Wine tasting tips for Western Australia’s South-West

For wine lovers Western Australia’s stunning South-West region has so much to offer.

Most famously, of course, it’s home to Margaret River — an area which produces 20 per cent of Australia’s premium wines. In the 50 years since the first vines were planted the region has become as renowned for its Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc blends (SSB), Chardonnay and Cabernet as it is for its world-class surfing.

WA is also home to the Great Southern wine-growing region, which includes the familiar Mount Barker and Porongurup subregions — one of the coolest climates in the country for growing wine grapes. It has become famous for its Riesling and its Shiraz.

If you’re a wine lover but you’re new to the South-West and all it has to offer, here are some tips to help you find the right drop to suit your tastes and complement your holiday.

Margaret River region wine tasting tips

• Margaret River has become synonymous with SSB because the region’s vignerons have mastered the art of blending these two aromatic varieties. They’re known for their citrus and stone fruit flavours and a crisp acidity.
• Perhaps it is because Margaret River is surrounded on three sides by the ocean, but there’s something about the special growing conditions that gives its Chardonnay a distinct, complex and tangy flavour.
• The experts say a bottle of Margaret River Shiraz can “present with everything from medium-bodied spice and pepper to rich, full-bodied, fruit-driven wines available.”
• Margaret River grows a very high-quality but somehow sweet Cabernet Sauvignon, with earthy tannins.

Great Southern region wine tasting tips

• The Great Southern wine region is vast, spanning hundreds of square kilometres, so it’s often broken up into subregions. But all are noted for fine and fruity Rieslings— whether you’re drinking them young or aged.
• The Great Southern is the coldest corner of Western Australia so if you like Shiraz, this region is the place to indulge a “cool climate” bottle or two. It’s black-fruited and medium bodied.
• Other varieties commonly grown in the Great Southern and regularly picking up awards include Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay.

Take your time and taste the South-West’s wonderful wines

Beyond world-famous wines, the South-West has a lot going for it. It’s a top tourist destination, not just for people from WA and Australia, but with international guests, too. And that’s understandable — it has a fantastic climate, some of the best surfing conditions in the country, stunning scenery and hundreds of award-winning restaurants and wineries.

It is, as you’d expect, as much a tourism region as it is a wine-growing region. And many magnificent homes are now available as private accommodation throughout the South-West. What could be better, after a day touring wineries, than to retire to a magnificent home surrounded by vineyards and watch the sunset?

If that sounds idyllic to you, take a look at Tintagel Estate in Margaret River — an eight-bed, two-storey limestone and cedar home you could be calling your very own on your next South-West getaway.

Private Properties provide guests with a luxury experience in some of Western Australia’s best wine-growing areas. Browse our range today to book one of our beautiful holiday homes.