Nicole Greentree
Explore Australia Best Wine Regions, Wineries & Wine Adventures. Experience the best wine regions in Australia including Margaret River, Yarra & Hunter Valley.
Explore the Best Margaret River Wineries & Cellar Doors in Australia, best known for its wineries, beaches, and surf breaks. Come visit today!
Planning the perfect wine trip means considering the seasons. It may sound obvious, but vineyards are constantly changing. This also means the landscape, the views and winery activities change accordingly.
Are you keen to walk amongst the lush green vines for a stunning insta worthy pic? Then best you visit in the spring or summer months when the vines are full of leaves and fruit.
Or are you planning to cozy up by an open fireplace with a cheese board and a bottle of wine? An autumn or winter trip might best suit you. Keep in mind that as the temperature drops, the vines become bare and dormant.
Visitors to wine country often ask how may wineries to visit in one day. On average, plan to visit 3–4 wineries in one day so you have plenty of time to enjoy the experience, talk to the staff and learn about the wines.
It is recommended that you organize a wine tour ahead of time. This way the staff can ensure you are well looked after, and accommodate your group.
Make sure you enjoy a good breakfast prior to heading out for your wine tasting trip and pack a large bottle of water to keep you hydrated.
To stay safe on the roads, be sure to assign a designated driver or_ book a local driver_ or tour bus. Plan to start your wine tasting day in the morning. It can seem strange tasting wine straight after breakfast, but this way you will be ahead of the afternoon crowds.
The charm of visiting wine country is to get up close and personal with the winemakers, hear their stories, feel their passion and ask them questions. Wineries and cellar doors all pride themselves on being unique, and love to educate visitors on what makes their wine special.
Cellar doors tend to offer a range of different tasting experiences, from the public to private tastings and vineyard tours. Be sure to check out the restaurant if they have one onsite. It’s common for the head chef to create a seasonal menu with locally sourced produce, matched perfectly with the wine.
### 4. TRY NEW THINGS
Most wine regions specialize in 1 or 2 grape varieties. However skillful winemakers can turn the same grapes into different styles of wine.
Just because you’ve tried Chardonnay in the past and not enjoyed it, doesn’t mean you won’t like Chardonnay in the future.
Be open-minded and try different styles of wine. Talk to the cellar door staff about your preferences and dislikes. Often they will be able to suggest new wine styles for you to try — you might just be surprised.
Every wine region is unique in its own way. Variations climate, topography, soil conditions and aspect will all affect the vineyard and its fruit.
Is it a warm climate with cool sea breezes? Is it a continental climate with vineyards close to a river? All these variations will have an impact on the type of grapes grown and the end product in your glass.
By exploring and learning about the region, you’ll gain insight into what makes the wine special. Take note too of the food culture, as it’s said that ‘what grows together goes together’.
### 6. TALK TO THE LOCALS
While it’s important to do your research and plan ahead, it certainly pays to speak to the locals when you arrive.
Online reviews may be out of date, or the venue may have changed ownership. Chat to the winery or accommodation staff about where the best pub or local lunch hangout is. Can they suggest any secret picnic spots? Local knowledge is always valuable
Many cellar doors will charge for tastings, but refund the fee if you purchase wine on your visit. This a great deal and is a win-win for both. The beauty of buying wine at the cellar door is that you can often pick up wine that is not available elsewhere. Plus it’s a memento from your trip.
If you are buying wine that is drinkable now, but will age, try buying a minimum of three bottles — one to drink now, one to age for five years and one to age for longer.
Depending on how many bottles you buy, you may wish to ask the winery to ship the wine back home for you. Alternatively, you can send your wine back home DIY with Australia Post.
For more blogs like this, please visit winetravellr.com
Does the thought of picking a good bottle of wine off the shelf send you into cold sweats? You’re not alone. The world of wine is super confusing!
Thankfully there are a number of awesome apps available to ease the anxiety. To get you started, here are the 3 best wine apps for 2020 to help you:
Pick the right wines
Get to know your wine
Pair with food
VIVINO: BUY THE RIGHT WINE
HOW IT WORKS
FreeAvailable on IOS and Android.
Scan – No idea where to start in your search for a good drop? Take a photo of any wine label or restaurant wine list or search by wine
Learn: Go from zero to hero instantly and get detailed information about the wine and all available purchasing options
Review: You are never alone – check out the community ratings, reviews, average price, food pairings and more provided on every wine
Buy: Can’t get to the bottle shop? Vivino has you covered with in app wine purchasing available
Rate: Feeling confident about your wines? Join in the community and add your own ratings, reviews and recommendations
Track: What was that amazing red you had from Margaret River last month? Never lose track of your wines with personal ratings, notes and date consumed
Store: Keen to get serious and cellar wines? Go you! Keep track of your cellar so you always know what wine you have on hand in your collection
DECANTER KNOW YOUR WINE
HOW IT WORKS
Free – offers in-app purchases
Available on IOS
Decanter Know Your Wine is an a great tool for growing your wine knowledge.
The clever guys at Decanter understand that not everyone wants to be a Sommelier. So they designed a microlearning app that delivers learning in highly efficient short lessons. It asks you questions and uses Artificial Intelligence to learn from your answers so that you learn the content you’re struggling with and don’t keep repeating the stuff you know.
POCKET WINE PAIRING
HOW IT WORKS
Free – offers in-app purchases
Available on IOS
There’s nothing worse than cracking a delicious bottle of wine, only to realise it doesn’t go with the amazing meal you’ve just prepared.
Get the “Do’s & Don’ts” on food and wine pairing, along with a detailed index of hundreds of meal types, showing you the best matches for different wine styles, grape varieties and blends.
Once you’ve nailed a few great pairings, add them to the “My Wines” section, where you can add photos and details of wines you like, as well as adding them to your cellar.
Do you find them useful? What do you consider your best wine apps? We’d love to hear from you.
For more blogs like this, please visit winetravellr.com
