Featuring: Glenarty Road, Forage on the Farm, Lums Wine Bar…

WITH vines in bloom, visitors to WA’s Southwest are well advised to schedule a leisurely drive to Karridale and book a culinary experience at award-winning Glenarty Road this spring.
Supported by their sustainable ethos of ‘ground to glass’ and ‘farm to table’, owners Ben (viticulturalist) and Sasha (winemaker) McDonald have created a truly immersive wine and dining celebration with huge respect to wood-fired cooking, small batch, regeneratively grown produce, and creative winemaking.
Their seasonal veggie garden is the backbone to the dining offering; around 80 percent of their farm produce is used in the kitchen, while 1300 wool-shedding sheep (Ultrawhite and Sheepmaster), a few ‘Square Meater’ cattle and a growing family of pigs are respectfully raised and feature in various guises on the menu (otherwise referred to as ‘top to tail’).
Try the Every Acre Feast ($110) – a chef’s selection of five generous courses which usually includes hand-harvested, thoughtfully prepared produce; crusty farm sour dough and handmade butter; free-range charcuterie (think Tuscan pork and fennel salami or lamb landjaeger), along with a seasonal protein hero (we feasted on slow-cooked grass fed lamb shoulder and shanks with Mac-n-Cheese-style roasted Sugarloaf cabbage & Berkshire bacon alongside wood-fired broccolini with barbecued mustard green emulsion and creamy ricotta), polished off by house-made gingerbread cake and mandarin curd.
The couple’s respect for wood fired cooking originated from a formative visit to Dario Cecchini’s Tuscan restaurant in 2018; here they feasted on Chianina beef cooked over a custom wood-fire which in turn inspired Ben to build his own and consequently add Chianina beef to the herd.
It’s a sentiment also shared by head chef Jess Widmer whose penchant for cooking with fire stems from her exposure to Argentinian style dining while living in Sydney.
The highly rated Forage on the Farm tours are ideal for those who fancy a relaxing and educational meander through the winery, paddock and gardens, according to Sasha.
Held over four stages, the walking foraging feast is inclusive of 10 wines and seasonal farm snacks including local cheeses, freshly baked bread and charcuterie ($110 per person, from 2pm, Thurs – Mon).
Alternatively, perch at the tasting bar – which, like the dining room, is a rustic aesthetic inspired by fallen Marri trees, milled on the farm and hand crafted by Ben and his mates which furnish the walls, tables and the solid countertops.

Keep an eye on socials for Glenarty Road’s upcoming exclusive dinner in celebration of their Fathoms Cuvée – small-batch sparkling wine made by wild-fermentation then lowered 10 fathoms into the depths of Flinders Bay where its lees is stirred naturally for 13 months by the extreme currents of the Southern Ocean – a unique process which creates incredible texture and complexity in the wine, according to Sasha. The current 2021 vintage is a 49 percent pinot and 51 percent chardonnay blend.
Ear-marked for December, the event promises to showcase the winery’s ocean matured sparkling, along with Southern Ocean seafood sourced from Augusta, nearby.
Glenarty Road, 70 Glenarty Road, Karridale WA 6288. Kitchen open Wednesday – Sunday, 11.30am – 2.30pm. Contact: glenartyroad.com.au
Innovative changemakers and the creative minds behind small bar and café, Bark Subiaco, unveiled their second drinking haunt in August – Lums Wine Bar – located just 300 metres down the road in central Hay Street.
Named after the once family-owned, 1920s landmark – EA Lums Grocery & General Store – this charismatic, wine-centric wine bar nods to its historical origins, whilst embracing a style all its own – and Subi locals are cooing from the rooftops over the building’s tasteful transformation.
Period reminders such as jarrah boards, soaring ceilings and exposed brickwork hold their own against a newly added quartz bar and a cosy courtyard.
Owners Mitch Jenkin, Lee Hutchings, Oliver Wasse, and new addition, Ashley Allen, have curated a food and drinks menu that celebrates smaller boutique wine producers, along with a healthy smattering of European and new-school wine styles.
Wine-paired snacks inclusive of cheese and charcuterie boards, share-style tapas plates and savoury bites such as anchovy toast, burrata and meatballs serve as perfect wine companions.
The wine list is intended “for the people” – and as promised, you’ll find something for most palates and preferences.
Select from an inviting Swan Valley Pet Nat, a fruit-driven Kiwi sauv blanc, a buttery-oaked Margaret River chardie, an easy-drinking French Gamay or a classic Italian Chianti.
The heritage-listed terrace building accommodates 120 patrons over two levels – inclusive of a protected rear courtyard, and a street-front parklet to optimise prime-time people-watching.
Lums Wine Bar accommodates all scenarios – from local patrons dropping by for a vino, to larger groups and functions.
Lums Wine Bar, 433 Hay Street Subiaco WA 6008. Opening hours: Tuesday to Thursday 4 – 11pm; Friday 12pm – 12am & Saturday 12pm – 12am. No bookings.