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10 wines to try at UnWined, Perth's best wine festival

Navigating wine festivals can be curlier than getting around the hangover that comes the next day.

So to ease the pain, and your time spent wading through 60 stalls of wine after food after beer after wine, we've picked 10 wines and producers to check in on at UnWined, one of Perth's best wine festivals.

The relaxed event features more than 60 stalls of wine, beer and food.
The relaxed event features more than 60 stalls of wine, beer and food. 

The two-day event at Market Square Park on Roberts Road is relaxed, family-friendly and usually bereft of boisterous bogans bumping into you every five seconds.

For those wanting absolute assurance of a peaceful drink, UnWined this year has an exclusive club lounge with a top terrace overlooking the festival and undercover and garden courtyard that can host 100 guests, who can still sample wines from the VIP area, plus enjoy a gourmet BBQ plus extras for $125.

There are plenty of reasons to smile at UnWined Subiaco this year.
There are plenty of reasons to smile at UnWined Subiaco this year. 

New wine and food exhibitors this year include Bellarmine, Gilberts, Willow Bridge Estate, Gage Roads Grace Farm and many more, while the recent big winners at the Geographe Wine Show, Talisman Wines and Willow Bridge Estate, will also be pouring their wines.

Tickets start from $25, which includes a souvenir glass, access to wine sessions and cooking demonstrations, live music and complementary wine tasting.

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Wines can also be bought buy the glass or by the bottle to take home, with a wine locker on hand to store your wine until you do.

UnWined Subiaco is on October 29-30, 11.30am to 5.30pm, more details and tickets available here.

UnWined - 10 must-try wines:

Talisman - 2012 Zinfandel
$40, 14.5%, 95pts

Late-ripening, beguiling, medium-bodied blockbuster and the best since the 2009 vintage. The colour channels pinot but the flavour is anything but... featuring black pepper, green olives, cold meats and red berries. Seamless oak integration and tannin structure. A fabulous fruity affair.

Cape Grace - 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon
$55, 14.5%, 97pts

Like a Tarantino epic - bold, engrossing, exciting and evolving at every corner, a ride so thrilling and unexpected you'd take it every time and not be disappointed. Has an attitude other Wilyabrup cabernets don't, with exotic spices, earthy rich nuances and driven black/purple fruits that mesmerise the palate. 

Willow Bridge Estate - 2014 Gravel Pit Geographe Shiraz
$30, 13.8%, 96pts

Always gets high points from me for its incredible value - so buy some if it's still around at UnWined. This is savoury, spicy and sophisticated winemaking from Simon Burnell, who tragically lost his life last year in a windsurfing accident off Margaret River.

Bunn - 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon
$35, 13.9%, 96pts

Producing preservative-free, natural wines from biodynamically grown fruit in Albany, this cabernet from Bunn is intense and complex and well worth seeking out.  The palate is tight but vibrant, with chocolate and blackcurrant notes... the bouquet all violets and ripe red berries. 

Grace Farm - 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon
$30, 14.5%, 95pt

This relatively new winery practices sustainable viticulture at its Wilyabrup winery that takes its name from nearby Gracetown. This is pure Margaret River cabernet, with exceptionally ripe cassis, fine tannins, balance and supple texture.

Happs - 2012 Three Hills GSM
$38, 13.5%, 96pts

Elegant, silky and full bodied with rich, red fruits, black olive and earthiness. The palate is long and intense, with fine grainy tannins. One of WA's most enduring and endearing wineries well worth checking out.

The Lake House - 2013 Reserve Shiraz
$45, 14.5%, 96pts

Beautiful wine. The fruit is rich, dense and utterly up for action, with sweet berry and exotic spices smacking the nose. The palate is full, long, juicy, perfectly balanced, very expressive and with a finish like a hot chocolate.

Picardy - 2014 Pinot Noir
$38, 13.5%, 94pts

Aromas of wildflowers, wet earth and red dirt; the palate not the usual bright flavours typical of today's pinot but herbal, spicy, silky with subtle tannis. Poised, polished and promising to live long... if you can hold out. 

Gilberts - 2016 Riesling
$24, 12%, 95pts

From the home of riesling in WA (Mount Barker), this is fresh, lively, long and poised with a waft of tropical fruit and feather of lush green fruits. The palate exudes more citrus - lemon/lime in particular - with hints of apricot and honeymelon too. Mmmm-mmm.

Bellarmine - 2014 Pinot Noir
$26, 14.5%, 94pts

​Gamey, earthy, savoury, with sweet French oak at the core of the complex palate. Pemberton producer renowned for consistent quality under astute winemaker Di Miller.

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