Lo-Fi Living: Connecting With Nature

This has manifested in a local movement towards ‘lo-fi’ wine, which describes wine that has been made with minimal intervention. As a descriptor of music, lo-fi represents a style where the edges haven’t been perfectly polished during production, and when applied to wine it leans into allowing the defining characteristics and flavours of the grapes and terroir to shine through.

We have extended out the concept to include places to eat, stay, and play, where your experience fully embraces connecting with nature.

Here are some of our favourite ways to embrace the lo-fi way of life.

The guys at Goon Tycoons definitely don’t take themselves too seriously, but don’t be fooled into thinking that also applies to how they make their wine. The focus is on minimalist winemaking, with acclaimed winemaker Julian Langworthy at the helm, and highlights some of the more obscure varieties that don’t get as much air-time. As with many embracing the lo-fi way, they veer towards a natural approach from grape to glass, but are not restricted by specific eco-accreditations.

The cellar door is conveniently located at the same site as Yallingup Cheese Company, so you can pick up a local cheese board and a bottle of wine at the same time. Just add picnic blanket.

Si Vintners run their vineyard and winery with minimal intervention, fully embracing natural farming and winemaking principles. The result is a pure expression of the land, and a chance to truly taste the place the wine is from.

The cellar door in Rosa Glen is relaxed and informal, with lots of grass to set up with friends.

Ben and Naomi’s organic approach to their winery is the same as their approach to life – to have their family live in a better world that they help to create.

As a winemaker and lover of the land, Ben creates natural, biodynamic wines while his wife Naomi grows enough food in their biodynamic vegetable garden to supply not just their family but the local community too.

Beekeeping is also a part of the Blind Corner experience, and they offer a relaxed tour experience for the curious.  Wine and natural honey are available for purchase – and the inspiration is free.

Looking for more? Check out our Lo-Fi Winery Trail. 

A little off the beaten track, Glenarty Road is a firm favourite place to while away an afternoon. The vibe is relaxed (it is a working farm, after all) but beautiful, and the perfect background to appreciate the food awarded WA Regional Restaurant of the Year by the Good Food Guide.

They believe in traditional farm house cooking, and much of their produce is grown on-site, and then pickled, fermented, braised, or baked over a custom wood-fire grill. Sample a selection of produce via their grazing boards, or treat yourself to a degustation style lunch with matched wines.

It’s all about slowing down to appreciate the simple pleasures of food, drink, and good company.

While incessant misappropriation of the words ‘sustainable’, ‘organic’, and ‘local’ in the food and restaurant industries have devalued their meaning, Arimia are totally committed to the authentic practice of growing and serving food from their own backyard.

They grow a few hundred olive and fruit trees and a one-acre vegetable garden, and any run off trickles into a winter creek line where Arimia farm their own trout.  Of course, the rain also supplies their livestock and restaurant clients and staff, with enough drinking water for the year.

It’s an easy choice, says owner Ann Spencer. In establishing Arimia as a bastion of sustainability in the South West, she hopes also to restore some of what has been lost to the industry and wider society’s appetite for convenience.

“We want to protect and promote this way of life, and to raise the consciousness of people that come and eat here.  People are ready for it.  People want to know where their food comes from.  It hurts us when people are misinformed by false marketing,” says Ann.

“People are starting to make that connection to sustainable foods, real foods, whole foods, and we want to help grow that in them.  This isn’t just about food, it’s about us making the difference that we can.”

Burnside Organic Farm is a small family and certified organic and biodynamic winery on the outskirts of Margaret River.

They offer bungalow accommodation in their recycled timber and rammed earth and stone cottages.  The private patios on the cottages overlook the surrounding farmland, which include a vineyard, winery, avocado orchard, and vegetable gardens, which guests are welcome to use.

The bungalows are solar passive and well-spaced among natural bushland.  A big tree swing will provide hours of fun for the kids, and they can also feed the on-site animals and learn about how food is grown in the kitchen garden and orchard.

For the adults, Burnside Organic Farm is also home to a small family winery. Lara & Jamie planted the grapes in 2001 and they handpick and make the wine onsite.  All wines are certified organic, from paddock to bottle.

Margaret River Heartland’s off-grid cottage, Settlers Rest, is all about simple living.  There is no wi-fi, no TV, and guests may choose to remain device-free if they wish, but they’ll have plenty to do including playing the cherrywood piano, learning the ukulele, having a picnic under the shade of an ancient peppy, or taking a lazy swing on a tree-swing big enough for two.

There is a baker’s oven fireplace, a minimalist kitchen, and views to the forest. Switch off, settle in, and spend your days and nights immersed in nature.

When the brief is nature plus romance, head to Tree Chalets. Situated south of Busselton, the two chalets are perfectly private and surrounded by a magnificent Rose Gum plantation. They were built from timber grown on the property, giving a cohesiveness from the building to the land.

Relax in an outdoor bath under the stars, take a walk through the forest, and read a book on the deck (or next to the woodfire in winter). It’s the definition of simple indulgences.

The ultimate lo-fi way to stay is camping somewhere secluded, but in the Margaret River Region we like to take this up a notch. Glamping means you are still sleeping in a tent and away from distractions like TV’s and screens, but with little luxuries that make the whole experience more comfortable. Choose a location and your tent will be set up and expertly furnished for your arrival, or select from one of the offerings where the tents are in a permanent place ready and waiting for you. Added touches of local gourmet produce and soft linen seal the deal.

The best part? No need to pack down the tent at the end!

Some local glamping providers include Gourmet Glamp by Walk Talk Taste, Olio Bello Lakeside Glamping, Wild Goose Glamping and Soul Camping.

Fair Harvest is a permaculture farm five kilometres from Margaret River, and offer a variety of permaculture courses and eco-friendly accommodation.

There are open farm and café days, and regular yoga and wellbeing sessions.

You can also join Fair Harvest for a retreat, food and community event, or book into their campground or glamping accommodation.

This is a place perfect for people wanting a quiet, eco-friendly stay, and minimises your environmental footprint.  All waste is composted on site, all fruit, veg, herbs, honey, and eggs are grown on site, and all drinking water is filtered rainwater.  The camp kitchen and ablution block are built from Fair Harvest grown timber, and all their firewood is also harvested from their plantation.

Fair Harvest is about caring and sharing with guests, and encouraging them to explore a different kind of life.

MYDRIVER’s private tours offer an insightful and private Margaret River experience.  Their ‘Southbound of Margaret River’ tour explores local produce and paddock to plate style dining, and some of the region’s best natural artisan wines.

The tour follows the quieter and less explored southern half of the region, taking you on a intrepid lo-fi journey.