Margaret River winemakers will tell you they produce just three per cent of Australia’s wine but 20 per cent of its premium output. This reputation for quality is the region’s calling card, along with its amazing coastline and reputation for good food and living.

Arimia, Wilyabrup
Many talk the talk of sustainability, but Arimia also walks the walk. The website declares “we are farmers first. The driver here isn’t wine or food itself but the positive impact we can have on place through the production of these things.” Off the grid, organically focused and with an impressive approach to stocking the larder, Arimia has a reputation bolstered not only by good wine, but also the work of chef Evan Hayter. Trout raised in the eight-hectare property’s dam, free-ranging pigs, estate olive oil and a market garden are all at his disposal.

Blind Corner, Quindalup
One of Margaret River’s best-known natural wine producers, Blind Corner is organic and biodynamic. At the simple rustic cellar door you’ll get not just a taste of the wines, but a taste of the surfy, laid-back ethos of this region, which draws people in to a life in the south-west.

Cullen Wines, Wilyabrup
Draw a Venn diagram of Margaret River and Cullen Wines will likely be at the centre. It’s a founding winery of the region, with a stellar reputation in the international wine world, excelling at the cornerstone varietals, chardonnay and cabernet, organic, biodynamic and by virtue natural. It even has the perfect lunch setting. Simply a must-visit

Domaine Naturaliste, Wilyabrup
Bruce Dukes is a name you perhaps don’t know, but the owner and winemaker behind Domaine Naturaliste is one of Margaret River’s most prolific winemakers, producing wine for some of the regions best-known labels. With his own label and now cellar door, Dukes is well and truly on the map.

Glenarty Road, Karridale
The rustic cellar door and restaurant are relative newcomers to the Margaret River scene, but co-owner Ben McDonald has been growing grapes on his family property for more than 20 years. It was with the arrival of his wife, Sasha, the winemaker of the pair, that the Glenarty Road the locals know and love came to be. Their latest pet-nat release, Glenarty Road Petillant Naturel 2019, is perfect for summer, but we’ve got a feeling it will stand up year round.

Leeuwin Estate, Margaret River
One of Margaret River’s most stately wineries, Leeuwin Estate has in recent years opened up its ground floor art gallery, where you’ll find many of the works that lend their image to the famed Art Series label, and an increased outdoor footprint for its féted restaurant helmed by British chef Dan Gedge. Home to the annual concert series and Gourmet Escape, Leeuwin Estate has a lot going on, but that shouldn’t deflect from the main event. Our pick? Art Series chardonnay.

Voyager Estate, Margaret River
Don’t count on a quick stop at Voyager Estate. As with its neighbour, Leeuwin Estate, taking your time pays dividends. Walk the ornamental and edible gardens, book a tour of the winery and estate, and, of course, taste the wines. The grand dining room is home to chef Santiago Fernandez, where you’ll find the seven-course Discovery dégustation menu and the four-course à la carte Terrior menu.

Wills Domain, Yallingup
Here you’ll find one of the best vineyard views in Margaret River to go with excellent wine made under the supervision of Bruce Dukes and a restaurant that topped last year’s delicious. 100 Western Australian top 10. If that’s not a recipe for success we don’t know what is. For those who don’t have time for the full dégustation experience, a tasting and a dip into the à la carte are heartily recommended.

Windows Estate, Yallingup
The quintessential small family winery, Windows Estate is a labour of love and a fair amount of toil. Chris Davies is a viticulturist by training and he has, for more than 20 years, tended to his six hectares pretty much alone. It’s perhaps the proof of the often-heard opinion that wine is made in the vineyard, not the winery.

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