I was only interested in trying their Cabernet Sauvignon, as I was driving, but Mick did a fine job and tried them all.

And, surprise, surprise – he loved them all, while I was a little disappointed by the Cabernet Sauvignon. We left with three bottles from here to share with our son and his fiancée during our stay with them in Busselton, only later to find out that that was not necessary!

We were surprised to discover that Willow Bridge Estate is one of the biggest wineries in the Geographe Region.

Next stop was to Green Door for a wine tasting and lunch. This too was a place we’d been last year.

The wine tasting is done very differently here – with tasting notes provided along with samples of the wine poured into small labelled carafes for visitors to taste on their own.

The view from our table was wonderful – we tasted the wines as we watched a small tractor trim the vines while enjoying the smell of freshly cut grass – that almost sounds like the start of some wine tasting notes!

Next stop was Busselton to see our son and his fiancée. And it was then we realised we had no need to buy any wines. He had been collecting bottles of wine to taste with us during our stay.

These were only SOME of the wines he had for us. And he had a plan for how we were to sample them.

Tonight was to be red wines, which called for a hearty meal. He made us a fabulous tasty Shepherd’s Pie, but before we tasted them he gave us some instruction on what to look for in a wine. His simple summary made a complex task sound easy.

Primary characteristics are those relating to the fruit and the growing conditions. NATURE

Secondary characteristics are those resulting from the winemaker’s influence. HUMANS

Tertiary characteristics are those that emerge as they wine ages. TIME

I have to admit that my tasting technique is rather simple. I like to smell the wine, swirl the wine and then taste it to see if I like it.

These were the wines we tried:

Firetail – Blanc de Blanc 2016 (100% Chardonnay, with zero dosage, and 72 months on lees, 11.7%). It got a big thumbs up. ($30)

Lenton Brae – 2015 Semillon Sauvignon Blanc (a Museum Wine at $70) at 12.5%, and only 700 bottles made. It was a great wine where I could hardly taste the Sauvignon Blanc – which is perfect for me. It too got a thumbs up.

House of Cards – 2020 Kings in the Corner; an organic wine at 14%. Made from hand-picked Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec grapes that were basket-pressed . This was a very reasonably priced at $27 and was fantastic.

Patrick of Coonawarra – 2016 Méthode Eucalypt – a Cabernet Sauvignon . Our son had chosen this wine because of it’s quirkiness. The winemaker has used the influence of gum tree proximity to the vines to influence the aroma and taste. And it had. The team was divided on this one. I was in the NO Camp!

Whicher Ridge – 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon (13.9%). To be honest, I had started to ‘flag’ by this stage. I must clarify, that was from weariness and not too much wine. So, off to bed I went.

What a big day!

POSTSCRIPT – Just if you’re concerned – not all wines were finished during the night, so perhaps I’ll get to sample a bit more of the Whicher another evening.