WA’s best local food and wine festival raises a glass to the pinot noir

Anything planned this weekend? Want to do something exciting and interesting which involves wine and food and snuggling with your partner in a country chalet with a fireplace? It’s a bit late notice, but we’ve got you covered. It’s a drive, though.

WA’s finest community-based food and wine festival, Pinot Picnic, kicks off on Friday.

WA’s answer to Sideways: there are plenty of buses if you like pinot noir a bit too much.

We say “finest” because the Pemberton and Manjimup-based festival ticks all the boxes. It is a boutique festival on any measure, with just a handful of well-curated events and excursions coupled to a raft of stunning cafes and restaurants and the capacity to explore and create a proper weekend of it.

While it’s all a little rustic and country, the events are well-organised and presented, and for those of us who like our pinot noir a little too much, there’s a festival shuttle bus doing the rounds over the three days of the festival.

Great winery events, long table lunches, a signature event, the actual Pinot Picnic in the park at Pemberton, with music and wine and food from the stellar local café Wild at Heart, are part of the mix this year, the first time it’s been staged since COVID.

Maybe a truffle brunch at Truffle Hill estate suits your tastes and your predilection to stay wrapped in your doona until brunch time.

For true pinot buffs Pemberley vineyard is hosting a Pass the Pinot lunch and there’s some exciting eco tours of the remote southern coast (the Twilight Dune Safari is just one).

ACCOMMODATION

You’ll need a place to stay, and at such late notice you may have to phone around or go online to see what’s available. RAC Karri Valley Resort at Pemberton, with lots of rooms and a good and hearty breakfast overlooking the lake, is always a sure bet.

A place to lay your head: at this late stage you may have to phone around.

Karri Valley Chalets has a few of their one, two and three-bedroom cosy/rustic/basic chalets available this weekend.

Big Brook Estate in town has some of the cutest, well-turned-out chalets in the region. They have three chalets available and at $260-$270 per night. They’re not budget price, but worth it.

Treenbrook Cottages has a few of their well-kitted-out properties available this weekend with prices starting at $220 per night for a two-night stay.

We left the best to last. The stunning accommodation at Ampersand Estates, about 20 minutes from Pemberton, is the best in the region.

Bookings are tight, but if you’re after fiv- star luxury accommodation in the region, give them a go. Ampersand also has a cosy cellar door which serves light meals, and you can sample their wines, vodkas and gins.

RESTAURANTS

Wild at Heart is a café in Pemberton’s main street which serves great coffee and arguably the most interesting breakfast and brunch menu in the region.

Their house granola with orange blossom yoghurt and rhubarb compote is a sure-fire winner, as is their smoked trout croquettes with poached egg, chimichurri and hollandaise. Oh, and their house made crumpet stack is worth the trip.

Treehouse Tapas on Pemby’s main drag is a nice family-owned tapas bar with good wines. Well worth a look.

Jasper’s Bar, also on the main drag, has changed hands since we were last there, but it is a cracking good venue with an accomplished kitchen.

There are plenty of events and excursions for you to make a weekend of the Pinot Picnic.

Hidden River Estate in a winery with good food and outstanding views. It’s tucked away in the forest near Pemberton and plates up standards like lamb rump with chermoula and pomegranate glaze and slow cooked beef cheeks with pumpkin gnocchi and blueberries. Vegetarians are well catered for too.

CELLAR DOORS

Pinot noir: don’t return home without a bottle or two.

While you’re down there, you might like to purchase some of the region’s unique Southern Forests wines. There are many cellar doors to choose from.

Being a cold climate region, pinot noir and riesling varieties are best, but they’re an experimental bunch down Pemby way and you’ll find some less common blends and varietals.

The pick of the crop (sorry) are Woodgate Wines, Ampersand Estates, Lost Lake Wines, Pemberley of Pemberton and Mountford Wines.

Regrettably, our favourite producer, Picardy Wines, is not open this weekend, but you can arrange a visit if you phone ahead.

The Pinot Picnic is on across Manjimup and Pemberton from April 28 to 30.