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Margaret River Region - Cassandra Charlick - Freelance Writer
82 Plays4 years ago
On the seventh episode of Fine Vines and Wine, I'm joined by freelance writer Cassandra Charlick whose work includes Halliday Wine Companion, Delicious.com.au, Gourmet Traveller Wine, Escape Magazine, Urban List, Time Out London and Your Margaret River Region magazine to name a few! We discuss changes in the media world, dive into the world of natural wine, discuss different experiences for your next Margaret River Region trip and go into detail with food and wine pairings. I ask the tough questions when it comes to what Cassandra Charlick’s favourite things to do in the Margaret River Region are and she shares plenty of spots to plan the most perfect sounding trip! So I guess the real question is, who’s coming with me?! For a full list of wineries mentioned on this week's episode, head across to my instagram page @finevinesandwine.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Transcript
Introduction to 'Fine Vines and Wine'
00:00:07
Speaker
Hi everyone and welcome to Fine Vines and Wine.
00:00:10
Speaker
I'm your host Karis Pixie and each week I'll be giving you all an insight into the behind the scenes of our favourite beverage, wine.
00:00:18
Speaker
I'd love for you to use this podcast platform as a winery guide for your next weekend away, exploring everything Australia has to offer.
00:00:26
Speaker
You never know, you might discover a new spot or two to visit.
Acknowledgment of Traditional Custodians
00:00:30
Speaker
I acknowledge the Katigal and the Wadandi peoples, traditional custodians of the land that we recorded today's podcast episode on.
00:00:37
Speaker
I pay my respects to the elders past, present and emerging, for they hold the memories, the traditions, the culture and hopes of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples across the nation.
Guest Introduction: Cassandra Charlik
00:00:48
Speaker
So on this episode of Fine Vines and Wine, I'm joined by freelance journalist Cassandra Charlik.
00:00:54
Speaker
who writes for a broad list of publications, including Gourmet Traveller Wine, Delicious Magazine, and escape.com.au.
00:01:02
Speaker
Thank you for joining me today.
00:01:04
Speaker
How's the beginning of your week been?
00:01:06
Speaker
It's been good.
00:01:08
Speaker
I feel like my weeks and weekends kind of all blur around, so...
00:01:14
Speaker
There's really no beginning and end, I feel like.
00:01:17
Speaker
I live in a wine region and travel is life as well.
00:01:21
Speaker
So every day is an adventure, really.
00:01:25
Speaker
That sounds amazing.
00:01:28
Speaker
Well, some days I am just sitting at the desk writing all day.
00:01:31
Speaker
That's actually the reality of a lot of what I do.
00:01:33
Speaker
But it's always around enjoyable topics.
00:01:36
Speaker
I mean, food and wine is so interesting and enjoyable.
00:01:39
Speaker
Yeah.
00:01:40
Speaker
It is, and you never, ever stop learning.
00:01:43
Speaker
It never gets boring.
00:01:45
Speaker
That actually leads us into our first question perfectly.
Cassandra's Non-linear Career Path
00:01:49
Speaker
How long have you been writing about food and wine, and how did you get into the industry?
00:01:53
Speaker
I feel like some people take quite linear directions in their career.
00:01:59
Speaker
I definitely haven't been one of those people.
00:02:02
Speaker
I did originally study.
00:02:03
Speaker
I studied communication studies at university, but I also studied musical theatre.
00:02:10
Speaker
Yeah, so my career has kind of jumped around.
00:02:13
Speaker
I've often had like parallel lives essentially running.
00:02:17
Speaker
So I started out doing a bit more arts writing.
00:02:21
Speaker
So I helped write a fine art column when I graduated and then I've done theatre reviews and written plays and all sorts of things from my career.
00:02:32
Speaker
But I guess I've kind of always looked at what I'm doing to facilitate art.
00:02:39
Speaker
And I've always had a very heavy focus on food.
00:02:43
Speaker
I've always enjoyed wine, but I guess it wasn't until I moved to Margaret River that I started learning properly about wine and really consolidating my knowledge.
00:02:53
Speaker
I wish I knew the things I knew now when I was traveling.
00:02:56
Speaker
traveling and had access to some of the wines and the experiences living in Europe.
00:03:03
Speaker
That's life, c'est la vie.
00:03:05
Speaker
So, yeah, it was really since moving to Margaret River that I heavily focused on travel and wine and food.
00:03:13
Speaker
And, I mean, that was quite a natural progression anyway because I live in a tourism and wine region with an amazing food culture.
00:03:20
Speaker
So, yeah, that's kind of how it happened and, I guess,
00:03:24
Speaker
like a lot of things it's it's a mindset thing and once you make that switch and you know what direction you're going and that's what you see and that's that's where you go so yeah it's been it's I've been very busy since um since moving here which was about just over five years ago I think now perfect I can imagine to be so busy I would I haven't been to the Margaret River but it's on my list and I would love to visit it's see it sounds amazing
00:03:49
Speaker
Yes, it is.
00:03:50
Speaker
You know, I think you can, I mean, I live here and I still don't have enough time to do all the amazing, amazing things here.
00:03:57
Speaker
It's such a diverse, such a diverse region, really.
00:04:00
Speaker
There's, there's so much.
00:04:02
Speaker
Anyway, I think we'll probably talk more about that further on in the conversation.
00:04:05
Speaker
So I won't go too far into it.
00:04:06
Speaker
But yes, you must get here.
00:04:08
Speaker
You must come visit.
00:04:09
Speaker
I'm so like skeptical at the moment or hesitant, I guess is a better word, of booking trips that cross borders because stuff changes so quickly that you could have a whole trip booked and then they're like, oh, we're closing the borders.
00:04:22
Speaker
And you're like, oh, okay, then I guess I won't.
00:04:25
Speaker
So it's hard.
00:04:27
Speaker
It is.
00:04:28
Speaker
It's hard.
00:04:28
Speaker
It's hard, I think, for consumers and it's incredibly hard for the industry.
00:04:34
Speaker
Yeah, but it's understandable when there's that uncertainty.
00:04:39
Speaker
But hopefully it's not for too much longer.
00:04:40
Speaker
So before COVID, were you travelling around Australia and writing and that sort of thing?
00:04:48
Speaker
And has that changed or were you more just staying in the Margaret River and writing about that area?
00:04:54
Speaker
Yeah.
Impact of COVID-19 on Local Writing
00:04:55
Speaker
Yeah, so, I mean, there have been so many silver linings to COVID, as difficult as it has been.
00:05:05
Speaker
I actually haven't travelled around Australia as much as I would like to have, especially in regards to wine.
00:05:14
Speaker
I really need to do a wine tour of Australia when I can.
00:05:18
Speaker
So I was very much writing about
00:05:21
Speaker
the region that I live in um but more so if I was looking at elsewhere it was overseas so um I've done you know quite a bit on on Europe um I was so lucky enough to have gone to Azerbaijan just towards the end I think it was the year before COVID hit I'm trying my timeline's so out of whack after having essentially you know the year that was 2020 and um
00:05:44
Speaker
You know, and that was phenomenal.
00:05:48
Speaker
So, yeah, so in terms of Australia, my life hasn't changed in terms of the Australia-wide travel hugely.
