As Bernie Worthington stands next to an empty cask in the cellar of his winery, fewer than 15 people fill the small space as they sample different wines.
It is hard to imagine that less than a week ago this is where Mr Worthington and his wife Trish were living.
In January 2016 their property was decimated as the Waroona-Yarloop blaze tore through the Darling Scarp.
Burning for 17 days, the blaze claimed the lives of two people, more than 180 homes, and 69,000 hectares before it could be extinguished.
One of the first properties hit was the Worthington-owned Drakesbrook Wines.
"One hundred per cent of the property was burnt out," Mr Worthington said.
"Every building was destroyed and we lost our whole crop.
"About 50 per cent of it grew back, but then in 2017 we lost the entire crop again from smoke damage. It's been a pretty tough few years."
Challenging road to recovery
After almost three years of recovery, Drakesbrook Wines officially reopened its cellar door at the weekend to almost 600 people.
The winery hosted the Grapefest 5k, a fun-run in which participants run, jog or walk 5 or 10 kilometres while drinking wine.
It is the second time the event has made its way to Western Australia, after the inaugural run at Xanadu Winery, near Margaret River, last year.
"We didn't really know what to expect, but it's been massive," Mr Worthington said.
"We've been operating out of our garage for about three months.
"To be able to relaunch with an event like this, it's just a really good opportunity to get a whole heap of people to know where we are."
The Worthingtons moved to the Darling Scarp property from the Gascoyne region in 2000.
By 2008 the winery, which neighbours Lake Navarino east of the Waroona township, had produced its first commercial vintage.
Mr Worthington said while difficult, rebuilding the vineyard had proven worthwhile.
"In the year just gone we had a small crop of about 4 or 5 tonnes," he said.
"Hopefully this year, fingers crossed, we get a full crop. We're hoping to see 20 to 25 tonnes of production."
