Whicher Ridge Wines

Whicher Ridge Wines is a small family-owned winery on Chapman Hill East Road, about twenty minutes from Busselton, and it is one of the rare cellar doors where dogs are genuinely welcome everywhere: inside the cellar door for the tasting and out in the outdoor seating under the peppermint trees. It is a working farm, so leads stay on, but the welcome is the real thing.

The dog setup

Dogs on leash can come inside the tasting room with you, which changes the maths on hot or wet days when most cellar doors leave you on a deck. Keep them close: it is a working farm with resident animals. Water bowls are a bring-your-own item, and a mat for the cellar door floor gives the dog a proper spot to settle while you taste.

Max: bring a water bowl for the garden walk. Plenty of shade under the peppermint trees, but the middle of the day can still warm up.

Worth knowing

The signature is the Wine Sensory Garden, where plantings match the flavours of the wines, and the Pick and Sip tasting walks you through it before or after a flight of the cabernet sauvignon or chardonnay. Polly the black kelpie and Gypsy are the self-appointed customer happiness managers and will likely greet you at the door. The winery sits on the Small Family Winery Trail and pours minimal-intervention wines made by the couple who farm the block.

Getting there and parking

The cellar door is on Chapman Hill East Road, reached off the Bussell Highway south of Busselton, with parking on site. Doors open Wednesday to Sunday, 12pm to 5pm, and close Monday and Tuesday. Walk-ins are welcome for standard tastings; the sensory garden experience is worth booking ahead.

Close by with the dogs

Heading back toward the coast, Vasse Dog Park is a solid spot for an off-lead run, and POPPY & PIP CAFE in Busselton plus Evviva Cafe in Dunsborough both take dogs at outdoor tables. The Chapman Hill destination page covers the local area.

Structure the day backwards if you can: off-lead play at Vasse first, then a leashed wander through the sensory garden and a tasting with the dog inside by your feet. Few cellar doors in the region hand you that option.