Alfesco deck with views of rolling vines, tick. Delicious wines you can sip for hours, tick. Great house made food that makes you want to never leave, tick. Art gallery and retail space, tick. Add some live acoustic music on the weekends, and it’s fair to say that Hay Shed Hill in Margaret River has it all. 

Start with some wine tasting at the cellar door. Hay Shed Hill’s range includes their Block Series, World Series, Vineyard Series, Pitchfork, and my favourite, Kerrigan + Berry.  K+B is the joint venture of two wine makers and good friends, Hay Shed Hill winemaker, Michael KERRIGAN and West Cape Howe winemaker, Gavin BERRY.  They source the best grapes and make wine that they want to drink, and so do I. It’s so good, their Riesling is outstanding and I love its mineral characteristics – an all time favourite of mine ($30).

As the adage goes, where’s there’s good wine, there’s good food. Hay Shed Hill’s young chef, 20-year-old Travis Bulbeck was running the kitchen the day I ate there and he impressed with maturity beyond his years. Hay Shed Hill has a reputation for its great cheese and deli counter, but the showstopper was the dishes coming out of the kitchen. The food was sophisticated enough to feel special, but not complicated or pretentious. It’s clear that head chef Jack Drachenberg places utmost importance on fresh local produce.

At Hay Shed Hill, the kitchen cures meat for the charcuterie boards, they make their own rillettes and terrines, bake their own bread, and use herbs from their garden. Everything is made from scratch.

Cheese counter with a huge variety of local and imported cheeses

Sugar cured salmon, pomegranate, za’atar and grapefruit, $18

Baldivis rabbit presse, white peach, blue cheese and hazelnuts, $24

Poached duck leg, white bean and black pudding braise, $37

Wild mushroom pastry, smoked potato, asparagus and goat’s curd, $28

I can’t rave about the food enough at Hay Shed Hill. Every mouthful was a delight with terrific combinations of flavours that were perfectly balanced. Best of all, the prices are reasonable. Imagine these colourful plates of goodness coming to you on a sun drenched deck as you sip a chardonnay that isn’t overpowered by oak, but rather perfectly balanced and just a little buttery, urging you to take another sip. Vistas of hills, big rolls of hay, some wrought iron artwork, and rows and rows of green vines….ah, yes, it’s one of the regions special places to while away the time.  I’ll definitely be back.

Hay Shed Hill is also open for early morning coffee and breakfast. Keep an eye out on the events section of their website to see when they have live music scheduled – often on Sunday afternoons in the warmer months.

FACT FILE

Hay Shed Hill
Harmans Mill Road, Wilyabrup WA 6280
Tel: +61 (0)8 9755 6046
info@hayshedhill.com.au

Disclosure
My lunch at Hay Shed Hill was part of a hosted trip organised by the Augusta Margaret River Tourism Association. I’ve been there several times before but not had a proper meal – just grazing plates and charcuterie boards (which are very good!)