Our destination from Fremantle was Busselton, where we will spend three nights. And this is where our son, who has been working in the wine industry over here for almost 9 months, is living for the next few weeks, until he return to the UK. We are hoping he can be our guide during part of our stay. Regardless, he will have some suggestions for us.
Our first winery visit was at Willow Bridge Estate in the Ferguson Valley, only a slight detour on the way to Busselton. Mick really loves the sparkling wine they make here, and we left with a bottle of that as well as a bottle of their very pretty rosé (made from Tempranillo).
The wine tasting room here is quite small – a room above the shed used to make the wines. Mick and I have gotten to know it quite well – this was our third visit.
In Western Australia at the moment, the production of wine, known as the vintage, is in full swing. I took this photo of the wine maker running across the walkway to supervise the activities.
Mick and I then recommended to Derek and Helen that we should have lunch, and another wine tasting, at Green Door Winery, a few kilometres away, and I always love the views from here.
During this visit to Green Door – Mick had some company in his photographic spot.
It was drizzling with rain while we were there, and while the countryside needed some rain, the wine makers were not so happy. As it turned out, our son is friends with the wine maker and she took us on a behind-the-scenes guided tour.
The Green Door uses amphora pots to make some of its wines. We were able to taste some of the juice from different varieties of grapes, including verdelho, fiano and chardonnay, in various stages of fermentation. This was a first for all of us.
The grapes in the next pictures are Gingin clone chardonnay, they tasted very sweet and we were shown the hen and chicken clusters (big and small grapes) that make this grape so easily recognisable.
These grapes were going to be pressed the next day, and the wine maker was very exited by the quality of the fruit she had to work with.
During our visit, we also got to sample some of the vermouths she had been experimenting with, and both Derek and Mick were very impressed.
We headed for Busselton with 2 bottles of the 2020 Amphora Tempranillo (which is amazing), and 2 bottles of the vermouth, to share with Edward, as he hadn’t tried any of her vermouths.
We later enjoyed dinner at our Airbnb in Busselton, sampling the wines we purchased with a shoulder of lamb that Mick cooked for us all. And, we decided to place an order for a case of the Green Door 2020 Tempranillo. It is that good.
Jane and Mick's Holiday Adventures 