Birdwood Park Fruit Winery

My highlight of this year’s Royal Perth show wasn’t a stuffed show bag, or a stomach churning ride down side show alley; but a modest fruit liqueur stand run by the Birdwood Park Fruit Winery…Sounds crazy that amongst all the rides and shows; the animals and the food demonstrations - that I should come away from the show raving on about the wines and ports I sampled from their corner of the show.

Growing up in Somerset (UK) an agricultural show was more about the rides, the carnival and show bags - and less about the celebration of farming and small holding in the region.  Sure it was great to see some of the animal’s parade and sneak away samples of cider and locally made wine - but all I was interested was when the monster trucks were on or when we were heading off to the fair.

Now a little bit older, I wasn’t expecting to ride a waltzer or get as sick on show bag chocolate; I went to to see what the region had to show off and to see what the noise was about.

For me the Royal Perth Show was about seeing the passion behind WA’s agriculture and meeting  producers such as the guys from Birdwood Park Fruit Winery and hearing how they are making world class wines and liqueurs from the region’s fruits.

Talking to them (and sampling a few of their different ports) it was amazing to hear that they were as passionate about making wine from fruit grown in Balingup, as we are about producing cider from locally made apples in Perth.  Our favourites were their award winning Sloshed Apple Port and equally amazing Wild Cherry Port - both Bronze Medal winners at this year’s show.

In fact the winery, which was established in 1992 and based just outside of Balingup, have won awards at the Royal Perth Show since they started exhibiting there and we can see why.  We took a bottle of the Cherry Port home (there was a fight between Corrina and I for which we should take home: Sloshed Apple or Wild Cherry…and she won), and started on it straight away. The port is a rich with really strong cherry flavours.  It has a really smooth taste to it to begin with then you are hit with really strong wild cherry favours as it melts away.  I had to admit it, she was right (although the apple port was my favourite!).

The Birdwood Park Fruit Winery is based near the corner of South Western Highway and the Balingup-Nannup Road.  We will probably make the journey to see them again next month and let you know what it is like to visit.