Since moving to Perth, one of my favourite activities has been wine tasting at various wineries around the region. In 2024, I discovered a handful of wine brands I really enjoy (along with a couple I would never pick up again) and have been expanding my palette to see which wines are my favourite.

When I was introduced to wine tasting as a concept back in 2023 (on our first trip to Perth) I quickly discovered that I enjoy Riesling, Chardonnay, and Pino Grigio. Since then, I’ve also gone on to enjoy a rare Chenin Blanc and a handful of red wines.

So on our trip to Margaret River, I mapped out a dream itinerary of wineries that I thought would be interesting to visit, with unique tastings on offer (or at least a stunning location to soak up) and we set off for a day of delicious sips!

Aravina Estate ⭐⭐⭐

After a three hour drive, our first stop was at Aravina Estate, where we were immediately greeted by a stunning garden of hydrangeas and leafy greens which surround you on your journey down to the cellar door. Live music was playing on their lawn and they were serving food in a variety of sitting areas which had picturesque views to kick back and enjoy the afternoon. It was a beautiful way to start our day of tastings.

We arrived around lunchtime, so our first thoughts were on trying to decide if we’d eat here or at the next stop (we eventually ordered a pizza because we were starving). In hindsight, this winery offered the most stunning views for the day, but the most underwhelming wine and food experience overall, so if you do come for a visit I would personally recommend coordinating a different lunch stop.

As a Chardonnay girlie, I really enjoyed their Wildwood Ridge Reserve Chardonnay as part of their tasting menu. They also make their own Limoncello, which we got to try (my partner didn’t like it but I didn’t mind it, the taste was certainly unique). While it wasn’t our favourite tasting of the day, we didn’t try any reds in our tasting so we can’t speak for the quality of their reds compared to their whites, and some wineries do one better than the other. We also appreciated the interesting range of wines available to try.

Brookland Valley ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Our next stop was just 17 minutes up the road at Brookland Valley, and this winery was a treat!

For a start, we had the whole place to ourselves (according to the cellar door staff it’s usually packed) and we were greeted by the most friendly dog ever, named Charlie, who came running over and demanded pats!

The reason I wanted to come to this winery is because they offer personalised and unique tasting experiences (including one that specialises in Chardonnay), and we certainly received a very tailored tasting! The staff were very attentive and talked us through our preferences, making fantastic recommendations based on what we did and didn’t enjoy. Within a couple of sips, I was expertly guided to a beautiful, oaked Chardonnay that I couldn’t help but buy a bottle of on the spot because it was that good!

The location was also absolutely beautiful, with tranquil views over a pond and lots of greenspace for picnics and relaxing. By the time we were leaving, a huge tour bus had just pulled up, so I feel like we got a rare and memorable experience.

But the best part? On our way out, we saw a bunny rabbit! (Unfortunately I didn’t get a photo because it was too quick). I know these are technically classed as pests but it was SO cute and it really made the entire experience extra special for us.

Juniper ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Next up was Juniper, and personally, this was my second favourite winery for the entire day. If we lived in Margaret River, I would probably be at this winery every Saturday afternoon just for the vibes.

It’s no secret that I love myself some flowers (I mean, have you seen my brand photos?) and I knew this location had a stunning garden of wildflowers. To our surprise, the cellar door staff told us we could go sit out amongst the flowers and they would bring our tastings to us! So we got to relax and enjoy the scenery as they bought our a custom selection of wines for us to try.

After letting them know we prefer whites but also enjoy a chilled red, they hand selected a range of wines that fit these categories to bring out to us. Juniper has a sister brand and a number of wine series across their range, so we got to try a bit of everything.

Once again, we got extremely lucky on the day when they bought out a 2016 Estate Chardonnay (which had been aged for almost 10 years) and told us they only had a handful of bottles left and weren’t actually supposed to be serving it in their wine tastings. It was, by far, my favourite white wine that I tasted the entire day, and I had to get a bottle right there since it wasn’t listed on their website (I have zero regrets).

