit your needs. I went for the “full full” day tour, which started at 9am and finished at 5pm, our guide (Claire) was very knowledgeable on all things wine, ranging from the history of Voyager Estate, to the region, to the wine making and everything in between. This wine tour is for those who are either studying wine (such as WSET) or are interested in the wine industry and wine making; we started in a walk in the vineyard where Claire shared the grape growing process such as introducing new vines and the farming issues they faced in been certified organic. We then went to see the fermentation tanks (some of which are concrete) and then the maturation cellar where we tasted some of the new vintage fermenting wine straight from the barrel. Next was a nice lunch in the restaurant (which you can book separately without the wine tour or tasting) with a wine pairing with their wines (Claire shared she worked with the chefs for the food and wine pairing as she is the sommelier there). After lunch was the detail wine tasting and also some education on food pairing (what type of foods go with what type of wines). We ended the day in their wine warehouse where we tasted from of their sparkling wines, and seeing the owners private collection of back vintage wines! If this wine tour seems too tiring, they do offer shorter wine tours will less detail content, which is more an “experience” for beginners or those just starting to explore wines. Highly recommend this wine tour! - Leeuwin Estate (map) - Also one of the larger winery
in the Margaret River, and also one of the most famous internationally as their wines can be found all over the world (I didn’t even buy any wine from their cellar door as it was available - and cheaper - online in Hong Kong! Except for their sparkling which is only available at the cellar door). There is in general just one type of wine tour available, the various options relate to including lunch or not and if including lunch which wine pairing such as with the more expensive “museum wines” (older vintages). The wine tour itself (I will actually classify it as an “wine experience”) is more “marketing”, starting with a small morning tea which includes coffee (which is actually not good for your taste buds for an wine tasting!) or tea and a piece of cake, whilst our guide provides a sharing of the history of Leeuwin Estate and then a tour of their art galley (their “art series” collection has a new label from a piece of art from an local artist for each vintage, similar to the concept of Mouton). Next is then the wine tasting of their current vintages. After the wine tasting you ushered into the restaurant (if you had included that option) where you will treated to an amazing food and wine pairing, you can even add more wine from their wine list (I added an additional glass of Chardonnay from their older vintages for comparison to the museum wine pairing I had ordered). In general a very slick and well oiled experience, more an experience than an wine tour as you don’t even get to see a barrel (even a used one)! - Evans & Tate (map) - This has been my favourite Margaret River wineries for many years (since I was introduced to Margaret River wines). They do not do a wine tour, just a simple wine tasting for a fee (which is refunded upon purchase). They are a little further north from the Margaret River town centre, but well worth the visit!
- Cullen Wines (map) - A winery with a very interesting wine making philosophy, they are certified organic but they take it to the next level! They are also use bio-dynamic wine making techniques, which uses the moon phases to determine when to do certain tasks (such as when to harvest), but they take the concept even further by requesting their barrels to be toasted based on the positioning of the moon too! This was the first time I had heard of a wine maker going to that length. At the end, the final verdict is based on the finished wine, their wines are great but how much of the quality is down to the extreme decisions they make or it could the physiological feeling you have when tasting their wines after you know so much effort and care has been taken to make that glass of wine you are drinking! Definitely worth a visit and to understand more about organic and bio-dynamic wine making techniques (they have a garden walk that explains the decisions and processes that go into their wine making).
- Stella Bella Wines (map) - An happy find of this winery, their wines are very good and the staff is very helpful and knowledgeable, and at times very geeky as the staff themselves were deep diving into topics like weather and elevation of their vineyards when asked!
- McHenry Hohnen Vintners (map)- Also another winery that is into organic and bio-dynamic wine making techniques. Didn’t get to spend a lot of time there as some of their wines are going down the natural wine making path (with minimal human intervention such as no filtering); quite an interesting selection of wines. They mentioned they have a wine tour, would be interesting to join them next time to understand more of their wines philosophy.
- Domaine Naturaliste (map) - They do not have a wine tour, but you can pre-book in advance an “seated wine tasting” which is a wine tasting of wines of their choosing in a more relaxed environment where you are seated at a dining table.
- Vasse Felix (map) - One of the larger wineries in Margaret River, they have a restaurant and cafe where I saw people having their snacks and meals on the large grass area; very relaxing on a nice sunny day. As to their wines, they were not my style of wines (or maybe after a many days of tasting, was getting wine tasting fatigue!).
- Xanadu (map) - The cellar door was set well back from the road entrance, the wines here were also not my style of wines. However I did purchase their sweet wine which is made using the “cane cut” method, which I found quite unique tasting.