00:05:55
Speaker
I like that you said about the silver lining with COVID because I actually feel like everyone always focuses on the negatives, but I feel like for me, especially COVID really taught me to –
00:06:07
Speaker
not be so busy all the time or kind of to pull back a little bit but because before COVID I was going to like three events a day and I wasn't saying no and I was like so busy and so stressed and having COVID kind of helped me to yeah slow down a little bit so I guess yeah there are some silver linings to it as well it's definitely taught us a few things definitely
00:06:30
Speaker
Yes, absolutely.
00:06:33
Speaker
It was funny.
00:06:33
Speaker
I mean, I kind of felt like the initial period of COVID hit and I totally slowed down.
00:06:39
Speaker
All my work stopped straight away.
00:06:44
Speaker
And then I got crazy busy because suddenly everything was focused on...
00:06:50
Speaker
you know, where I live, like it was statewide travel Western Australia.
00:06:55
Speaker
We've been so lucky here with, yeah, I think with both of the approach of our, you know, our leaders statewide, but there's also a degree of luck, you know, we've just been very lucky as well, which has meant that, you know, as a freelance travel writer,
00:07:12
Speaker
Western Australia, I've been busy because people have been able to travel here other than our little, you know, two weeks of lockdown that we recently had.
00:07:21
Speaker
Yeah, it's been, I've been so busy.
00:07:23
Speaker
What's your most memorable moment that you've experienced thanks to being involved in the wine world?
Wine Community Generosity
00:07:29
Speaker
I'd have to say it's not one moment, but I think it's more, it's the generosity of the people in the world of wine.
00:07:38
Speaker
You know, I've had, I've just been blown away by, yeah, by the generosity of people with time, you know, their knowledge, knowledge,
00:07:48
Speaker
sharing the actual physical product that is wine.
00:07:52
Speaker
You know, even this vintage, it's such a hectic and high-pressure time for winemakers, you know, when you're picking the grapes and you're making the wine.
00:08:05
Speaker
And I've been hovering about and lurking in wineries, this vintage in particular, and I'm just so grateful that, you know, I haven't hopefully pissed anyone off too much.
00:08:13
Speaker
Yeah.
00:08:15
Speaker
And they've just let me be a part of that and wine educators and winery owners.
00:08:21
Speaker
There was one moment which was a few years ago when I just moved here and I was driving back late one night and one of my friends said,
00:08:30
Speaker
come and catch up for a glass of wine.
00:08:31
Speaker
And I didn't realise that I was accidentally gatecrashing the Christmas party for Howard Park and Martin and Birch.
00:08:39
Speaker
And I turned up and I was like, oh, I thought I was just having a quiet glass of wine to catch up.
00:08:44
Speaker
And I hadn't met Jeff Birch at that point.
00:08:47
Speaker
And I remember meeting him.
00:08:49
Speaker
and chatting and I said something about, I think, something about my age and he just said, wait a minute and he went down to his cellar and he brought back a bottle of, well, now everyone knows my age, 1985, um,
00:09:05
Speaker
It was a Grand Cru 1985 from Bordeaux.
00:09:09
Speaker
And he just, you know, covered in dust.
00:09:12
Speaker
And he gave it to me, just said, you know, this is for you to open with good people that appreciate it.
00:09:17
Speaker
It's just such a pleasure to have met you, you know, happy Christmas.
00:09:21
Speaker
And, you know, and I was just...
00:09:24
Speaker
blown away it was a conversation we had and it was yeah he the people are so generous with with everything um in the world of wine i think that's why i love it so much um it's you know it's we're all brought together by something magic
00:09:40
Speaker
Yeah, and something that's so interesting.
00:09:42
Speaker
And I feel like people that love wine, they're really like interested in learning and interested in sharing that knowledge as well, which I love too.
00:09:50
Speaker
So I can definitely see that.
00:09:52
Speaker
And that would have been, have you drank the 1985 bottle yet?
00:09:57
Speaker
Yes, opened it with friends, including the friend that I'd gone just for a glass of wine with there.
00:10:05
Speaker
And it was, you know, it was so appreciated.
00:10:07
Speaker
You know, I think I do have discussions quite often with people that have amazing sellers, you know, or anyone and just say, when do you, you know, when do you open a precious bottle?
00:10:20
Speaker
And, you know, is there a place to open it with people that might not
00:10:24
Speaker
not appreciate wine quite so much.
00:10:26
Speaker
And I, you know, I think it's a balance.
00:10:29
Speaker
When you do have something that is that rare or, you know, I do think there's a time and place for opening it.
00:10:38
Speaker
You know, I was chatting with...
00:10:41
Speaker
with Duke from Duke's Winery and I said, when do you open?
00:10:44
Speaker
He's got that amazing filler.
00:10:45
Speaker
And when do you open?
00:10:46
Speaker
He said, I think it's either on Wednesday or Thursday night and he'll sit down and he'll open a bottle and he'll just appreciate half the bottle.
00:10:53
Speaker
And if, you know, by himself, if it's an amazing bottle and the right people aren't there,
00:10:59
Speaker
to appreciate it yeah that actually makes a lot of sense like I feel yeah there's some bottles that I have in my wine fridge that I'm always like that my boyfriend's always like oh we should take this bottle and it'll be great and I'm like but they I'm like but no one drinks red wine so why would we take that like it's a heavy red no one's going to enjoy it so I kind of like that yeah like thinking about who would appreciate it and opening it with them because then it's more special as well
00:11:24
Speaker
Yeah, it is.
00:11:25
Speaker
That's it.
00:11:26
Speaker
That's it.
00:11:26
Speaker
I'm thinking back now, like maybe it wasn't a grand crew.
00:11:29
Speaker
I think it was a premier crew.
00:11:30
Speaker
I've got the bottle sitting on my bench.
00:11:35
Speaker
the one that I've been, but either way, it's, you know, it's something I would never, I would never be able to access, at least, you know, at my point.
00:11:45
Speaker
Yeah.
00:11:46
Speaker
No, I love that you kept the bottle as well.
00:11:47
Speaker
I keep all of my special memory bottles.
00:11:50
Speaker
There's quite a few sitting on my bar cart at the moment, but they have like such special memories to me that I'm like, oh, I just want to keep them and remember when I look at them.
00:11:59
Speaker
Totally, much to my husband's.
00:12:01
Speaker
Sure.
00:12:03
Speaker
Yeah, he's not as enthusiastic about my bottle hoarding.
00:12:08
Speaker
Why do we have all these bottles lying around cluttering things up?
00:12:11
Speaker
Definitely.
00:12:11
Speaker
No, my boyfriend's the same.
00:12:12
Speaker
He's like, can we just throw them out?
00:12:14
Speaker
I'm like, no, we can't throw them out.
00:12:16
Speaker
Like, oh my gosh, it would be horrible.
00:12:18
Speaker
Yeah.
00:12:18
Speaker
So I completely understand it.
00:12:20
Speaker
It's fine.
00:12:21
Speaker
I'm just going to go off topic again.
00:12:24
Speaker
As you're talking, I'm coming up with different questions.
