This was our plan…

… to travel via Dunsborough in order to get onto Caves Road (Road 250) – the very famous artery to Margaret River wines. The road is dotted by dozens of wineries, and being a Saturday, most of them were be open and busy. We had selected wineries we had visited before, as this was the purpose of our trip – to guide Derek and Helen to the places we had thought were great. And with a much shorter timeframe than Mick and I had had on previous trips, we had to be selective.

We stopped to take a look at Geographe Bay from Dunsborough Beach before heading into town for a coffee.

Mick and Derek were keen to take a closer look, as Derek is an avid Porsche owner.

As we walked into the cafe, I spotted a very stylish woman, dressed in a casual, yet classy yellow outfit who I realised was Dianne Laurance.

Not known as one for being shy, I decided to go over and say hello to her, and introduce myself. I told her that we had enjoyed a bottle of her 2014 Icon Cabernet Sauvignon last night, and that Edward was going to take the empty bottle back with him to the UK as a momento. She was thrilled to hear that and went on to tell us that the bottle had won a design award in Europe.

The first winery we visited was Windows Estate. A small winery where we were lucky enough to be served by the one of the owners, and the wife of the wine maker. She knew her stuff – and that makes a huge difference to the tasting experience.

We had purchased a case of wine from here during our last visit in December. And today, we left with a three bottles of different whites to share during our stay, plus Mick and I ordered another mixed case to be delivered to us back in Queensland.

Vasse Felix was the second winery I chose for today’s itinerary – mostly because of its beautiful surroundings and cellar, and the fact that many of the wines from here are found on restaurant menus. But, having said that, it is a very commercial enterprise, and you definitely do not get an intimate wine tasting experience here, like the one we had had at the previous winery.

Our wait for a tasting was not too long, and we left with a few bottles – the Cabernet Sauvignon and two bottles of their ‘quaffing’ wines. But, it was not voted the best winery of the day.

We had lunch in Cowaramup, before stopping at our third and final winery for the day – Churchview Estate.

Mick and I ordered a dozen of these wines to be sent back home for us to enjoy when we return.

Tomorrow we depart from Busselton and our day will not involve visits to wineries. Instead, we are heading east out into the less populated part of the state to see what we can find.