The Good Life

From Perth, Charlie and I rented a car and headed into the wine country of Southwest Australia. As the above map shows, there are nine different wine regions. This has the makings of a very nice vacation.

As most of you know, I love wine-tasting. Indeed, it is one of my favorite things in the world. My love of it borders on the irrational; it exists despite the fact that, more often than not, wine gives me an excruciating migraine.

My love of wine-tasting goes well beyond a mere love of wine. I never fail to be awed by the beauty of wine country - the seemingly never-ending and orderly rows of vines. And I love all the things that go along with wine-tasting - the gourmet cheeses, fresh fruit and all the other delicious foods than never cease to satisfy my taste buds and fill my belly. And probably the most important thing, the luxury of relaxing and talking and laughing with my lovely husband and friends (while getting increasingly more tipsy, truth be told).

And so, as we head into the first wine area we visited - Margaret River, which is the blue area on the left - I am in heaven. This up and coming wine region exceeds expectations by not only offering all the joys of wine, but also by being located on a coast filled with pristine, deserted, white beaches with sand the consistency of powdered sugar.

Charlie and I barely made a dent in visiting the over 130 wineries that exist in Margaret River. We stayed in a self-contained cabin in Yallingup with a breath-taking view of the ocean. We were no longer back-packing. We were enjoying La Dolce Vita.