Tag Archives: wine

Swan Valley, Rottnest adventures!

When life throws change, you catch it and run with it! I was originally supposed to go to Melbourne this December, but things decided to take a different turn, so instead of meeting my parents there, they flew over to Perth for a weekend. The biggest challenge was that I was instructed specifically not to involve food and coffee. Well… considering I know nothing else, what was I going to show my parents as “fun things to do in WA”?

A lot of what they wanted to do was undoable without a car – such as a Margaret River tour. However, I was lucky enough to discover a tour bus in the Swan Valley which could cover Caversham Wildlife Park as well as a wine and beer tour! That sounded like fun! My parents also wanted to “catch the famous Perth ferry” which I assumed was Rottnest since that’s what you take the ferry for as a tourist.

It turned out to be a great time, even with some last minute itinerary changes and my limited knowledge of how to do an actual “Perth tour” of Perth. Continue reading

Apothecary 1878

So I’ve been looking for a replacement for Rockpool Bar and Grill, thinking I’d never find one, but lo and behold, after strolling down a dodgy-looking part of the city on a Sunday afternoon, I ran across a little treasure-looking-like place. That’s when I found out that it was a cute little wine bar that has all Victorian decor, and does high tea on Saturdays!

So I did a little research on it, and apparently it won best wine list in South Australia (cause Rockpool wins for Australia!). Plus they don’t advertise their list online, so I had to visit. My expectations were: giant wine list, and servings by the half glass, and was secretly hoping for varietal specific Riedels.

Of course, when I got there, they do indeed have a noteworthy wine list! Plenty of quotes throughout, as well as a Provenance to read through. Except… the list was much much smaller than I expected. Maybe 20 pages? I’m sorry, but I wanted a Rockpool-thick encyclopedia! They did have a great range of 75mL “tasters”, served in baby Riedels, which made me happy. Plus they were incredibly cheap at $5 – $5.50 per serving, considering at Rockpool I’m paying $16 for 75mL for their reserve stuff.

And while they don’t serve burgers, they do have a highly respectable bar menu much like Rockpool Bar and Grill, with excellent presentation and great range.

Goat curd, pink peppercorns and honey toast

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