Perth’s Urban Wine Cellar Doors
It was on a recent girls trip to Sydney with the Travelling Corkscrew, we were recommended to go and check out a couple of urban cellar doors that weren’t too far out of the Sydney CBD. They included
Handpicked Cellar Door
Cake Wines Cellar Door
It got me thinking. Were there any urban cellar doors in Perth?
The answer is yes, and the past few weeks I have been out and about checking them out.
Castelli Estate Urban Cellar Door
Being only open on a Saturday, meant that I had to make sure I scheduled a visit to the cellar door. I’m generally quite busy over the weekend, but I was very keen to check it out.
Located in the southern suburb of Myaree, this cellar door is perfect for those who may find the Swan Valley too far north, or the Peel wine region too far south.
I use to live in Willagee, so I have driven past the building on numerous occasions, but I didn’t realise that there was a cellar door hiding in the building.
We were told by Zoe, who runs the cellar door, that it has been open since July 2017.
Source: Google Maps
As soon as you park up the car, you are transported into a lovely cellar door experience from the signage to the greenery, the space itself and the service, all was just fantastic and very welcoming.
We were even treated to a cheese platter which you’re encouraged to enjoy while tasting your wines.
Zoe gave us a rundown of the Castelli brand and their wines. The winery is based in Denmark, however, they also source fruit from Pemberton, Frankland River and Mount Barker. These towns are all located within the Great Southern wine region, one of nine wine regions found in Western Australia.
Each week, the cellar door rotates eight bottles of their wines, so you’re guaranteed to get something different and new each time you visit. I took the time to take a look at all the wines on offer, which is about 30 in total.
You can also view the different types of soil between Denmark, Frankland River and Mount Barker.
Denmark
- Latitude: 34.8.s
- Average Growing Season Rainfall: 250mm
- Average January Temp: 18.5C
- Soil: gravelly. Karri Loam with high clay content over Granite bedrock
- Varieties: Chardonnay. Pinot Noir
Frankland River
- Soil Sample:
- Latitude: 34.2.s
- Average Growing Season Rainfall: 230mm
- Average January Temp: 20C
- Soil: lateritic gravelly silty loams, typically rich, red in colour
- Varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Grenache, Tempranillo
Mount Barker
- Soil Sample: Denmark Home Block
- Latitude: 34.6.s
- Average Growing Season Rainfall: 280mm
- Average January Temp: 19C
- Soil: lateritic gravelly/sandy loam
- Varieties: Shiraz, Riesling
What We Tasted
We tasted four whites and four reds. Zoe told us that you can check ahead of time what you will be tasting for that Saturday by keeping an eye on their Facebook page.
Blend
- Sauvignon Blanc
The Sum
- Chardonnay
- Shiraz
Empirica
- Pinot Gris
Estate Range
- Chardonnay
- Pinot Noir
- Cabernet Sauvignon
il Liris Range
- Rouge – Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Malbec
- Chardonnay
The Castelli website includes tasting notes on each of their wines that they produce.
We also got to see in action this niffy contraption from Coravin. Watch this video to see how it works.
Although I don’t really have the issue of keeping an opened bottle of wine for longer than a day, it is great for cellar doors like Castelli, who’re only opened to the general public one day a week.
We were also treated to a special bottle of the il Liris Range Chardonnay, which Bryce and I were drooling over. So naturally, we had to buy a bottle.
If you’re looking to buy some Castelli wine, you must buy 6 bottles at a minimum, however, they do have bottles of wine starting as low as $5 and they rotate specials, which can include cleanskins.
Castelli also has a space if you wanted to get a group together to taste wine. There is a small fee per head which covers both wine and food.
If you’re in the Great Southern, make sure to stop by Castelli’s property in Denmark too!
Castelli Estate Urban Cellar Door
Address: 58 McCoy Street, Myaree
Phone: 08 9364 0400
Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter
Cellar Door: Open Saturday 11am – 5pm
Howard Park City Cellar Door
When I heard that there was an urban cellar door in Perth City, I just had to go and check it out. As I work in the city, it made sense to see if they were open during the week and in the evening.
The cellar door is open Monday to Friday, 8:30am-5pm, and are available outside of these hours by special appointment. I reached out to the team via Facebook Messager to tee up a visit at 5:45pm on a Wednesday night.
The location lends itself to a lot of foot-traffic from international visitors, which is why they choose this spot. It is perfect for those who want to take home wine from the highly respected and well-known winery, without having to leave the confines of the city.
The cellar door is located just behind Dome Cafe on Adelaide Terrace.
There are a number of wines to choose from, however as we were we the last people to taste that night, we tasted the wines that had already been opened that day. If there is something that you would like to try, they suggest that you reach out in advance.
What We Tasted
In total, we tried eight wines; three whites and five reds. These ranged from their everyday drinking Mad Fish wines to their something special wines, such as the Howard Park Scotsdale.
There are no minimums to buy wine, and I took advantage of this, purchasing a bottle of the Howard Park Scotsdale to share with Bryce.
What I really loved while tasting was the glassware. The Travelling Corkscrew is a big fan of Riedel. I know she would be impressed!
Mad Fish
McHenry Hohnen
Howard Park
Strike A Pose
Once you have finished your wine tastings, why not grab a photo with the Howard Park bear.
Fun Fact, the bear has over 40 different t-shirts!
If cuddling up to a teddy bear isn’t your thing, grab your friends and take a photo underneath the arbour which includes native floral pieces.
If you would like to organise a few people to have a Howard Park wine tasting, the cellar door caters for corporate events or celebrations.
Howard Park City Cellar
Address: 256 Adelaide Tce, Perth
Phone: 0430 533 534
Website | Facebook | Instagram
Cellar Door: Monday – Friday, 8:30am-5pm and open by special appointment
Do you know of any other Urban Cellar Doors?
I’m yet to visit Donnelly River Wines in Joondalup (they’re a winery based in Pemberton), and Latitude 34 (who represent Optimus, St Johns Brook, The Blackwood and Crush wineries) who’re based in Cockburn.
Do you know of any other urban cellar doors in Perth, or elsewhere in Australia that the Travelling Corkscrew and I should visit? Let us know in the comments below.