Accommodation
The wineries are all located around the Margaret River town; which has a main road with restaurants and shops. Almost anything you need is located in the Margaret River town from the tourist office, supermakets (3 of them), petrol station, pharmacy etc. Near the Margaret River town is an industrial park where you can get hardware and office supplies (useful for packing your wines!).
- Margarets In Town Apartments (map) - This is right in the middle of Margaret River town, the nearest supermarket is across the road! They have various accommodation styles, I booked the one bedroom apartment which has a full kitchen, bathroom with washer and dryer, living room with large sofas and an outdoor patio but no BBQ (there is an shared BBQ next to the pool, at a first come, first basis); there is plenty of space. Sharing a foyer (and external door) is a one bedroom studio, so for larger groups or families you can combine these two accommodation options as a two bedroom apartment. They have off street secure parking, it is limited to one car per an apartment but some guests sneak more than one car in per apartment hence the car park gets full and you will have to find an out-of-the-way spot to park your car in the secure parking area. The reception is not open 24 hours, there is a number you can call after hours in the event of emergencies (such as a leaking dishwasher, which got replaced the next day) and the reception can provide additional items such as laundry and dishwashing powder. The apartment is not cleaned each day, they do a “mid-week” clean. Definitely will recommend this accommodation due to location and also the full home-away-from-home facilities such as kitchen and laundry (but you have to book the appropriate accommodation option)
Restaurant
Most of the wineries have a nice restaurant, 
so worth to book a table in advance for lunch if you are wine tasting at the winery or just nearby. However for breakfast and dinner the following are some I had tried during my stay.
- Margaret River Tuck Shop (map) -
Only managed to have one dinner outside of the apartment during my stay, and this was the restaurant I selected! It is very good, modern Australian cuisines with plenty of flavours and a lot of care and thought in the construction of the dishes, which really shows in the presentation and taste! I had the kangaroo and grilled octopus but there were other dishes on the menu that I wanted to try such as their fish. They are quite busy, so suggest to book in advance! - Settlers Tavern (map) - The local pub in Margaret River, with a bistro that serves food too! Had a beer there, can see a lot of the locals all gather here as their local watering hole.
- Margaret River Bakery (map) - Open super early and when you walk pass it you can’t miss it as it smells great! Besides freshly baked bread and coffees, they also have pies/pastries/sandwiches such as hot meat pies and a “breakfast sandwich”
- Brumby’s Bakery (map) - Another bakery that has freshly baked bread and coffees, they too also have pies/pastries/sandwiches too.
- Kappadokia Kebabs & Turkish Bakery (map) - The name suggests just Kebebs, which they do have! But it is also a fish and chips shop, serving the usual fisherman basket, potato scallops (cakes) etc. Great to buy some takeaway seafood and head to the beach to watch the sunset!
- Mai Tardi Gelateria (map) - Gelato! Need I say more?
In addition to the three supermarkets (Coles, Woolworths and IGA) within the Margaret River town for you to purchase food to cook, these are some other places you can check out in the area
- Margaret River Venison (map) - As the name suggests, they are a butcher that sells venison (deer meat)
for you to cook. Quite a wide range of different cuts of venison for you to choose from. They also serve hot pies (with venison meat) and coffee with some outdoor tables for you to have a quick lunch or snack between winery visits; as they are on Caves Rd, among the wineries - Margaret River Gourmet Meats (map) - A great deli with a selection of fresh meat for you to buy to cook / grill / bake; situated right in the middle of Margaret River town, so easy to pick up some meats to cook for dinner
- 34 Degrees Seafoods Margaret River (map)- A fresh seafood shop selling some fresh and frozen seafood. Worth a visit to see what they have and give some inspiration for what to cook for dinner.
- Margaret River Chocolate Company (map) - As the name suggests, lots of different types of chocolate; they have a window where you can watch the chocolatier making chocolate. There is also a cafe with food and coffee for you to eat in the cafe or take outside to the large lawn
Additional Information
- The drive down from Perth is mainly freeways and highways, there are plenty of service stations (petrol stations) with restaurants for you to stop and rest.
- There are larger towns such as Busselton under an hour away for more hotels, dining and activity options.
- The next town over (10min north bound) from Margaret River town is Cowaramup,
which is smaller than Margaret River town but is decorated with cows throughout; there is a pub and some shops (including a sweets shop), a cute little town to stop and drop by.
References
- https://margaretriver.wine/
- https://www.wineaustralia.com/market-insights/regions-and-varieties/western-australia-wines/margaret-river