Regions don't get bigger than the Great Southern. It's roughly a rectangle of 150km top to bottom and 100km side to side. Topographically speaking, it's a rolling patchwork quilt of valleys, with jutting hills spotted with granite boulders the size of houses.

If you were to drive from Albany to Frankland River not only will the land before you rise and fall, but the climate will change from coastal maritime to continental. The difference? Coastal regions are more thermally stable (due to the oceanic influence) whereas inland continental heats up and cools faster over the day. By virtue of the region's immense size, viticulture is evenly spaced among other farming practices like grazing and orchards so when the misfortune of pest and disease outbreaks do occur, they are somewhat controlled due to 'buffer zones'.

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It have been six years since I plummeted down south to Margaret River and got stuck into winemaking. The finishing touches were being put on the new Margaret River Centre of Wine Excellence, and I was rounding up experience in what would be the start of an ongoing love affair with the region. The wickedly chunky vistas typical of down south, stubborn stands of marri and hurling ocean wind and water bestow on the region its implausible charm. Compare this to the pinstriped vineyards in the lee from the coast , and humming civility of a winery cellar door - it's not hard to appreciate the heaven and hell juxtaposition.

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It would be an understatement to say that winter nights in Perth city are cold. I'm not talking about the kind of cold that shrouds the cities of northern latitudes, but the kind one can easily dismiss out of Mediterranean ignorance. Running around the city also makes you hungry. Really hungry.

Perth exists outside the climes of subzero temperatures, so when we venture out, we approach dressing-warm with reckless complancency. Jeans, a hoodie, fingerless gloves - they make us look the part traversing the streets in shadows. Shoes are imprortant too; we will be on our feet for most of the night. Dunlop Volleys are the tread of choice. Their light canvas construction and herringbone soles provide holdfast grip in algae-coated alleyways, but are lightweight eough to clamber over fences and walls. It is the closest thing to dipping our feet in pure rubber - which is necessary in the fractured undergrowth of concrete and steel.

There is much to say about the way people judge you on the street after dark. What are you wearing? With no more than a cursory glance people have made assumptions based on your clothes; what you possilbly do for a living, your income and social awareness.

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Before you all write in to tell us that alcohol and fitness don't mix, let us just for the record say that drinking more than two standard drinks a day is not a good thing. We know that. You know that, too. (You should have at least two Alcohol Free Days-AFDs-a week too.) Drinking more than this can damage your health, injure your body and put you at risk to a whole raft of maladies. You know this, too. (the fact that you are reading this magazine shows you do have a reasonable amount of self-control and discipline.) But we live in a real world, too. And alcohol is a part of our daily lives. So if you are going to drink and want to keep your health and fitness paramount, then wine should be your tripple of choice. It has proven health benefits, is celebrated and respected in our culture, and tastes pretty good to boot. So now we can open the flood gates on wine.

It's one of those things that you can make as simple or complex as you like. It's enough to send some guys running for the hills when buying a bottle for a special occasion, and can send an ordinary bloke into a fit of red-faced embarrassment when asked by his potential father-in-law what he thinks of the 2002 Barossa Shiraz. Don't fear, we're here to help. Here then, is the Official Men's Fitness Guide to Wine.

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