00:12:26
Speaker
So you said that you have been helping out during vintage?
00:12:32
Speaker
A little bit.
00:12:33
Speaker
I don't know how much help I actually am.
00:12:37
Speaker
I've done, I've done, I helped a friend with a bit of picking the other day and, and I have done lurking.
00:12:44
Speaker
So I have done just hovering around and watching things and asking questions, which I don't think that's classified as helping, but yeah.
00:12:52
Speaker
And hopefully in one sense it's helping because at some point I will share that with readers and people that are curious and hopefully it's helping in that sense, if not, you know, productively in the winery.
00:13:04
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, I would love the luxury.
00:13:06
Speaker
It sounds ridiculous because I know it's not a luxury to many people, but I would love the luxury of, you know, of being able to take whole vintage just going and working.
00:13:13
Speaker
Maybe one day I'll do that.
00:13:14
Speaker
But, yeah, my deadlines and all my work, unfortunately, doesn't facilitate that at this point in time.
00:13:25
Speaker
Which winery are you helping at?
00:13:28
Speaker
Oh, hovering at.
00:13:30
Speaker
Well, I did actually pick, so I did my, some wine qualifications and study last year and my dear friend who was the wine educator and a good friend and she makes a very small batch of her own wine.
00:13:46
Speaker
So I actually went out last week and helped her pick Chardonnay in the morning, which was magic.
00:13:52
Speaker
So I actually, I really enjoyed it.
00:13:55
Speaker
I think it's really,
00:13:57
Speaker
a wonderful part of the process to be doing you know i think obviously if you were doing that for weeks on end you'd probably have a different opinion by the end of vintage you were just picking but um but yeah so her um her label i don't know how far it's distributed it's very small batch it's called cha-cha um and it's very lovely chardonnay um she might be making a red this year as well but um keep an eye out if you do see it
00:14:26
Speaker
You can definitely get it in Western Australia at some places, but you can always just ask for it at...
00:14:33
Speaker
if you're overreached and see if they can get it in.
00:14:36
Speaker
You're a journalist and you've been freelance writing.
00:14:39
Speaker
What's your favorite article that you've written?
00:14:42
Speaker
That's probably a really hard question.
00:14:43
Speaker
So give me a top three if you need to.
00:14:46
Speaker
Yeah, it's a really hard question on a very basic level.
00:14:51
Speaker
Normally it's the one that I just hit submit on and I'm like, yes, that's dumb.
00:14:56
Speaker
It's a very nice feeling to do that.
00:14:57
Speaker
But yeah,
00:14:59
Speaker
you know on a deeper level it's normally the ones that I have a really personal connection to although actually that said sometimes there are ones that I that I've been surprised by and the finished product I'm just really proud of the story that I've told and found I do love writing in first person if I can I love sharing my personal experience um but a lot of the writing I do is is not it's a bit more removed um
00:15:25
Speaker
I did in terms of travel, I mean, some of the stuff that I wrote on Azerbaijan was amazing.
00:15:31
Speaker
I've just finished actually yesterday, hit submit on a piece for holiday.
00:15:35
Speaker
And I'm really happy with how the piece came together.
00:15:38
Speaker
It's got a large topic to fit into one article and one in the word count.
00:15:44
Speaker
Yeah.
00:15:45
Speaker
And I went up to Woolane Station last year, which is in the Midwest of Western Australia.
00:15:54
Speaker
And that was amazing because they're doing land regeneration there and doing things that no one else does.
00:16:03
Speaker
And I grew up going up to station country as a child, so there was really a real personal connection and history there.
00:16:10
Speaker
Yeah.
00:16:11
Speaker
Yeah, it's really hard.
Journalism's Changing Landscape
00:16:12
Speaker
I love, there are so many stories that I'm proud of and love.
00:16:15
Speaker
And my pitch list is always massive.
00:16:17
Speaker
I have so many story ideas for every one story that I actually do.
00:16:20
Speaker
It's so cool that you wrote for Halliday as well.
00:16:25
Speaker
Is that for the most recent magazine that's coming out?
00:16:28
Speaker
Or is that for that online?
00:16:30
Speaker
No, it will be for the magazine.
00:16:32
Speaker
It will be for the
00:16:33
Speaker
the next the next one coming out yeah I've just just done my um my first piece for them sorry um very exciting because thank you I it's yeah it's a I love love reading it and um yeah it's been wonderful to work on the piece so yeah hopefully you enjoy reading it when it comes out yeah same I read it as well so I'm like I'll definitely look out for it can you tell us what the topic was or do you have to keep that a secret um I will just let you read it when it comes out
00:17:01
Speaker
So another question that I'm going to add in quickly.
00:17:06
Speaker
So with a lot of magazines closing recently or moving to online or the magazine just completely being taken away, has that affected you as a freelance journalist at all?
00:17:19
Speaker
I mean, I think...
00:17:20
Speaker
Globally, it's been hard in journalism with print.
00:17:28
Speaker
It's, yeah, it's, the scene has changed.
00:17:31
Speaker
It was changing before I got into it.
00:17:33
Speaker
You know, you look at, you know,
00:17:36
Speaker
The life you could make as a journalist, you know, 10, 20 years ago compared to now, it's just a different, there are different models.
00:17:44
Speaker
You know, there are still definitely lots of opportunities, but, you know, it is challenging.
00:17:50
Speaker
But life just changes the way that people get their information changes and people never stop.
00:17:58
Speaker
needing stories or wanting stories and learning and seeking information.
00:18:06
Speaker
So, yeah, it's, you know, there are always challenges and it's always going to have moments of being tough.
00:18:13
Speaker
Yeah.
00:18:14
Speaker
but yeah I think I mean I think you'll find you know a lot of a lot of journalists do also diversify so you know there's a lot of copywriting that people also do that you don't see their name on um and you know writing for different places and maybe slightly different topics or writing for the topic they're interested in but yeah as I said copywriting not having the name on it and I mean I do I do photography as well as the written word and I've been getting more into that which
00:18:39
Speaker
which I love because I love visuals.
00:18:41
Speaker
I love visual storytelling just as much as the written word.
00:18:46
Speaker
So to be able to do both brings me a lot, personally, a lot of satisfaction.
00:18:52
Speaker
You know, I love your photos on your Instagram because you've just been getting into drone photography.
00:18:56
Speaker
I did.
00:18:57
Speaker
I just started.
00:18:58
Speaker
I'm so glad.
00:19:00
Speaker
I did a workshop to start with with some great guys called The Propeller Project.
00:19:06
Speaker
And I would not have had the confidence to have done what I did unless I had done that to start with.
00:19:13
Speaker
So my poor little drone is sitting in its bag because I've been riding so much over the last week.
00:19:19
Speaker
But I'm hoping to take it out again soon.
00:19:20
Speaker
Yeah, so I love it.
00:19:22
Speaker
I just love the combination of the two.
00:19:24
Speaker
And I'm actually, eventually I get to a point and have a bit of time, but I'm setting up my own sideline website to tell stories very much specifically in the wine travel arena and put together itineraries and things that I can just tell on my own terms, which is fun.
00:19:45
Speaker
That sounds amazing.
