Wine & wineries
FOLLOW THE SMALL FAMILY WINERY TRAIL AND YOU’LL DISCOVER SOME LITTLE GEMS. BY FERGAL GLEESON.
KEEPING IT IN
the family
F
ive boutique wineries in the Margaret River region have joined forces to create the Small Family Winery Trail so I spoke to Karen Karri-Davies from Cape Grace Wines about the reasons why they’ve designed the trail. “There are now 95 cellar doors in Margaret River so people are overwhelmed when they come here,” Karen says. “They don’t know where
to start! So we put together a trail that people can do over a day or two half-days.” The trail solves a problem for many visiting the region. While it’s not hard to find the great estates such as Vasse Felix and Leeuwin Estate, it’s not easy to work out an itinerary of smaller producers. “The criteria to be a member of the trail was that the winery had to be owner operated so that visitors could meet the owners when they go to
the cellar door,” Karen tells me. “They have to make at least the red wine on site. Two of the wineries, Arimia and Glenarty Road also have restaurants.” The trail starts with Windows Estate and Arimia in the north of the region. Then you swing down through the heart of Margaret River to Cape Grace Wines and Brown Hill. You can conclude your trail with a visit to Glenarty Road down south in Karridale. “All the wineries have that relaxed, organic feel,” Karen tells me. “It’s a bit like a farmers market where you can talk to the person who’s grown the vegetables.”
WINDOWS ESTATE Jo and Chris Davies are the proprietors of Windows Estate which Chris planted more than 20 years ago. Jo was telling me about their minimal intervention approach. “We see the farm as an eco-system. We don’t do a lot to our wines because the winery should be a small part of the process. It takes 12 months to grow grapes,” Jo says.
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WINTER 2019
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