Cape Mentelle ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Cape Mentelle is one of the first wine makers I discovered that I fell in love with when I was learning about wine and discovering what I enjoyed. There’s a lovely, upscale restaurant in Perth CBD called Sentinel and during our first few months living here, we went for dinner and I distinctly remember ordering a glass of 2022 Cape Mentelle Chardonnay.

Ever since, I’ve been ordering their wines directly via their website, and have even sent a few bottles back to my mum on the East Cost. But until this trip, I’ve never actually set foot on their winery or seen where the wine is made.

Cape Mentelle felt like a premium experience. In terms of location, they have a beautiful cellar door and an outdoor movie theatre which is such a vibe. Of course, I had to try the Heritage Tasting which meant I got to try a lovely selection of wines and hear a lot of the history behind each wine. They also bought us into this stunning, back-cellar room filled with barrels and soft lighting, which made the entire experience feel even more luxurious.

My favourite wine for this tasting actually happened to a red wine (the Zinfandel) which I wasn’t expecting, but it’s hands down the best red wine I’ve ever tasted in my life. The grapes are actually originally from California, and Cape Mentelle was the first winery to bring them to Margaret River.

Amato Vino ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Finally, we arrived at our final stop of the day; Amato Vino. This is an artisan wine maker, and another brand that we discovered through one of our favourite wine bars in Mount Hawthorn, La Madonna Nera (which is worth a whole post in itself, and I may do a review of it at some point).

Amato Vino is credited as having one of the first red wines I ever ended up enjoying. The staff at La Madonna Nera had been serving me whites for most of the night, and based on my feedback, they recommended I try Amato Vino’s Rosso, which came chilled. Though originally skeptical, their service and recommendations had been fantastic the entire night, and I ended up loving this wine so much that I went looking for it in wine shops.

The catch? It’s only in season for a small part of the year, so they don’t make it year round. When La Madonna Nera told us it was their last bottle, they didn’t just mean for the night—they meant until 2025!

So we waited and waited patiently for it to come back into stock, and eventually decided, let’s just go down to their cellar door and buy it ourselves.

Their cellar door is not at their winery, like most of the other places we visited. Instead, it was amongst a strip of shops, with an interior that sported a very quirky, semi-steampunk looking vibe (which feels on brand for them). Their tasting menu was by far, the most interesting and varied of the day, and even included an orange wine which we’ve never seen in a tasting lineup before.

At the staff’s recommendation, we ended up buying a bottle of their 2023 Tramonto, so we have another unique blend to try from them yet!

Planning a day trip to Margaret River?

We did all of this in one day (we live in West Perth, left at 9:30am and arrived at 12:00pm, so it can be done, though it’s a lot of driving).

Most Margaret River wineries don’t open until 10:00am or 11:00am, so there’s not much point leaving earlier unless you want to get down to the Margaret River town and have brunch before you set off for the wineries. Because my partner and I were sharing the driving, we planned a sit down lunch between our switchover to ensure we were both sober enough to drive between tastings, so you may want to take this into consideration.

We also planned and timed our first three wineries into our drive down to Margaret River’s town, so that we were still progressing towards our final destination even if we were stopping along the way. This saved us unnecessary driving back, forth and all over the place.

We managed to fit in five winery visits, even with a delayed start to our day and an off-road adventure through Xanadu Wineries vineyards when we were trying to reach Cape Mentelle (all thanks to our chaotic, car GPS system which insisted the only way to get there was through Xanadu Wineries — this set us back about 20 minutes and we still managed to fit everything in).

The only additional winery I had been hoping to visit, but knew probably wouldn’t happen, was Whicher Ridge Wines (which is actually closer to Busselton and would have made a great stop on the way down, except it opens at 12pm and we would have had to double back 40 minutes from the first two wineries. Essentially, we would have been choosing between Whicher Ridge and Cape Mentelle / Amato Vino, both of which were wineries we really wanted to visit).

Whicher Ridge was on my list because they do a sensory pick and sip experience in their gardens, which I thought would have been really memorable and fun. Still, it’s on my list for another day.

Did you enjoy this guide? Would you visit any of the wineries we covered? Or did you have a different experience at these wineries? I would love to know, so leave a comment below!