00:19:45
Speaker
Congratulations.
EarnYourVino.com: A New Venture
00:19:47
Speaker
Thank you.
00:19:48
Speaker
It's, you know, it takes a while to get it going, but I, you know, it's, it's getting there.
00:19:51
Speaker
If anyone does want to sign up to the newsletter in advance, it's earnyourvino.com.
00:19:56
Speaker
Perfect.
00:19:57
Speaker
I'll pop that in the, in the Instagram description as well so that people can get it and they can access it.
00:20:04
Speaker
Yeah.
00:20:05
Speaker
I actually wish when you said you did a mini drone course, I have a drone and I am
00:20:10
Speaker
terrified of flying it I feel like I just let my boyfriend fly it and even when he flies it I'm like terrified that he's gonna crash it that he's gonna and someone was like but if he crashes it like as a drone it's meant to be used and I'm like but it's also so expensive like I don't want it to crash and break like
00:20:29
Speaker
So, yeah, I feel like I need to do a little course in it first before I get confident.
00:20:35
Speaker
It made such a difference.
00:20:37
Speaker
And I know that you love Harry Potter.
00:20:39
Speaker
And so there's one thing because there's lots of gravel and dust and stuff around the beaches where we're droning at, one thing that I would never have had the confidence to do myself is learning to take off and to instead...
00:20:56
Speaker
and to land but without putting on the ground.
00:20:59
Speaker
So taking off from your hand and then catching it instead of letting it land.
00:21:03
Speaker
And every time I caught it, I just felt like I was grabbing the golden snitch.
00:21:10
Speaker
But there's definitely, there's a safe way to do it.
00:21:12
Speaker
And I would highly recommend having someone show you before, yeah, because those propellers go around quite fast and they're hard.
00:21:20
Speaker
Definitely.
00:21:20
Speaker
No, I've seen people post injuries from catching drones and I'm just like, oh, that looks painful.
00:21:26
Speaker
Very painful.
00:21:27
Speaker
Yeah, you need to know what you're doing.
00:21:30
Speaker
Oh my God, definitely.
00:21:31
Speaker
No, I might have to look into that.
00:21:33
Speaker
I feel like I need something.
00:21:35
Speaker
So you're from the Margaret River, which we've already touched on and I'd love to visit.
00:21:41
Speaker
What's your favorite thing about the Margaret River?
00:21:43
Speaker
Or again, I guess that's quite hard.
00:21:45
Speaker
So what is your top three favorite things?
00:21:47
Speaker
Yeah, so...
00:21:50
Speaker
I it's in terms of but the tourism association um we look at it as the Margaret River region um so the Margaret River itself is is the Margaret River um but the the Margaret River region and it's I can't even do three top things but I just love the diversity down here um you know I think there are so many different things to do and I think no matter what you come down here for whether it's
00:22:16
Speaker
because you have an interest in wine or you have an interest in beer or you want to go mountain biking or you want to go surfing or you want to go hiking or you want to eat amazing food at restaurants.
00:22:25
Speaker
You come and do that, but once you get here, you discover there's more.
00:22:30
Speaker
So I guess my biggest piece of advice to people that come down would be get off the beaten track.
00:22:36
Speaker
Don't just come down and...
00:22:38
Speaker
just do one thing or just do you know do the things that you do every time do something different and to be honest I mean I live here but I always get blown away when I take a tour for my writing or even just personal interest like I go on a tour with someone that I know does a good job and you just learn so much I think that's one of the biggest things that number one will um
00:23:03
Speaker
will help your knowledge and open your eyes to somewhere that you think you might already know.
00:23:09
Speaker
But number two, it also helps those tourism operators that are really struggling who would normally be relying on international tourism at this time of year.
00:23:16
Speaker
And, yeah, I just love seeing people who don't know what's on their back doorstep and they go and do that and just go, oh, my gosh, there's so much there I had no idea about.
00:23:28
Speaker
So, yeah, yeah.
00:23:31
Speaker
I could talk for hours on the place I live.
00:23:34
Speaker
It's definitely, definitely on the list.
00:23:38
Speaker
So as well, this is probably another really hard question.
00:23:41
Speaker
What are your top three winery recommendations for the Margaret River region and why should we visit them?
00:23:49
Speaker
Oh, so three definitely isn't enough.
00:23:53
Speaker
But yeah,
00:23:55
Speaker
I really, the way I like to travel and is the way I would definitely be writing about on my other website that I'm setting up, the Eurn Yardvino, is I love slow travel and I love doing less and engaging deeper.
00:24:11
Speaker
And so in terms of like spending a day down here, I know sometimes you don't have a lot of time, you do have to fit more in, but I
00:24:19
Speaker
I would say instead of three specific wineries, maybe look at three different types of winery that you can visit.
00:24:25
Speaker
So it's definitely worth visiting one of the founders of the region, so one of the older wineries, so, you know, Vass Felix, Cullens, Lewin.
00:24:37
Speaker
If you go onto margarriver.com, you can find a lot of information and itineraries there.
00:24:42
Speaker
I write a little bit for them as well.
00:24:43
Speaker
Yeah.
00:24:46
Speaker
Sorry, I'd say, you know, definitely you have to.
00:24:49
Speaker
It's part of the history down here.
00:24:51
Speaker
And then make a point, I mean, we're so lucky here.
00:24:54
Speaker
There are still little small cellar doors that are family one.
00:24:57
Speaker
You know, you can, there are quite a lot of wine regions where you can't go into a cellar door and be served by the winemaker or the owner.
00:25:04
Speaker
And so, you know, definitely make a point of adding one of those to your list.
00:25:09
Speaker
Yeah.
00:25:09
Speaker
And there's quite a few of them.
00:25:10
Speaker
You can find them again looking, but like there are some of my favourites.
00:25:14
Speaker
I mean, I love Victory Point and they have, you know, great wines as well, Ashbrook Estate, Windows, Cape Grace.
00:25:22
Speaker
You know, you'll be served by the owners, you know.
00:25:25
Speaker
And then I would also say try a food and wine experience as the third.
00:25:30
Speaker
So not necessarily just going somewhere for lunch, but really seeing how wine interacts with food.
00:25:35
Speaker
And there are some really great experiences down here.
00:25:39
Speaker
I went to Voyager in January and did their cedar tasting and then paired with lunch.
00:25:47
Speaker
And that was amazing.
00:25:50
Speaker
Passel Estate, doing a food and wine experience using handcrafted chocolate bonbons by amazing chocolatier who's based down in Margaret River.
00:25:59
Speaker
Yeah.
00:26:00
Speaker
And she does amazing things.
00:26:03
Speaker
Nadia Haskell, she's Harlequin Desserts.
00:26:06
Speaker
And the farmer's market is just amazing.
00:26:08
Speaker
You can go there and spend the morning and get incredible stuff.
00:26:10
Speaker
She's there.
00:26:12
Speaker
There are so many.
00:26:13
Speaker
There's lots of cheese.
00:26:14
Speaker
Like, so there's some really great cheese and wine pairing experiences.
00:26:18
Speaker
Yelling up cheese are great.
00:26:20
Speaker
And you can go up there and there's the wines from Green Tycoons and those wineries with the actual cheese.
