Australia’s Ultimate Winery Experience Is an All-Inclusive Vineyard and Distillery Stay

You don’t exactly stumble upon Australia’s Ampersand Estates. Tucked in a bend on a road hemmed by towering karri forest, about a one-hour drive from Busselton or a full three and a half hours from Perth, it’s the kind of place that requires a GPS and full intention. Once you’ve arrived, there are plenty of surprises at the property reimagining the possibilities of Western Australia’s Pemberton wine region.

Wedged between the wild eucalypt-covered hills of two national parks, its manicured landscape is almost startling in its gemstone green intensity. There’s a duck-friendly lake lapping almost up to the cellar door, umbrella-shaded tables capitalizing on vine views, and a lawn like cut pile carpet. So far, so modern winery, and the 56-hectare estate is steps ahead of convention. 

“The Ampersand name is all about embracing the ‘and’,” says co-owner Corrie Scheepers, who founded the property in 2020 with business partner Melissa Bell. The former corporate consultants turned their exacting eyes away from the C-suite and onto the dilapidated estate, and the resulting Ampersand embodies the modern slashie scene — the popularity of multiple career pursuits — with vigor. 

Along with producing highly regarded Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and even reviving port at the insistence of a local nonagenarian named Joan (“We’ve got to keep Joan happy”), they also distill gin and vodka under the Rainfall Distillery label. The Ampersand team isn’t content only making excellent examples of both, including a smoky gin made exclusively for premium Australian steakhouses Rockpool Bar & Grill, but is on track to launch the world’s first single estate spirits next year with ingredients entirely grown or sourced on-site. No small feat, the initiative includes juniper, triple filtered rainwater, and base spirit made with the home block Chardonnay. 

Then there’s the accommodations. Three character-filled heritage retreats, from two to five bedrooms, have been given the full laid-back luxury treatment. In the case of the five-bedroom Homestead, where I stay for two nights, rough-hewn jarrah posts bring colonial drama to the cathedral-ceilinged living room and a broad verandah captures the Donnelly River burbling busily below. Kookaburras pop by occasionally to add their cackling note to nature’s soundtrack. 

It’s all a bit like an inspiration board sprung to life. That it’s been achieved in such a short timeframe speaks plenty about the pair’s energy and ambition.

“It was so bad,” says Scheepers, showing off “before” shots of nature reclaiming the historic property, which dates back to the 1870s, and as the Donnelly River Winery was the first in the Pemberton region. “The sheep moved into the Homestead then they moved out again in disgust.”

For their efforts they’ve recently joined Ultimate Winery Experiences Australia, a portfolio of premium wineries that offer activities beyond the cellar door, or tasting room. Just four west coast wineries are part of the collection, including Margaret River heroes Leeuwin Estate and Vasse Felix, but Ampersand runs a different race to those two darlings of the Australian wine scene. 

For starters, it’s an hour southeast of Western Australia’s headline wine region, slightly cooler and wetter. This makes Pinot Noir possible and elevates the elegance of grapes including Chardonnay, Syrah, and Sauvignon Blanc with the expertise of notable winemaker Rob Mann.

It would be impolite not to begin a stay with a private tasting through wines that speak of that geographical distinction, along with pretension-busting commentary (the Syrah, Scheepers says, is “the Pinot Noir of Shiraz,” while the sparkling is “an alcohol croissant in a glass”) and a tasting platter showcasing local produce from the Southern Forests area. 

Later, a walking tour of the estate shows the vinous notion of terroir applied to gin and vodka. At stops along the way — beneath weeping peppermint trees that look like the Antiopodean answer to the willow, and lichen-covered orange trees that are more than 120 years old — Scheepers whisks out their corresponding spirit for a pop-up tasting. We wander to the greenhouse and garden where 2,400 plants serve the Rainfall Distillery label. The emergent gin sensory garden will be another one of the estate experiences for a full Ampersand immersion. 

“Staying here isn’t just about wine or luxury,” says Scheepers, “it’s about being part of nature, experiencing things you can only experience here.” 

Which brings us that evening to the ridge overlooking the estate — right next to Ampersand’s button-cute wellness studio — as the sun sets like a diva in the west. Here a table has been set up for a cocktail class re-creating the sky’s pink-orange blush in a Negroni Spritz made with the estate’s own gin. A smoked karri bark and port infusion renders it almost whisky-like in its soulful intensity — the perfect addition for a New World spin on the Italian aperitif. 

Part of the all-inclusive Ampersand Estates Experience, dinners are also about diving into Pemberton terroir. Andre Scheepers (Corrie’s brother, a trained chef) shows off his versatility with a fine dining–style degustation one night that includes a delicate smoked trout tartlet, mushrooms in an earthy-rich porcini broth, and the fattest marron — Western Australia’s hero freshwater crustacean — in a beurre blanc sauce made with the Ampersand Chardonnay. 

The second night, he outlines the family’s South African heritage with braai-like fire cooking in the open air on the veranda, an eating-with-fingers tasting that includes tender lamb cutlets, “broodjie” fingers (think of a luxe campfire cheese toastie), and vigorously spiced Cape Malay chicken. 

Ampersand is a self-contained universe where picnic baskets (called hampers here) can materialize at the slightest provocation and in-house chefs are on-hand to cook up breakfast in your quarters if exertion isn’t on the menu. The estate is also designed as a jumping off point for Pemberton exploration. In my case that means sweating it out in the newly launched wood-fired floating sauna at the river-fed Pemberton Pool, gazing out at karri forest before leaping into the bracing water, followed by a warming artisan hot chocolate at Southern Forests Chocolate Company. 

“We’re all about joining the dots between luxury and nature,” says Scheepers. “With great food and drinks, friends and family. That’s what connection is all about.”