【Winery① Frankland Estate】 Cool climate region in Western Australia, Frankland RiverFour hours after an early start morning start in Perth, we arrived in Frankland River, a cool climate sub-region of Great Southern famous for its iron rich soil, “coffee rock”. The first vines were planted here in 1968 and Frankland Estate was established in 1988. It’s now run by the second-generation Hunter and Elizabeth Smith. Known worldwide for its Riesling, they also make outstanding Chardonnay, Shiraz and Bordeaux style wines.Standing in the vineyard we felt the cold, dry southerly wind blowing some 50km up the Frankland River from the Southern Ocean. The weather is typically stable with long sunshine-hours until late autumn, so a wide range of varietals from Riesling to Shiraz develop elegantly. All vineyards have been certified organic since 2006, with meticulous attention paid to managing them. In the winery, we were told of their shift to using large format oak, some as large as 3000L, so wines develop without imparting too much oak. We sensed their unique terroir in all varietals including Syrah and Cabernets (used in Olmo’s Reward blend), as well as their flagship varietal, Riesling.【Winery ⑤ Voyager Estate】Embracing sustainability with cutting-edge technologyGrapes were first planted on this property adjacent to Leeuwin Estate in 1978. It was then purchased by late Michael Wright, a local entrepreneur in 1991 to become Voyager Estate. In addition to expanding vineyards based on meticulous soil surveys, he implemented sustainable farming practices from early days. The first vineyard we saw that had been organically cultivated for 20 years, and was covered in deep chocolate-coloured, moisture-retaining soil that formed from cover-crops over the years. They are very proud that all their vineyards will be certified organic from the 2023 vintage.Michael Wright’s key focus was on viticulture, but his daughter Alexandra, who took over in 2018, has also invested heavily in winery equipment to reduce energy demand while improving productivity. We were shown uniquely shaped concrete fermenters which are well insulated and encourage self-mixing, reducing electricity use for cooling and pumping over. Then, there was a pump they purchased with nitrogen injection, that separates juice and gross lees faster so fruit cleanliness is preserved while and cooling demand is reduced. Then we saw a section of the winery where hand-picked Dijon and indigenous Gingin clone chardonnays were spontaneously fermenting in French oak barrels to become the premium Estate Chardonnay. The ability to embrace different techniques depending on the varietal and style, with an over-arching aim to excel in both quality and sustainability is what makes Voyager Estate a truly exciting winery.【Winery ⑥ Pierro 】Great grapes are built on the foundation of stone, stone, stoneThe last winery in Margaret River, Pierro. The vineyard begun just behind the winery, and the steep bank piled high with stones from when Mike Peterkin, the founder, cleared the land in 1979, was reminiscent of a Japanese castle. These vineyards were the first in Margaret River to be planted so densely, and the rows are very close to each other. We tried the chilled Sauvignon Blanc grapes harvested that morning waiting to be fermented, and the flavour was so intense and delicious we could have spent all day eating it. We followed the path these grapes take – from the chill-room, to the press, to fermenters fed by gravity flow. Barrels and stainless tanks are used for fermentation, but what’s unique to this winery is room that houses rows of 1,000L vessels with double steel-wall and cork insulation in between design, that were once used to ship wines to England, now used to store and age Pierro wines. Mike’s son Nic, who was Australian Young Winemaker of the Year in 2016, told us that numerous tanks allow individual parcels to be harvested, fermented and kept separate until final blending, allowing complexity and precision in the final wine.