00:26:25
Speaker
Yeah.
00:26:26
Speaker
There's just, there's so much.
00:26:27
Speaker
But I would say, you know, instead of specific wineries, try and do those three different experiences.
00:26:33
Speaker
That would be my recommendation.
00:26:34
Speaker
Yeah.
00:26:36
Speaker
I really like that.
00:26:36
Speaker
That's actually a great way to look at it.
00:26:38
Speaker
So then I guess you get to see like different areas of the region and still experience all the wineries.
00:26:44
Speaker
I mean, the food and wine pairing, that sounds amazing.
00:26:47
Speaker
That's right at my alley.
00:26:48
Speaker
I'm like, that would be great.
00:26:49
Speaker
But yeah, no, I actually really like that way.
00:26:52
Speaker
I've never looked at it like that, but I actually really like that way of looking at it.
00:26:55
Speaker
So yeah.
00:26:56
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, especially if you have a limited time.
00:26:59
Speaker
I mean, you know, if you had forever, you'd just go to them all.
00:27:04
Speaker
Even I can't get to them all.
00:27:05
Speaker
By the time, I think there's 110 or something around that mark, Cilladors in the region.
00:27:12
Speaker
So, you know, by the time you get to them all, you'll be on to the next vintage and have to do them all again.
00:27:20
Speaker
So, yeah, be selective, but, yeah, be varied.
00:27:26
Speaker
Okay, no, I really like that.
00:27:28
Speaker
What wines are the Margaret, what styles even is the Margaret River region known for?
Margaret River's Wine Styles
00:27:33
Speaker
Pretty much anywhere you go, the icons, it will be Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon because we just have a perfect climate.
00:27:41
Speaker
We have a maritime influence.
00:27:43
Speaker
It's just a perfect climate to grow those grapes.
00:27:47
Speaker
But, you know, we're also well-known for, you know, we make some beautiful Sauvignon Blanc, that classic bordeaux blend of SBS or SSB.
00:27:56
Speaker
And there are some interesting alternative varieties cropping up as well, you know, if you're interested in that kind of thing.
00:28:04
Speaker
But on the global level, we're known for our Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon Blanc.
00:28:09
Speaker
Because I remember when you sent me a message on Instagram originally and we were talking about Chardonnay and I was saying how I really did not like it.
00:28:17
Speaker
I actually think I've changed my mind.
00:28:20
Speaker
I went to Orange a couple of weeks ago and now I love it.
00:28:23
Speaker
And now I'm like ready to open bottles of Chardonnay.
00:28:26
Speaker
And so I've been...
00:28:28
Speaker
my mind's been changed on it.
00:28:30
Speaker
So I'll definitely have to try some Chardonnays from the Margaret River region.
00:28:34
Speaker
Oh, wonderful.
00:28:34
Speaker
Cause they're, you know, and they're, we make beautiful Chardonnay.
00:28:38
Speaker
Like it's just really, really beautiful Chardonnay, but there is, you know, Chardonnay's changed from what it was in the, you know,
00:28:47
Speaker
in the 80s and 90s where it was getting very oaked and the fruit was getting very ripe and it was just very big and, you know, I don't know if you've heard of the ABC anything but Chardonnay.
00:28:59
Speaker
And, you know, and it's different and people get – I just love seeing people get surprised when they come down here because they taste it and they go, this is the one I was expecting.
00:29:06
Speaker
This is –
00:29:07
Speaker
It's much leaner.
00:29:08
Speaker
It's much, there's so much purity of fruit.
00:29:11
Speaker
There's less oak.
00:29:13
Speaker
And when there is oak, it's really nicely integrated.
00:29:16
Speaker
This isn't the best examples.
00:29:17
Speaker
And there are so many examples down here that are, you know, that are amazing.
00:29:23
Speaker
It's, yeah, yeah.
00:29:24
Speaker
Yeah, I could go on about Chardonnay all day long.
00:29:26
Speaker
No, I was pleasantly surprised.
00:29:28
Speaker
I think, yeah, when I've ever had Chardonnay in the past, it's always been super oaked.
00:29:32
Speaker
And I kind of, I always, to me, like that super oak Chardonnay reminds me of like the smell of wet dog.
00:29:39
Speaker
And it just like really like do not like it.
00:29:43
Speaker
But the ones I was having in orange, they were just beautiful.
00:29:46
Speaker
So I'm glad that I'm glad that I've been turned because I'm very, I'm enjoying them a lot right now.
00:29:52
Speaker
Good.
00:29:52
Speaker
I am very glad as well.
00:29:56
Speaker
It's very good.
00:29:58
Speaker
What wines are you drinking right now, apart from your Chardonnays, obviously?
00:30:02
Speaker
Or are there any Chardonnays you would recommend for someone who's sort of just getting into them?
00:30:08
Speaker
Oh, I always love Chardonnay.
00:30:12
Speaker
I would say in terms of, you know, if someone's just getting into Chardonnay,
00:30:18
Speaker
I doubt you're going to, number one, spend, you know, high, close to $100 on an amazing bottle.
00:30:24
Speaker
There is an amazing, you know, if you can.
00:30:27
Speaker
I mean, that's one of the great things about coming down to the actual wine region is tasting is that you can go and taste, you know, the Luan Estate Arts Series and, you know, the amazing, the Hates Berries and the, you know, the amazing wines.
00:30:41
Speaker
tier at cullens and you know these in piero and you can taste them without having to go and buy your own bottle you know you just pay a tasting fee and most of them are redeemable on purchase of any bottle um but there are lots of there are lots of like entry-level chardonnays that are that are beautiful you know i think if you want to go and spend around the 35 to 40 price point you can get something that's complex and lovely there are way too many for me to
00:31:11
Speaker
to go straight into what wines are you drinking right now apart from chardonnay yes so apart from chardonnay i'm very wine curious um for me one of the things that got me through covid was traveling through my wine glass so um you know international wines um i do love trying all sorts of new things in terms of right now i i've kind of made it my quest to fall fall in love like i
00:31:36
Speaker
like it much more uh Sauvignon Blanc um yeah because I think I think Sauvignon Blanc is at the risk of sort of being what Chardonnay you know falling out of fashion that the New Zealand Sauvblancs they were so popular and oversaturated you know and people are now leaning away from them um
00:31:55
Speaker
which is a shame because it still is a beautiful grape variety.
00:31:57
Speaker
And there are some really lovely examples down in Margaret River where you've got like a fumet blanc style Sauvignon blanc, which is, it's got a little bit of oak.
00:32:06
Speaker
And so, you know, it's very different to, you know, to a fruity Marlborough Sauvignon blanc.
00:32:12
Speaker
You've got texture and complexity and they're actually great food wines.
00:32:18
Speaker
So, yeah, so I've been making it my quest to fall back on.
