WA’s freshest wine expert Cyndal Petty talks travel

“I always say the soul of a region is in the wine. It’s a sensory snapshot; it’s storytelling.”

Cyndal Petty is in her element, waxing lyrical about her favourite topic: a great glass of vino.

At just 30, the former chef-turned-sommelier is emerging as the freshest voice on the Australian wine scene.

From her base in Busselton, Cyndal spends her year flying around the world visiting historic vineyards, engaging with niche artisans and lending her expertise to presenting, hosting and judging gigs.

In spirit, she’s a hopeless romantic who can talk for hours on end about varietals, vintages and that perfect Chianti she once drank in Tuscany.

In character, she’s a rockstar with a strict “no dickheads” policy and a loose uniform of cowboy boots, red lipstick and big hoop earrings.

It’s this relatable, spunky manner that has endeared Cyndal to modern audiences — she skips the outdated jargon and uses friendly language to make wine feel accessible.

“I always knew I had a knack for a way of communicating that was different,” Cyndal says.

“People might look at the wine list and say ‘I don’t know what the f… this says’, and I’d find a way to speak to them in a way that was non-threatening and educational.

“I’d tell them ‘Here’s a story about the wine, the people and the place, and when you drink it you’re going to taste that story’.”

Origin story

Growing up in Melbourne with two chefs for parents, it was inevitable Cyndal would end up in hospitality.

“When I was seven, I asked for oysters for my birthday. When I was 11, I asked to go to a Hatted restaurant,” she grins.

Cyndal began her chef’s apprenticeship at 15 but knew she wanted to become a sommelier once she reached legal drinking age.

“When I was scrubbing deep fryers and doing dishes and picking coriander, I used to watch the sommes out the front and they always had this air about them. It was like they were in on a secret no one else knew,” she says.

“As soon as I turned 18 I started studying, tasting and travelling. I worked with some really high-flying clients in Fiji and they flew me around the world, which included access to some incredible wines at a very young age.”

Cyndal landed in WA in 2019 and would go on to become a group sommelier for seven venues, winning awards in the process, before stepping out on her own as a wine communicator and consultant.

Taste of place

For Cyndal, consuming wine is a cultural act.

This ethos applies whether she is cracking open a bottle for guests at her home in South West WA or guiding a group on a tasting tour elsewhere in the State.

And especially when she is abroad. Cyndal has travelled extensively and wine usually informs her movements, not just because it is her job and passion but because she believes it is one of the best ways to really get to know a destination.

“This may be a bit philosophical but when you go to a place where wine has been made for thousands of years, there is a ruggedness and a flow to the wine that speaks of history and culture,” she explains.

“I am obsessed with drinking something in the place where it’s grown and made. There’s a French word we use in the wine industry, terroir, which is the climate and environment and how that affects the wine. Great wines taste of place — the vineyard and the region they were made in.”

Take Georgia, for example, which is said to be the birthplace of wine.

“They coat their terracotta pots with wax from the region, so there is a honey character to the wine,” Cyndal says.

“There is this connection to other worlds through drinking and that’s fascinating to me.”

Island wines

On her last trip to Europe, Cyndal skipped some of the heavy-hitter wine regions in favour of a handful of islands in the Mediterranean.

Crete was an unexpected stand-out.

“They had some ancient varieties that aren’t really exported,” she says.

“The house wines blew me away. They were €5 ($8.70) a glass and I will never forget them — the memory of being on the southern coast of Crete with this fresh, delicious, saline-style wine that matched the food we were eating, and the people around us and the saltiness of the air. That was just wicked.”

Then there was Malta, where Cyndal’s family is from.

“I was fortunate enough to go with my mum and my nanna, so we had three generations of women returning to the motherland,” she says.

The visit was made even more special when Cyndal’s partner Chris proposed to her in the picturesque old city of Birgu.

He chose waterfront Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurant Terrone, helmed by Maltese-Australian chef Adrian Hili, for the occasion.

“I had an inkling when he said I could buy whatever wine I wanted on the list,” Cyndal laughs.

