Before we went to Western Australia, the one thing I knew about Margaret River was that it makes very good wine. That turned out to be true and also a considerable understatement.
What I had not appreciated was the scale of it, or how young the whole thing is. There are around 200 producers in a region that had no commercial vineyards at all until the late 1960s. Turning up without a plan and hoping to stumble on the right cellar door is a good way to waste an afternoon.
Margaret River produces about 2% of Australia’s wine by volume but more than 20% of its premium wine by value. The climate is close to Bordeaux, so expect excellent Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay. Pick one or two wineries rather than five, book lunch ahead, and sort out how you are getting home before you open the first bottle.
Around 200, depending on how you count. Semrush and the wine bodies put it at roughly 187 wineries working about 215 separate vineyards, and the number moves as small producers come and go. What matters more than the exact figure is that they are spread across a region roughly 100km long, so “visiting the wineries” is a driving decision as much as a drinking one.
Of those, only a fraction have cellar doors open to the public every day, and a smaller fraction again do proper sit-down food. That is why the next two sections matter more than a list of names.
Two numbers tell you most of what you need to know. Margaret River grows roughly 2% of Australia’s wine grapes, and accounts for over 20% of the country’s premium wine market by value. It is a small region punching a very long way above its weight.
The reason is the climate. Margaret River sits on a narrow strip of land between two oceans, which keeps the temperature range unusually tight, and the conditions are often compared to Bordeaux in a dry vintage. That is why the grape varieties look familiar to European drinkers: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc and some outstanding Chardonnay. Shiraz and Chenin Blanc turn up too. The split across the region runs roughly 40% white to 60% red.
The other surprise is how recent it all is. Vasse Felix, founded by Dr Tom Cullity in 1967 at Wilyabrup, was the first vineyard and winery in the region. Everything else followed. For a wine area with this reputation, that makes it barely older than some of the people drinking it.
There are no official sub-regions, though six unofficial ones are widely used; Yallingup, Carbunup, Wilyabrup, Treeton, Wallcliffe and Karridale. You will see the names on labels and on cellar door signage.
With around 200 producers you cannot do this on instinct. Ignore anyone’s list of “the best” and work out what kind of visit you actually want, then pick to match.
The historic one: Vasse Felix at Wilyabrup, the region's founding estate, with a restaurant and an art gallery on site.
The big modern cellar door: Howard Park, if you want the polished, architectural end of the experience.
The famous one: Leeuwin Estate, best known internationally for its Art Series Chardonnay, and the venue for the long-running Leeuwin Concert series.
A boutique producer: Most of the region falls into this category, and it is where the more interesting afternoons happen. Smaller rooms, longer conversations, wines you will not find at home.
One you already drink: This is what we did. We had come across Xanadu Wines in the UK, so we called in at their winery while we were there purely out of curiosity. There is something quite satisfying about standing in the vineyard that produced the bottle in your kitchen.
Two cellar doors in a day is plenty, three is pushing it, and four means you will not remember any of them properly. Margaret River rewards slowing down.
If you only do one thing properly in Margaret River, make it a vineyard lunch rather than a string of tastings. You will remember it for longer and you will drink better.
The highlight of our first visit was a tasting lunch at Voyager Estate, booked for Easter Sunday and, we decided, strictly for the adults.
It was worth the planning. We ate beautifully at a table looking out over the vineyard rows, and it is the meal from that whole trip that I think about most often.
Vasse Felix and Leeuwin Estate both have well-regarded restaurants attached, and several smaller estates do a simpler platter-and-a-glass version if you want something lighter. The common factor is that they all need booking in season.
Book ahead, and book earlier than you think. We were there over Easter weekend, which is one of the busiest periods of the year in the region, and it was one of only three things on our entire two week road trip that we could not have arranged on the day.
Here is the practical problem with a vineyard lunch, and we walked straight into it.
When we finished at Voyager Estate we could not get a taxi. We tried three times and each booking failed, probably because it was a public holiday and every driver in the region was already busy. In the end we had to ask the winery staff to help us sort something out, which they did, but it was an unnecessarily anxious half hour at the end of an otherwise perfect meal.
Have a plan before you sit down. Your options are:
A designated driver: Simple, effective, and someone will not enjoy the afternoon as much as everyone else.
A booked transfer Arrange it in advance rather than assuming you can call one when you are ready. Some tour companies will do winery transport as a standalone service.
An organised tour: The most reliable answer, and the subject of the next section.
Staying somewhere within walking distance: Only realistic at a handful of properties, but worth checking if a long lunch is the whole point of your trip.
Do not assume rideshare coverage will save you. The wineries are spread across a large rural area and Easter, Christmas and the Margaret River Pro in April all put serious pressure on local transport.
If you would rather not think about any of the above, book a tour. It solves the transport problem and usually gets you into more places than you would find on your own.
Two long-established local companies are Wine for Dudes, which I did not make up, and Harvest Tours. Both run a range of options across different budgets and lengths, and several of their tours take in gourmet food producers and micro-breweries alongside the wineries. Wine for Dudes also offers transport for winery visits as a standalone service, which is exactly what we needed and did not know existed until afterwards.
There is also a deep bench of options on GetYourGuide, which is useful if you want to compare formats and prices in one place before you commit. Currently listed:
If you are based in Perth rather than staying locally, there are full day trips that come down for the wineries and go back the same evening, from around $191. It is a long day and you will see less, but it works if Margaret River is not getting its own overnight stop on your road trip.
Not everybody in a group wants five hours of tasting notes, and the region has quietly built a serious craft drinks scene alongside the vineyards.
There are micro-breweries and distilleries scattered through the same countryside, and several of the wine tours deliberately mix them in so nobody has a miserable afternoon. GetYourGuide lists a dedicated craft beer and distillery tour with lunch at around 6 hours from $153, and a firepit experience at Bettenay’s from around $21, which is a much lower commitment way to spend an evening.
If you’re looking for some more sober activities, we have a guide on All The Things To Do In Margaret River which may be of more use.
A lot of the region’s best food is on winery estates rather than in town.
Miss Chow’s, the nut free Asian restaurant that was such a relief for our son, is on the Edwards Wines property about 9km from the main street. Vasse Felix and Leeuwin Estate both have well-regarded restaurants. Several smaller estates do a simpler platter-and-a-glass version that suits a lighter afternoon.
The practical point is that “dinner in Margaret River” often means a drive out of town and back, which loops straight back to the transport question above. Our full write-up of where we ate, including the places in the town centre itself, is in the Margaret River town centre guide.
The cellar doors are open all year, so this is more about crowds than weather.
April: When we went, and the weather was perfect, mid twenties and dry. It is also when the Margaret River Pro brings the World Surf League to town, and when Easter often falls, so the region is at its busiest and everything needs booking.
Summer, December to February: Hot, busy and the peak of the domestic holiday season.
Autumn and winter, May to August: Quieter, greener, and the time to get a cellar door mostly to yourself. Vintage runs through late summer into autumn, so there is activity in the vineyards.
Spring, September to November: Wildflowers across the wider south west and fewer people than summer.
Whenever you come, my one regret is not building in more time. We gave Margaret River two nights on our first visit and spent most of them wishing we had three. When we came back two years later we still did not manage everything, which tells you something about the place.
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