00:32:21
Speaker
something a blog um and and lighter reds um which is a massive trend full stop really in the wine world people are leaning towards lighter reds which are great for a transitional season too you know like we're in autumn now um so yeah i um i do i love a good gamay and and i mean obviously pinot um yeah but yeah yeah reds i love you know etna i've been having some lovely um
00:32:47
Speaker
nerillo muskelese yeah i just love all mine same i mean i do get what you mean about sauvignon blanc i when i went to orange i did actually end up buying one bottle which from swinging bridge which i was very surprised about it i feel like that one to me tasted more like a riesling
00:33:08
Speaker
I feel like as well, why a lot of people are very weird about Sauvignon Blanc is whenever, I guess when you're first starting to drink wine and you go to the pub or you go to the bar and you're like, oh, just get the house white.
00:33:19
Speaker
It's always a super cheap, super tropical Sauvignon Blanc.
00:33:24
Speaker
It's always house white.
00:33:26
Speaker
And I feel like that kind of has given it a bad connotation as well a little bit.
00:33:32
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, I think that's, yeah, it's just part of the problem.
00:33:37
Speaker
So it's definitely not the first thing I would go towards, which is why I've been trying to drink a bit more of it, especially when I go tasting.
00:33:44
Speaker
I will always make a point of trying, to be honest, generally not like the more simple Sauvignon Blanc, but a lightly oak style or something that's being treated a little bit differently.
00:33:57
Speaker
And actually on that note, I love a good straight semi-hung.
00:34:00
Speaker
I think, you know,
00:34:02
Speaker
it's it's such an underrated grape variety and I think you know like an aged hunter Simeon yeah it's such like it's a wine it's a you can get a really good value for amazing quality of wine no my friend and I we actually had a bottle of a 2016 Simeon from the hunter and it was an organic as well because she only drinks organic wine so I was like right
00:34:24
Speaker
going through my wine fridge I was like I've got one bottle of organic wine this will have to do and we were both quite hesitant because this was before I was drinking a lot of whites and she was like oh I don't really drink that many whites and we actually both loved it we were meant to have like two glasses and we had the whole bottle so
00:34:42
Speaker
although now neither of us can find the bottle anywhere and I'm like oh gosh but always the worst case when you drink something I think it was a gift as well and then you drink it and you're like okay where do I get another one and I literally can't find it anywhere so yes as long as you that's why mindful drinking and appreciating the moment is uh is is what it's all about yeah definitely we both definitely enjoyed it so that's all that matters yeah totally
00:35:10
Speaker
Are there any wines that you're not drinking right now or avoiding?
00:35:14
Speaker
Not really.
Views on Natural Wine
00:35:15
Speaker
It just comes down to what I feel like.
00:35:18
Speaker
I think I guess the only time I would really avoid a wine is just if I don't feel like it.
00:35:23
Speaker
Often those are the extremes, so it's a really hot day.
00:35:27
Speaker
it's going to be quite hard for me to have a super heavy Cabernet Sauvignon because I'm already hot, you know, or, you know, and food pairing as well.
00:35:36
Speaker
You know, you're not going to have, you're not going to have something with a really high alcohol content if you're having spicy food because you're just exploding.
00:35:43
Speaker
So, so yeah, there's nothing, I mean, you know, I don't like drinking bad wine that way.
00:35:49
Speaker
I, you know, that's, that's, you know, that's pretty simple to say.
00:35:52
Speaker
Yeah.
00:35:54
Speaker
Yeah, no, I completely get that.
00:35:55
Speaker
We talked about it quite a lot on the interview I just did before, but what are your thoughts on natural wine?
00:36:01
Speaker
It's such an ambiguous term.
00:36:07
Speaker
I know.
00:36:07
Speaker
We kind of spoke about that as well, that it's so broad, but...
00:36:13
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, I think it's a very convoluted topic.
00:36:18
Speaker
I just, I love good wine and I don't really, to be honest, I love good wine and I don't really care how it's being made if it's good wine in the sense of like, in the sense of being attached to that sort of thing.
00:36:30
Speaker
Obviously, for environmental reasons, I would like a good wine to be made thinking about, you know, minimal impact, you know, helping the environment rather than
00:36:42
Speaker
pumping and chemicals and things but on a on a basic level of the wine i don't really care how it's made if it's good yeah um yeah but you know and so i've had amazing amazing there are some amazing wines down here that are you know minimal intervention um
00:37:01
Speaker
organic, biodynamic.
00:37:02
Speaker
There are some that kind of halfway house.
00:37:05
Speaker
I've had awful wines that call themselves natural where it's just like, you know, so volatile.
00:37:14
Speaker
I mean, that's the thing.
00:37:15
Speaker
Like a lot of people that call their wine natural, like it can be volatile, especially if you're looking at pet gnats.
00:37:21
Speaker
You know, it's, and to be honest, I love, I love, I love kombucha and I love extremely vinegary kombucha.
00:37:28
Speaker
So, you know, they can, I can actually sometimes drink a pet nap that's gone a bit of a weird way.
00:37:32
Speaker
And if it's the right day and the right temperature, it actually hits the spot.
00:37:36
Speaker
But other times I would probably not want to drink that.
00:37:39
Speaker
So yeah, yeah.
00:37:40
Speaker
It's such a big, a big topic.
00:37:41
Speaker
But I think, I think that, I think the most important thing to take away is like, it's not, there's no simple definition for what is a natural wine.
00:37:49
Speaker
And so people that might get their wine wanker on and, you know, and only drink natural wines or going to a natural wine bar, I do think that's...
00:38:00
Speaker
rubbish yeah yeah no I definitely definitely agree with that so seeing as natural wine is rising um what else do you think the wine industry will see more of or less of in 2021 I mean I think in terms of a trend I think
00:38:21
Speaker
as I touched on before, like those lighter reds, you know, people are definitely wanting something a little bit lighter, you know, but that said, there's always going to be a place for amazing wines made in, you know, whatever style like...
00:38:38
Speaker
It's the beautiful Cabernet Sauvignon from Margaret River are amazing.
00:38:41
Speaker
They're so powerful.
00:38:43
Speaker
They're so deep and they're tannic, you know, and they need, I think they need time to, they can be, some of them, you know, they can be beautiful drunk and young, but they really come into their own with age.
00:38:54
Speaker
Yeah.
00:38:56
Speaker
So, I mean, I think trend-wise, yeah, I think alternative varieties, we're just going to keep seeing more of.
00:39:01
Speaker
Because people are interested, they do have a very strong environmental point if you're looking at something that doesn't require irrigation.
00:39:09
Speaker
It's naturally suited to a warmer climate.
00:39:12
Speaker
And obviously climate change is a big topic that...
00:39:15
Speaker
all wineries are looking at, you know, in the long run, it's like, are we still going to be able to grow in these dates, especially cool climates, you know, where Riesling and Pino, they need that cool climate and it's like what happens if things warm up a bit?
Wine Industry Trends
00:39:29
Speaker
So I think alternative varieties, obviously, you know, there'll still be natural winemaking.
00:39:35
Speaker
I love seeing the shift to more organic and biodynamic varieties
00:39:40
Speaker
Yeah, and I think experimentation and I've been chatting with a few wine makers recently and, you know, one of the beautiful things in Australia is we're not bound by tradition.
00:39:49
Speaker
You know, we don't have, we're not Burgundy or Bordeaux.
00:39:52
Speaker
We don't have set, you know, prerequisites for blends or anything like that.
