WESTERN AUSTRALIA
“My father planted a vineyard in the 1950s,
about two acres just for home use,” he says. And while it’s in the blood, and he’s planted over 20 vineyards, Bob is a self-taught winemaker. Some viticulturists favour a range of varietals, but he grows only pinot noir, simply because it’s what he likes. But this isn’t some backyard vanity project. Sommeliers in the know become excited by the mere mention of the name Peruch or Batista wines. Having walked the sloping vineyard and admired the winery, I sample the new vintage, which, although still young, has structure and restraint. Bob produces a bottle of homemade olive oil as a parting gift, and points to a tree weighed down with mandarins. “Take as many as you want.” As well as grapes — and mandarins
— apples grow in abundance in this area. Ash Lewkowski, of Southern Forest Cider Co, is a winemaker who switched to producing cider when a neighbour suggested he try his hand with their Pink Lady apples, a cultivar first bred in Manjimup in the 1970s. Applying winemaking techniques, Ash initially focused on yeast selection; champagne yeast — commonly used in Australian cider-making — is, he says “pretty benign”, so instead he used one usually reserved for pinot, bringing out the Pink Lady’s cherry and raspberry flavours. Skin contact is also key, so his crushed apples are left on skins for up to 15 hours. “In winemaking, it’s skin contact that
gives you flavour and character, but an apple has a low skin-to-flesh ratio, so getting that extra bit of flavour is pretty important,” says Ash. Like many Australian ciders, there’s an effervescence and a freshness to Ash’s drinks,
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as opposed to the out-and-out funk you’d get with, say, a scrumpy. Back at Truffle Kerfuffle, as the festival is
drawing to a close, Analiese Gregory stands behind a workbench in a lovingly restored apple-packing shed perched above Fonty’s Pool. The space is filled with afternoon light, a pile of Warren Grange pumpkins arranged in a stylised display. This is the Chef’s Cabin, an experience that goes beyond simply eating: as the chef cooks, we eat and learn. The 40 or so guests hang on her every word as she rolls pasta to make truffle agnolotti, one of the taster plates from the three-course masterclass. Each is matched with a local wine. Analiese is a chef I’ve long followed, beguiled by her work at Franklin in Hobart, Tasmania’s capital. Here in the Chef’s Cabin, I get the feeling she’s putting together dishes she really loves. As we watch, she takes a mandoline to a locally grown Neptune potato and starts to build a potato galette. It’s a take on pommes sarladaises, which she picked up working at London’s The Ledbury (a restaurant Australian Truffle Traders has supplied). Cutting slices 2mm thick, Analiese layers
them in a heavy, lined dish before weighing them down and baking. Once out of the oven, the pan hits the gas burner to crisp up the bottom. There’s one last touch: taking a truffle shaver, she goes to town with a generous amount of Manjimup truffle. It’s “more fragrant and stronger” than those from other places, she tells me. And her dish is one that encapsulates what the best cooking in this part of Western Australia is so often about: humble ingredients paired with precious ones, all tied together with technique, practice and passion.
ESSENTIALS
GETTING THERE Singapore Airlines, Qatar Airways, Emirates, Cathay Pacific and Malaysian Airlines offer one- stop flights from the UK to Perth, while Qantas flies 17 hours nonstop from Heathrow. The Southern Forests is a 3.5-hour drive from Perth.
WHERE TO STAY RAC Karri Valley Resort has doubles from AU$289 (£155), room only. parksandresorts.rac.
com.au/karri-valley
HOW TO DO IT DialAFlight has 10 nights in Western Australia from £1,849 per person in 2022, including flights from Heathrow to Perth and room- only stays in Perth, Margaret River and the Southern Forests.
dialaflight.com
Above: Fervor’s long-table lunch in the farm shed at Black Solitaire Truffles
MORE INFO visitwesternaustralia. com
trufflekerfuffle.com
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