Discover your new favourite wine-holiday destination, with world-class drops, unbeatable dining, stunning sights and all-round good vibes.
Drive three hours south of Perth and you’ll find a small slice of paradise: Margaret River. Surrounded by the Indian Ocean, this gorgeous coastal region stretches across 100 kilometres, lined with rugged beaches and gentle eucalyptus forests. At its centre is the Margaret River township. Once a sleepy seaside town, home mostly to farmers, surfers and wine growers, today it is a bustling regional hub. Whether it’s the ultimate destination, or a pitstop on a bigger Aussie road trip, Margs is pumping with top-notch eateries and bars, live local music and a thriving art scene that attracts visitors and ex-pats from around the world. Think Byron Bay vibes but without the crystals.
Around the Margaret River township is a cluster of more than 150 wine estates making some of Australia's best-built cabernets, exceptionally ageworthy chardonnay and refreshingly savoury sauvignon blanc semillon blends. Despite this enviable reputation, Margaret River’s potential for wine was only realised in the 1950s and ’60s when a couple of scientists determined its marked maritime climate, cool temperatures and rich variety of soils ideal for growing exceptional-quality grapes. It makes Margaret River the only wine region in the world developed based on science. It didn’t take long for a group of visionary wine lovers, doctors mostly, to take the plunge and plant vineyards that continue to produce the premium wines we know and love.
The region offers visitors more than 90 cellar doors and over 200 vineyards. With pristine beaches, outstanding surf and natural beauty, Mother Nature has whipped up a true masterpiece here in Margaret River that inspires an equally vibrant food and art scene. Fair warning: it’s possible you may never want to leave.
Elevation – 0-500 metres
Total vine area – 5,725 ha
Average annual yield (grapes crushed) – 21,137 tonnes
Soil – deep red soils on granite and gneiss
Climate – moderate Mediterranean with cooling oceanic influence
Mean temp (Jan) – 20.9°C
Average growing season rainfall: – 202mm
White grapes – 60%
Red grapes – 40%
1. Cabernet sauvignon – 20%
2. Sauvignon blanc – 20%
3. Chardonnay – 17%
4. Semillon – 17%
5. Shiraz – 13%
One of the most geographically isolated regions in the world, Margaret River is celebrated for its unique ancient soils and local biodiversity with 80% of its 8,000 plant species found nowhere else in the world. This extends to the region’s vineyards, which grow a unique chardonnay vine known as the Gingin clone.
The region has a very similar climate to Bordeaux, cabernet sauvignon’s spiritual home. Its proximity to the Indian Ocean results in warm summers, mild winters and long, dry growing seasons – perfect for late-ripening varieties like cabernet.
There’s a big focus on sustainability, especially when it comes to the local food and wine scene. Fortunately, the climate is well-suited to environmentally friendly practices like organic and biodynamic farming. Margaret River is also home to one of the country’s first completely carbon-neutral wineries and cellar doors, which you can visit at Cullen Wines.
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