Perth Trip Recap (2)

Day 2 - Margaret River

Rise and shine!  We started off the day early, but since all the wineries don't open until 10 am, we ate breakfast at a local cafe, bought groceries, and walked around town before heading off.  All the wineries here close at 5 pm sharp,  so be smart when you plan your routes so you won't spend too much time driving.

filling myself up so I will be ready for the wines :)

A cute little shop in town.

Our first stop of the day - The Natural Olive Oil Soap Factory.

lots of good quality products!

picture courtesy from my friend b

this is yummy!

Sandalford - the tasting room was much smaller than anticipated but the 2007 Estate Reserve Shiraz is to die for - my friend and I each got a bottle :)  Best of all, the tasting is free!

picture courtesy from my friend b

the tasting room

the wines we tasted

Vasse Felix - Next we stopped at Vasse Felix.  The ground is impressive but not the wine.  They also have a restaurant upstairs.  We wanted to stop for lunch but the waitress asked if we had a reservation otherwise it would be a 20 minutes wait.  It was 2 pm when we got there and the place was quite empty... but the waitress said the kitchen is busy since a party of 17 just sat down.  wow... really??

spoiled by free tastings!

lovely

 

Lawrence - this one wasn't in our original plan but we just happened to drove past it on our way to the soap factory and thought it was a lovely place.  So we went there after Vasse Felix.  Loved the place!  Unfortunately the restaurant closes at 3 pm so we didn't eat there but the 2009 Chardonnay was really good.  It was a little on the pricier side and since I already bought a bottle of Shiraz earlier... I passed this one up and opted for the 2010 Just a Sweetie instead (I am really into dessert wines these days...)  This one actually reminds me of my favorite Inniskillin Icewines.  The sad thing is... tasting is not free here... :(

I can totally see this place being a hot spot for wedding and functions, etc.  Sure enough... soon after we arrived, the place is closed for one!

 

 

 

Venison Farm - Last stop of the day!  As the weather warmed up, we thought it would be a nice idea to eat at our patio while sipping some wine.  So we bought ourselves a small taste plate.  We also bought some biltongs as souvenir (not your everyday beef biltons but exotic kangaroo and venison!)  The venison pate was so delicious!

beware: this place closes at 430pm

 

 

got the cider from the supermarket - so refreshing!

venison taste plate

Another eventful day for us.  Stay tuned for more :)

Extras - during our drive back, we saw a patch of the wood that looks autumn, which is weird since it's summer there... we found out later there was a recent bush fire in the region and these trees must have been cooked!