Food and Wine in Western Australia

Alex Hotel

New hospitality venue for Northbridge at Alex Hotel

Shadow Wine Bar and Dining Room has opened, following the launch of Alex Hotel in Northbridge. The European style eatery is open seven days a week, from midday to midnight, for lunch, dinner, drinks and bar snacks. Dining Room reservations are taken for lunch and dinner, while casual Wine Bar visitors are welcome at any time, providing the perfect opportunity to visit for a leisurely drink, pre-show meal or late night supper.
www.shadowwinebar.com.au

WA's best steak sandwich revealed

Wickepin Hotel, located in Australia's Golden Outback, was the winner of the Australian Hotels Association's (AHA) Best Regional Steak Sandwich, and The Merrywell at Crown Perth was the winner of the AHA's Best Metropolitan Steak Sandwich for 2015. The winners were revealed at AHA's Hospitality Expo held in Perth last month. Regional contestants from Wickepin, Port Denison, Broome, Margaret River and Mandurah faced each other in a live 'cook off', which involved the creation of their specialty steak sandwich in front of an audience and panel of judges. Ultimately, Wickepin Hotel's traditional beef steak was voted the best for regional WA.
www.ahawa.asn.au

WAITOC welcomes new member to Aboriginal Gourmet Experience series

Western Australian Indigenous Tourism Operators Council (WAITOC) has announced a new member to its Aboriginal Gourmet Experience series for 2015. Aboriginal family owned and operated business Bindi Bindi Dreaming showcases didge and dance, cultural tours, catering with bush flavours and knowledge of Noongar Country for those wanting to gain a better understanding of Perth's traditional people. Bindi Bindi Dreaming is the Aboriginal Gourmet Experience series' ninth member, adding to WAITOC's efforts to increase the profile and number of experiences in Perth and the South West region of WA.
www.bindibindidreaming.com.au

Margaret River winemaker crowdfunds to acquire vineyard

A Margaret River winemaker has turned to crowdfunding to support the purchase of a vineyard in the South West town of Quindalup, located in the Margaret River region. Ben Gould and his wife Naomi used the profits of their crowdfunding campaign to raise a deposit for a 50-acre vineyard, where they will source enough grapes to create an organic range of wines. The natural wine movement continues to gain popularity in WA, and Ben hopes to turn his vineyard fully organic by 2018. The local winemaker currently co-owns and operates Blind Corner wines from a Wilyabrup property.
www.blindcorner.com.au

New distillery opens in West Perth

A boutique West Perth distillery is handcrafting small batches of fine spirits with minimal impurities and superb flavours. With an ambition to craft superb Australian small batch spirits using local ingredients, founding Little Creatures directors Howard Cearns, Nic Trimboli and David Martin and ex-Creatures chief financial officer Jason Markwart and Jye Glaskin, decided to leave the beers and create Hippocampus Metropolitan Distillery. The group released its first batch of spirits in February, after trialling vodka recipes for eight months in their German-made copper still. The West Perth distillery is not yet open to the public, however private tours can be booked by appointment.
www.hippocampusmd.com.au