00:39:57
Speaker
And it means that you can make approachable, affordable wine in any way you like, in any blend you like, which is fun and exciting for consumers.
00:40:07
Speaker
No, definitely.
00:40:08
Speaker
Because yeah, in France, it's so regulated and so strict that I feel like, yeah, it's nice to sort of not have less rules, but just have that freedom to experiment a little bit more.
00:40:19
Speaker
Do you think there's anything we'll see less of apart from sort of heavier style wines?
00:40:26
Speaker
I don't know whether we'll even see less of heavier style wines.
00:40:29
Speaker
I think it's just they might not be at the forefront of much as much in terms of, you know.
00:40:36
Speaker
But less of, I mean, I think as would be lovely, you know, more quality, less...
00:40:42
Speaker
less crap it's always ideal but you know you need you need both you know you need the mass production that is a place i think it'll be interesting as well obviously with the difference um in export with china and the changes there in terms of what's not being shipped off anymore you know what's staying in the country um the challenges that you know the wineries the way that wineries are going to work around some of the challenges in the industry it will be it will be you know it's it's
00:41:11
Speaker
interesting it's always interesting do you have any personal wine goals or even writing goals for 2021 i just want to keep learning more yeah um yeah i feel like there's never enough hours in the day to do everything i did i did my i did a few wessex qualifications last year and so i'm kind of toying with where my next step is now because i do love that formal i love self-learning and just absorption but it is really nice to have
00:41:40
Speaker
a bit more of a formal structure at some point and to be amongst
00:41:44
Speaker
like-minded people and at a similar point in their educational journey I think really yeah you know it really helps so I don't know maybe I'll look at diploma but no maybe something else um I just want to keep learning and and doing more I do I have a few passion project ideas that I will let you know about if I get them going but um yeah there are some I one of the things that I've been blown away with this year um traveling so much in the great southern as well and around Margaret River and where I live is
00:42:14
Speaker
the stories and realizing that there are stories that haven't been told and I feel like there's a real time limit on them because
00:42:21
Speaker
it's it's there are generations that that are going to be leaving us very soon and they were the founders like they were the founders they were the groundbreakers they were the risk takers um that put that got us on the map that got things going um and so i would love i would love to share their stories um before before it's too late
00:42:45
Speaker
without sounding too pessimistic in that sense but you know there's I feel like some stories have been told in some way but I think there's still a lot missing and in terms of a bit more of a legacy rather than just an article or you know not an article just an article but it's a little bit um less you know something you have a book or you have something that's slightly more tangible for a longer period of time than yeah an issue in a
00:43:14
Speaker
in a magazine that
00:43:16
Speaker
Actually, that said, I was somewhere yesterday and I was flicking through like a book depository and I saw a copy of, I was like, I recognise that copy and it was a copy of Australian Geographic from 1995 back when, you know, back when I was subscribing as a child to it.
00:43:35
Speaker
And it was, you know, it looked like it had been printed yesterday.
00:43:39
Speaker
It was still shiny and glossy and sitting there and, you know, I think...
00:43:44
Speaker
You never know what captures the heart of a reader or a consumer of storytelling and how it will touch them and how, you know, it might be held on to for a very long time in whatever medium it is.
00:43:58
Speaker
I think you can never undervalue what you're doing in any area of life.
00:44:04
Speaker
No, I really like that.
00:44:05
Speaker
No, I think that's lovely.
00:44:06
Speaker
And I also love as well that how you're talking about always wanting to learn.
00:44:11
Speaker
Like since doing this, I just want to, I'm doing my Wessit level two at the moment training, but I just, yeah, I want to learn so much and just learn everything I can about wine, but it's such a broad topic.
00:44:23
Speaker
There's so much to learn.
00:44:25
Speaker
There's so much.
00:44:26
Speaker
And I feel like for everything that stays in my brain, like five other things go out the other ear hole.
00:44:31
Speaker
So I need to relearn them again.
00:44:35
Speaker
And I also hold my hand up.
00:44:36
Speaker
I don't, I definitely don't have like, I don't feel like I have the most amazing palette.
00:44:42
Speaker
So I feel like I need, and sensory memory, and I feel like I need to taste a lot more to get something stuck in there than that.
00:44:49
Speaker
You know, I'm very envious of people that can taste something and it's just with them forever.
00:44:53
Speaker
Same with back in my acting days when I had to learn scripts, I had to work and work and work to remember lines where, you know, some people just read something.
00:45:02
Speaker
I think Meryl Streep reads something.
00:45:03
Speaker
Not that I'm comparing myself to Meryl Streep, but I think she reads a script like once or twice and it just goes in.
00:45:09
Speaker
Like it's just...
00:45:10
Speaker
there i'd love that no it's definitely fun but yeah i know what you mean like there's just so much to learn that i'll like retain some information and i'm the same as you i don't think i have an overly sensitive palate either so i do have to taste like quite a few times and but no i'm loving learning all about it it's been great
00:45:33
Speaker
It gets very addictive.
00:45:34
Speaker
And I definitely, I think it can get frustrating when someone that you're with just wants to drink a glass of wine.
00:45:40
Speaker
You're like, no, I have to sit down and taste it properly.
00:45:43
Speaker
I want to taste it and then I'll drink it.
00:45:46
Speaker
But I do want to actually, you know, turn my brain on and sit here with it for a minute before drinking it.
00:45:52
Speaker
before drinking it no I completely I completely get that but then there's the other side of the coin where if I'm out for dinner with friends they're like oh you're studying wine you pick the bottle and I'm like um um like why strange what what do you all like like I'm like it's just because studying wine doesn't mean that I can pick the bottle every time guys
00:46:14
Speaker
Yeah, but you can definitely help guide.
00:46:16
Speaker
Going back to how you were talking about food and wine experiences in the Margaret River region, what's your favourite food and wine pairing?
Food and Wine Pairing Advice
00:46:25
Speaker
I love food and wine pairing.
00:46:27
Speaker
You know, I think traditional pairings always work.
00:46:29
Speaker
And if you're not sure what to pair with, I always look back to see where the wine is from.
00:46:37
Speaker
And, you know, if it's an Australian wine, look back to where maybe it's –
00:46:41
Speaker
traditionally been known for being from and what food they have there so you know so if you're looking at really crisp white from france whatever area go and see what type of cheese is produced in that area if you want to know how to pair it really nicely you know is the area known for goat's cheese um yeah or you know oysters or beef bourguignon whatever it is um in terms of
00:47:09
Speaker
I love being surprised.
00:47:10
Speaker
Like I love being surprised by food and wine thing.
00:47:12
Speaker
I love the challenge of pairing with spicy food.
00:47:15
Speaker
And so I do love, you know, finding the ideal aromatic variety with maybe a little bit of residual sugar to cut through that spice, like a gibbet stramina or, you know.
