Max-Veenhuyzen-Margaret-River-cellar-doors

Orange-themed parties. An endless sea of experimental, one-off wines. All the drum and bass: these are just three of the renegade ideas that have fuelled the rise of LS Merchants, the upstart Margaret River wine brand established by Taryn Hogan and Dylan Arvidson in 2015.

One thing that wasn’t on the LS to-do list, though, was running a cellar door. Or at least initially. (The couple admit that setting up public tasting room would have “felt too much like a real business”.) Things changed after the duo, while scouring the region for fruit, stumbled on Treeton Estate: a former cattle-grazing property turned vineyard just outside of the township of Cowaramup.

“It felt like us,” says Dylan. “Chaotic in some ways as it was old and all over the place, but the place just felt so homely and relaxing.”

And so goes the origin story of the LS tasting shed, a shaded, open-air den with vineyard views, corrugated iron aplenty and chatty staff pouring whatever wines are open on the day. Traditional? Hardly. But fun? Just ask the crowds that swamp the cellar door on weekends and event days, or those that have signed up to Liquid Surprises: the winery’s (at-capacity, alas) wine club that gives members regular wine packs plus first dibs on purchasing limited releases.

Since its launch in late 2019, the cellar door hasn’t just helped Taryn and Dylan move product. It’s also allowed them to connect with customers and show the public that drinking wine doesn’t have to be pretentious.

“Being inclusive is a big thing for us,” says Dylan. “When I was younger and went to a cellar door, it felt like I needed to know what batonnage was. We don’t bore people with that when they come in but talk to them and get to know them.”

Not that LS are the only Margaret River makers thinking beyond the tried-and-tested tasting room-cum-art gallery cellar door model. Prior to establishing a permanent (weekend) presence at
the Pierro cellar door, Nic Peterkin of the Halliday Dark Horse-winning L.A.S. Vino used to host tastings in a ’70s caravan overlooking the ocean. Winemaker Jo Perry, meanwhile, rebooted a former used furniture shop in the Margaret River light industrial area into a perky urban winery and tasting room channelling the sunny spirit of her wine label, Dormilona.

Granted, practicality might be driving some of these approaches – small businesses, as a rule, aren’t usually flush with cash when starting out – yet equally notable are the backgrounds of the people behind these new-wave ventures. Which are, more often than not, winemakers that came up at conventional, large- volume operations but are keen to channel their knowledge and experience towards building something more personable, manageable and human in scale.

Sometimes that’s about recognising what wine styles you do (and don’t) want to make. Other times it’s about knowing when to follow, break or bend the rules. At LS, that means charging people a $15 tasting fee that, unlike many cellar doors, isn’t reimbursed on purchase. Interestingly, cellar door visitors get where management is coming from.

“When you explain to people that they’re going to get [the equivalent of ] a full glass of wine and us for 45 minutes, they get it,” says Dylan. “The majority of people are happy to pay the $15 and move on without feeling that they have to buy anything.” Sometimes, though, running a good cellar door business isn’t about sticking out, but fitting in. Just ask Brad Wehr of lo-fi wine brand, Amato Vino. After COVID forced Brad to close his original cellar door in the Margaret River township, he found a new home in Witchcliffe at the former general store that owner Sam Caruso had spent eight years restoring. Brad liked his new address so much that, after opening his tasting room in 2021, he opened his Witchy Brews espresso bar there the following year. Gradually, other tenants including a bookstore and small bar Dear Darnell’s moved in. The result: a diverse, all-day precinct populated with businesses that work with and complement one another.

“A lot of us share space,” says Brad. “There aren’t always boundaries between venues and places flow into each other. You just have to get on with each other.”

Just as it is everywhere, collaboration and crossover are key strands in the DNA of the maverick Margaret River vigneron. Jess Waldron of Jingalup Wines hosts weekends tastings at Normal
Van, the North American-inspired diner that she and her partner Rob Webster run in the township. Local pop-ups, food trucks and wandering chefs rove from place to place, a win-win-win for the cook, guests and winemakers who are spared the hassle and expense of setting up a commercial kitchen.

Former distilleries are now wine spaces. (That’d be Cowaramup’s Strange Brew Wine Bar from the crew behind Skigh Wines.) Some wineries, inversely, are now dabbling in distilling: check out King Spritz, the “spritzeria” that opened at Si Vintners over the Christmas break. Originally started as a project to salvage winemaking experiments gone awry rather than tipping them down the drain, King Spritz quickly evolved into a cellar door-only offering starring limoncello, Spanish-style vermouth and other drinks fortified by house spirit and flavoured with ingredients from the farm. It might be early days for King Spritz, but these newcomers already look right at home alongside Si’s existing wine line-up: doubly so on a sunny day with live music and a guest chef – Egyptian food pushers Lil’ Pharoahs, for instance – in attendance.

“Over the past couple of years, we’ve noticed that people aren’t coming in, tasting some wines and then walking out with a six-pack,” says Iwo Jakimowicz, co-owner of Si Vintners along with wife, Sarah Morris. “They’re just enjoying being out here. It’s nice to be able to give people more of an offer than just our wines.” Not that it’s just Margaret River’s new guard daring to do things differently, of course. Last year, the team at McHenry Hohnen unveiled Vintners Wine Bar, a polished, jet-black wine bar and tasting room in Witchcliffe serving new and museum releases alongside national and international counterparts.

The entire region is patiently awaiting the arrival of Idée Fixe, Vasse Felix’s dedicated sparkling wine cellar door that’s scheduled to open this year. Then there’s Masseria, a sumptuous Italian restaurant that opened in late 2024 at Cherubino Wines’ photoshoot-ready cellar door on Caves Road, Wilyabrup. In comparison to the structured tastings offered at the dedicated tasting room, Masseria is pitched as a looser, more versatile experience in which wine is enjoyed alongside food and friends. Surprisingly, Cherubino wines only make up a fraction of the 400 SKUs on the wine list. Throughout summer, the space hosted lively Sunday sessions with DJs spinning vinyl. These are, it’s safe to say, not the actions of your garden-variety cellar door, not least a cellar door belonging to a producer that recently celebrated its 20th anniversary. Which is, according to the winery’s co-owner Larry Cherubino, exactly the point.

Just as the bricks and mortar experience in the fashion, automobile and luxury sectors have evolved, so too is the wine game. People aren’t (just) visiting a cellar door for a bottle of rosé. They’re also there for an experience.

“We don’t care what people drink [when they come to Masseria], we just want them to have a good time,” says Larry. “Wine is part fashion, part entertainment and part culture and lifestyle. All of the good brands that I’ve seen around the world have always been a combination of that. We wanted to make sure that we’re constantly reaching and connecting with people and telling them our stories.”