“I was like ‘you can’t say that, you need to tap me out with a budget’. I wanted this bottle of 2009 Pol Roger rose, which is a Champagne. He was like ‘Yep, no worries’ and it was not cheap. I was like, ‘Hang on a minute…’”

“Our love language has always been based on eating and drinking together. As far as food and travel go, it was exactly what you want when you are on the coast.”

Unexpected gems

Whether she is adventuring for work or play, Cyndal will always do a full study on a region’s wine scene ahead of time so she knows what to look out for.

She was particularly impressed with New Zealand and Argentina’s offering, while other destinations still managed to deliver surprises.

“Mexico has a pretty interesting culture around wine, and the natural wine scene in Japan is sick. They have listening bars, funky imports and really knowledgeable staff,” Cyndal says.

“There’s also a really strong connection between fashion and wine. What you drink can be a reflection of your personal style, and in Japan they have these very artsy, cool wines that tie in with the fashion.

“I was not expecting that at all — people don’t really see Japan as a place to go and drink wine.”

Next on her bucket list is another unsuspecting pick: China.

South-west charm

And yet, with the world at her fingertips, Cyndal still chooses to live down south.

After years spent traveling wherever the work was, it was the first place that felt like home and she attributes this to a combination of community and lifestyle.

“I love the rawness of the region but then it also has all these polished restaurants and it’s home to Australia’s best wine,” Cyndal says.

“I can be driving down a dirt road and pull up next to a viticulturist, wind down my window and ask how the grapes are. You don’t get that in the cities.

“That’s the part of wine that I am intrigued to lean into, because it’s the soil and the farming and the people and how it’s made that gives it a certain energy.”

Cyndal reckons there is nowhere else that offers such a juxtaposition.

“You can be down at the pub drinking a $50 bottle of wine or do a six-course degustation at Vasse Felix or go four-wheel driving, camp on the beach and not see another person for three days,” she says.

Of course, Cyndal is always asked for advice on where to sample the region’s famous spoils and she suggests balancing big and small producers: lunch on the balcony at Leeuwin Estate or in Glenarty Road’s farm-to-table restaurant plus tastings at small-batch artisans like South by South West and Dormilona.

You can count on a recommendation from Cyndal being personal and heartfelt, with a dash of her signature cheek.

“I have a no dickheads policy, I don’t work with bad people,” she says.

“I will stick to that and you will never change that about me.”

Travel tips from a wine expert

You don’t need to be a wine afficionado to enjoy a pour in a faraway place.

However, Cyndal knows it can be confusing to interpret foreign drinks lists. Here are three tips for how to “soften the landing”, as she says, and get on with enjoying the good stuff.

Drink the house

Requesting the house wine isn’t a lazy or uncultured choice — it’s usually what the locals drink.

“When I am travelling in a region that has a culture around wine, I always go for the house wine,” Cyndal says.

“It immediately gives you a snapshot of the region. Every now and then, you don’t get a good one – but that’s part of the journey of wine. But with house wines, sometimes you get an absolute stunner for €5 and that’s just not a thing in Australia.”

Chat to the sommelier

Solo travellers can have their wine and savour it, too. Just strike up a conversation with the sommelier and you’ll have a new bestie.

“Even though it seems intimidating, just build up the courage to say ‘I don’t really know that much about wine but I would really like to learn, what do you suggest?’,” Cyndal says.

“Most likely, that person will be so excited to tell you about it. People in wine are like walking textbooks; you just need to get past that barrier.”

Be conscious

An easy-drinking wine is often referred to as “smashable”, but there’s a journey to be found by sipping slowly.

“Really take in what you’re consuming, rather than just gulping it down, and think about how it tastes and how it makes you feel,” Cyndal says.

“When I am teaching people about wine on an entry level, I often get them to say the very first thing that comes to mind, even if that’s ridiculous. Maybe it reminds you of eating an apple at your grandma’s house when you’re a kid.

“They are all aroma compounds, so when you drink something that has a familiar compound in it, that transports you to when you had that flavour before.”