00:47:26
Speaker
slightly aged Riesling or something like that I love the challenge of food and wine pairing and sometimes I also just like not caring about it and going I feel like this wine and this is what's for dinner yeah no I'm the same I kind of feel like sometimes like I would love to be all over food and wine pairing but most of the time it's
00:47:44
Speaker
what I feel like and oh we're having this for dinner but I feel like this so I'm just gonna have this and see how it goes and there's nothing wrong with that there's nothing wrong with that it's just it's all about enjoyment moving on to our last question this is something that I ask everyone and I find it even I'm finding it helpful because I'm wanting to run out and buy the bottles everyone's suggesting
00:48:07
Speaker
But if you could take any Australian wine to the below events, what would they be and
Wine Recommendations for Different Occasions
00:48:13
Speaker
why?
00:48:13
Speaker
So to a barbecue, a dinner party, and just when you feel like a couple of glasses at home after a long day.
00:48:20
Speaker
So I'll probably just mention what I've had recently, which is the easiest.
00:48:24
Speaker
And I do also have a disclaimer that I got married last year and so we do have some leftover wine from the wedding.
00:48:30
Speaker
So that's very often.
00:48:32
Speaker
Very often what we turn to.
00:48:34
Speaker
That said, it was very carefully selected wine.
00:48:38
Speaker
So a barbecue, something easy to drink, you know, not too precious, but normally something that will go with red meat, especially if you're going to a barbecue at someone's house and you don't, you know, you might be taking a salad, but you're not really in control of what meat's going on.
00:48:54
Speaker
So something approachable.
00:48:56
Speaker
I mean, actually, I was out at the winery with Clive Otto, the winemaker, and
00:49:01
Speaker
Fraser Gallop, a little bit hovering about.
00:49:04
Speaker
And I bought a few bottles and that, that like,
00:49:09
Speaker
entry-level I can't put the name of the entry-level red there um Cabernet Merlot is beautiful um it's a real I would say that's really you know it's a really good price point and he makes he makes his wine so interestingly um he has very different methods for the different Cabernet Sauvignons and and you know that one if you're if you like peanut it's quite it's very pretty like it's
00:49:31
Speaker
It's almost, you know, it's a Cabernet Sauvignon for Pinot drinkers.
00:49:35
Speaker
Yeah, it's definitely worth trying.
00:49:39
Speaker
And then if it's something white or a rosé, just something still with a little bit of texture.
00:49:45
Speaker
So I do love La Cucchi, Glenna Goodall, who's the winemaker at Xanadu.
00:49:53
Speaker
He and his wife, Ellie, they have a cute range of quirky wines.
00:50:00
Speaker
Mm-hmm.
00:50:01
Speaker
but very well made wines you know like it's not it's not experimental in the sense that you don't know what you're going to get and um yeah they're they're rosé rosé blonde okay it's really really lovely perfect and for a dinner party and then dinner party we have lots of wine loving friends down here and food loving friends so we do generally have nice wine uh for dinner party and take it
00:50:27
Speaker
I do have a nice bottle of Suave that I bought, Pierpan Suave, which is sitting probably waiting for the next one.
00:50:35
Speaker
And we've been going through quite a lot of red from the great southern region because we just keep going back to Perongarots and Sterling Ranges to go hiking and have all the lovely wine from down there.
00:50:46
Speaker
So we've been going through Franklin Estate, have some beautiful wine, but they also have interesting varietals, very small batch, and that's organic if you're looking for organic wine.
00:50:57
Speaker
I was very upset because my husband opened a bottle of Torriga Nationale without me two nights ago.
00:51:03
Speaker
And I was like, what?
00:51:04
Speaker
They've sold out of that.
00:51:05
Speaker
We only have three left.
00:51:08
Speaker
But yeah, they have some lovely alternative varieties.
00:51:11
Speaker
And Dukes, I think I mentioned Duke before.
00:51:14
Speaker
They just have so, his reds are just amazing.
00:51:17
Speaker
They're so good and they're good value as well.
00:51:20
Speaker
And I could just keep talking and Italian reds.
00:51:22
Speaker
I love, I'm loving, loving reds from Aetna at the moment.
00:51:25
Speaker
But yeah, dinner parties are fun to try different wines.
00:51:31
Speaker
And as long as everyone's kind of on the same page with what they like drinking and quality and experimentation, it's always a fun wine tasting experience as well.
00:51:43
Speaker
Yeah, definitely.
00:51:43
Speaker
I feel like if everyone that's at that dinner party is into trying new wines and likes learning about wine, then you can sort of bring different bottles, which I really like.
00:51:53
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, I think so.
00:51:55
Speaker
Yep, and then I'm trying to think what the last one was.
00:51:57
Speaker
A couple of glasses of wine at home.
00:51:58
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, so a long day, which is different.
00:52:01
Speaker
If it's not a long day and I actually just want to taste some wine properly, having a Coravin can help massively because you can just open, you know, a couple of different bottles and then just...
00:52:13
Speaker
gas it up and and savor it if it's literally just a long day I'll generally open something I have access to to replace easily it's something at a good price point that I'm not going to cry over if I don't finish the bottle with my husband and it needs to go into cooking that doesn't happen very well yeah so yeah I don't know whether I even could be really specific there um I would say yeah something something
00:52:42
Speaker
maybe like to a wine region that's close to wherever you are, you know.
00:52:46
Speaker
I quite like drinking local and that's great because I live in a wine region.
00:52:51
Speaker
So, yeah, you know, like a Margaret River, anything.
00:52:55
Speaker
yeah my my husband did used to work at lewin estate so um my my life is a little bit uh sadder since not having a glass of art series most nights which definitely my budget doesn't allow that that you know like it is nice when you do have access to a cellar door at the end of the day and
00:53:15
Speaker
I need to go somewhere you know I think living in Margaret River a lot of people can drink very good wine just because there are a lot of cellar doors and yeah and there are yeah yeah oh amazing thank you so much for coming on and joining me today I've learned so much and I definitely definitely need to get to the Margaret River after this conversation yeah thank you so much you enjoyed yourself
00:53:40
Speaker
I have.
00:53:40
Speaker
I'm sorry if I've spoken too much.
00:53:43
Speaker
I get very excited about wine.
00:53:47
Speaker
That's great.
00:53:47
Speaker
And I was saying before, like, I haven't, my first guest was a woman and then it's been a lot of, it's been quite male dominated.
00:53:54
Speaker
So it's nice to get some more, some more women on and some different opinions and,
00:53:59
Speaker
Yeah, and in regards to my work as a writer and communicator, that is something I feel passionately about very much is increasing the female voices in the industry.
00:54:12
Speaker
You know, I think diversity is the best possible, you know, the more diversity we have, the better the world is.
00:54:20
Speaker
And in regards to wine, the better the industry is and the world of wine is.
00:54:24
Speaker
No, I definitely agree.
00:54:28
Speaker
I definitely think there needs to be more women voices in wine.
00:54:32
Speaker
But no, thank you so much.
00:54:33
Speaker
Thank you so much for joining me.
00:54:34
Speaker
It's been great.
00:54:36
Speaker
Likewise.
00:54:36
Speaker
Very enjoyable.
00:54:38
Speaker
Thank you so much for listening.
00:54:40
Speaker
Please rate, review, subscribe and share with your friends.
00:54:43
Speaker
I'll see you next week for another closer look into the wine industry.
00:54:46
Speaker
Now go and grab that glass of wine.
00:54:48
Speaker
You deserve it.
00:55:17
Speaker
you