The Donnybrook Food and Wine Fest has come and gone for another year, hailed by organisers as the best yet.

More than 4000 people flocked to the town on Saturday to sample delicacies from around the region and take part in some light- hearted fun.

Event committee member Pamela Harrison said there had been concerns that this year’s fest would be less successful without the Brookhampton Concert, which has previously been held on the night of the Food and Wine Fest.

“The sixth Donnybrook Wine and Food Fest was a resounding success”, Mrs Harrison said.  “With 56 stalls of various produce from around the region and as far away as Albany, none were left wanting and all food stalls had queues throughout the day.”

Visitors travelled from as far as Perth, Manjimup and Mandurah to attend the event where wineries had a constant crowd sampling their wares.  Former  My Kitchen Rules contestants Daniela Pirone and Stefania Muscara put on a show in their own authentic Australian-Italian style, entertaining the crowd with their banter.

The grape stomping and waiter’s race were popular, with members of the Donnybrook Football Club proving they were not afraid to get their feet dirty. Last month, the event won the region’s Premier’s Australia Day Citizenship Award for a community Group or Event and Mrs Harrison thanked all who made the event a success.

“The hardworking committee of six are thrilled with the outcome of the day and thank the sponsors for supporting them,” she said.

This is the premier public art gallery in the South West of Western Australia. Boasting four separate formal exhibition spaces as well as numerous community exhibition facilities, the Bunbury Regional Art Galleries offers a diverse and stimulating programme of exhibitions from regional, state and national sources. The exhibition schedule is also complemented by an extensive range of public programmes, events, functions, classes and workshops.

More than just a gallery, this is a thriving community centre. As well as gallery spaces, the building is home to meeting and function facilities that sees it play host to a wide range of activities, from dance and yoga to weddings and formal dinners.

So if you love the arts, have an interest in heritage and architecture, want to take up a new hobby or are looking for a venue for a special occasion, a visit to the Bunbury Regional Art Galleries will be well worth it.

From the vine to the bottle, the fruit harvested from the Stalteri Family Vineyard in Harvey is processed entirely on the premises.

They have a delightful selection of wines including: Wooded Chardonnay, Chardonnay, Verdelho, Late Harvest Verdelho, Sweet Merlot, Cab Merlot, Shiraz, Summer Rose and White Port.

Traditionally, Donnybrook has been renowned as Western Australia’s premier apple growing region, but in recent years, the region has established a steady reputation as a new and vibrant viticultural area.

Thomson Brook Wines is a small, family owned and managed operation. They produce a range of fine quality wines, from hand picked grapes, which are grown in the rich loam soils of the region.

The 10 Ha property was purchased in 1991 and was planted with citrus trees, table grapes, and wine grapes (1998). The wines are made at Juniper Estate by Mark Messenger and most have won silver or bronze medals at the Geographe or WA Mt Barker wine shows.

Today, Wansbrough Wines is a family operated boutique winery and restaurant nestled high in the hills of the picturesque Ferguson Valley.

Winner of Best Red and Wine of Show at the inaugural Geographe Wine Show, Brian and daughter Kristen continue to produce quality hand crafted wines of distinction, with all production done on site with hand selected fruit from the Wansbrough vineyard.

Against all knowledgeable advice John believed that this variety had enormous potential in the Geographe region and sourced the wood to begin this journey.

Along with his trademark “Zin”, quality Chardonnay and Shiraz were all planted in 1993 and the Major Award Winning Cabernet Sauvignon Rob’s Block in 1996 so named as this was the pet block of John’s late wife Robyn. The property, overlooking the expansive dams and marron ponds, is run on a combination of aquaculture and viticulture principles ensuring that the Smallwater Estate vineyard is free from pesticides and environmentally friendly in order to maintain the integrity of the wetland ecology.

The vineyard was planted in 1998 and both of the Manleys work on the vineyard guiding the vines through from budburst to harvest which is generally in early to mid-March. The Manley’s practice intensive canopy management and hand-thin both the shoots and the crop. The yield is approximately 5-6 tonnes per hectare. No pesticides are used in the vineyard and minimal water is used for irrigation.

The property is surrounded by Tuart forest with the vines planted in tuart sand over limestone. The fresh maritime breezes from Geographe Bay cool the grapes in the hot summer afternoons allowing substantial flavour development throughout the long ripening period. The wines are distinctive and reflect the Geographe regional variety and style. The warmth of the Mediterranean climate adds generosity and length of flavour to the wines.

In 2002 they planted six Spanish and Portuguese wine grape varieties to trial how they would grow in our region.   The varieties have thrived and in November 2010 we won a gold medal for our Tempranillo in the Australian Alternative Varieties Wine Show.

Their plantings have been inspired by the fantastic wines of Rioja and the Douro Valley. Their ambition is to produce an Australian translation of these Old World heritage varieties.

Kim and Jody Espinos are the fourth generation to continue the farming and winemaking business on the family property at Yoongarillup Rd, Busselton.  Their commitment continues, producing quality grapes to produce, affordable, generous wines full of the wonderful flavours of the terrior and climate that Geographe region is known for.