Western Australia Part 2

Tuesday 8 May  

CJ and I rose early and ran a short 4km tempo run along the "rails to trails" path. It was beautiful, a great surface in the forest and oh so pretty. I'm really looking forward to running a long run there tomorrow. It was a cool day (I have already had to make a quick trip to the local Target Country to purchase a couple of long sleeved warmer tops as I only took t-shirts and jackets with me).

Today we had a tour booked (the reason for our short run) which covered 5 wineries among other things. It was a busy fun packed day. Our tour group consisted of seven people in the morning and two  more in the afternoon. They were all lovely.

Our first stop was  the Watershed winery where we were taught the correct way to taste wine including the way to hold the glass and swirling, sniffing and sipping. We ordered a mixed dozen of Sauvignon Blanc Semillon (SBS for the uninitiated) and some sweet voignier to be sent back to Canberra for us. We sampled six different wines. I'm not sure how we'll still be standing after five wineries!

Next winery was the Leeuwin Estate. This was set in magnificent grounds where they annually hold concerts. Not surprisingly it is very popular as the setting is stunning. The wine was pretty good too!

Our lunch stop was at Voyager Estate. After we had ordered from the menu we tasted more wine and were also given a full glass with our meal. The food was delicious. I had lamb shank with polenta and orange gremolata and it was just divine.

Leeuwin Estate

Wineries including lamb shank at Voyager Estate

After lunch another couple joined our group and we headed out to a venison farm. Here we just sampled some venison sausage and little tasty bits before heading off to Olio Bello - an olive oil farm. There were some amazing olive oils here and some yummy tastings. Next stop was another visit to the Margaret River Chocolate Company and more free samples. Oh my, so delicious! So irresistible! More purchases before being taken to the cheese factory. We bought a few tasty pieces for the anti pasto which we decided to have for tea in our apartment that evening. After our big lunch and so many tastings we only needed a light meal!

There were two more wineries which were smaller family operated ones known as boutique wineries. We tasted some very nice fortified wines at the last winery. The winery was called Woody Nook and we bought some aptly named Nooky Delight!

It was a really good day and we were pretty tired by the time we were dropped off at our apartment. However, CJ and I decided to work off some of our excess food and wine by walking into the town to buy a few extra bits and pieces for our anti pasto. It was a yummy meal and we had a relaxing evening before a longer run next morning.