Voyager Estate
Voyager Estate is an Australian winery located in the Margaret River wine region of Western Australia. James Halliday gives the winery his highest ranking, five red stars, in his "Halliday Australian Wine Companion". According to Ray Jordan, wine writer for The West Australian, the winery produces excellent wines. Location The Voyager Estate property lies in the cool meso-climate of Stevens Valley within the greater Wallcliffe sub-region of the Margaret River. This wine region is virtually unique in Australia in that it is surrounded on three sides by the Indian Ocean. The vines benefit from the maritime climate. The land is part of the Leeuwin's Naturaliste Ridge, rising from ancient granite land mass 2,000 million years old, among the world's oldest soils. The Margaret River region has a low mean annual temperature range and in terms of rainfall, a Mediterranean climate with a low annual rainfall between October and April. In a dry vintage it is very similar in climate to Pomerol and Saint Èmilion in Bordeaux. This location, long regarded as key growing area for the finest Margaret River Chardonnay has also developed a reputation for producing elegant Cabernet Sauvignon and other Bordeaux varieties. Estate and facilities Both Leeuwin Estate and Xanadu Wines are located nearby; along with Voyager, they are considered the region's most acclaimed wineries and form the nucleus of the ‘Golden Triangle of Chardonnay’. Voyager Estate's Cape Dutch-style tasting room and rose garden are major tourist attractions, and the winery is also known for its restaurant, named the best Regional Restaurant of the Year for 2018 by the WA Good Food Guide Awards. In the same competition, the same group named Head Chef Santiago (Santi) Fernandez as Best Regional Chef, and the Voyager Estate Restaurant took third place in the publication's ranking of the Top-50 Western Australian Restaurants. Peter Gherardi planted the initial 14ha (35 acres) of vineyards in 1978 and named his winery Freycinet Estate. He purchased 40ha (99 acres) in the Stevens Valley after having read research done by Dr. Harold Olmo and Dr. John Gladstones, both of whom believed the Margaret River region had tremendous potential to grow grapes. “There was a lot of talk around the area that we were climatically similar to Bordeaux." said Gherardi, "So I planted Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, a little bit of Cabernet Franc and then the Bordeaux whites, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon and also Chenin Blanc." These original vineyard blocks still surround the winery's cellar door, and the four additional vineyards of Voyager Estate are planted on well drained gravelly soils on adjoining properties. The property was purchased in 1991 by Australian businessman Michael Wright, who renamed it Voyager Estate. Wright was a teetotaler who loved agriculture and the Margaret River region. His environmental consciousness was paired with a fanatical attention to detail in the vineyards. At the time of his death in 2012, the property had grown to 110ha (270 acres), all farmed following a “balanced and sustainable” form of viticulture, drawing upon organic principals and using organic