The Swan Valley in Western Australia, a gourmet wine and food region just 15 minutes from Perth Airport, makes for a perfect stopover on the way to Australia’s east coast
Wine tasting at Olive Farm Wines in the Swan Valley
The history lesson isn’t strictly necessary. Sure, it’s nice to know that it’s the oldest winery in Western Australia, and that the original vines came over from South Africa’s Western Cape, but everyone’s happy just sampling the lovely booze.
Olive Farm Wines does plenty of unusual-for-Oz wines. A cellar door tasting session can include a punchy verdelho, an easy-drinking chenin blanc, a near-sticky traminer and a brutish, mouth-coating durif. It’s not the sort of place where you’re going to feel cranky for long after an arduous flight.
Exploring the Swan Valley wine and food region
The Swan Valley is Australia’s hottest wine region, and Western Australia’s oldest. It also has some of the state’s most fertile soils, and this has translated into it becoming one of those gourmet regions you can pootle around for a couple of days filling your fat face without much of a care in the world.
Hand-painted roadside signs advertise fresh fruit, maps mark out craft breweries and side roads lead to chocolate factories. It’s incredibly difficult to have a bad day just hopping between producers and pigging out on whatever samples they’re happy to dole out.
5 great things to do in Perth
- 🚲 Take the ferry to Rottnest Island – then cycle to the beaches and quokkas.
- 🌌 Dine in the desert and go stargazing – on an evening Pinnacles tour.
- 🐬 Swim with wild dolphins – on a wildlife adventure to Rockingham.
- 🍷 Combine a Swan River cruise with wine-tasting in the Swan Valley.
- 🏟️ Go behind the scenes – on an Optus Stadium tour.
A unique stopover near Perth Airport
What’s unusual about the Swan Valley, however, is that it is a 15 minute drive or taxi ride away from a major international airport. It takes as long to get to the Swan Valley as it does to get to Perth city centre. And with Qantas’ direct flights from Heathrow to Perth, this makes for a rather unusual stopover option.
The stopover is usually a city thing. Two days of haring around museums or temples, surrounded by honking traffic and busy pavements. The Swan Valley, however, gives connecting through Perth something that Dubai, Bangkok, Singapore, Hong Kong and co can’t compete with: an indulgent, countryside journey-breaker.
Speciality coffee tasting at Yahava Koffeeworks
The wake-up call comes at Yahava Koffeeworks, which was set up by an intrepid motorcyclist. He liked biking around mountainous tropical regions that just so happened to grow coffee, and hit upon a plan. Yahava now imports fine coffee beans from the likes of Java, Guatemala, Ethiopia and Papua New Guinea, then sells them on to Australia’s increasingly humungous band of coffee nerds.
The chaps hosting the tastings and doing the demonstration roastings are keen to express that coffee can be approached in the same way as wine – the climate, the soil and how it’s made create big taste differences. Some are smooth and chocolately, some are suitably jet lag-crushing rocket fuel.
The House of Honey and local produce
This sense of terroir also applies, it seems, to honey. The House of Honey is a labour of love from beekeepers Rupert and Kim Phillips. They spend much of their lives in the south-western corner of the country, painstakingly gathering honey that their bees have made from the nectar of specific native trees and plants.
The sunset-coloured honey from the banksia, for example, has sweet citrus hints and makes a superb alternative to sugar in teas. The blackbutt, meanwhile, is dubbed “the Guinness of honeys”, with a rich, thick, molasses-like texture and strong taste.
The real prize, however, is the jarrah honey, made from the nectar of the tall, sturdy trees that were once used to pave the streets of London. It’s Australia’s answer to New Zealand’s manuka honey. Amber-coloured and malty-tasting, this medicine in a jar has extraordinarily high anti-bacterial and anti-microbial properties.
Gin and vodka at Old Young’s distillery
Immunity boosted, it’s time to move on to the hard stuff. Handily, Australia’s champion distiller is at hand. James Young of Old Young’s has a passion for gin, but it’s his vodka that won the Best International Vodka the American Distilled Spirits Awards. The secret to the Pure No. 1 is using Swan Valley grapes and Australian sugar cane rather than the usual wheat or potatoes. There’s an exceptional smoothness to the taste, followed by warmth across the tongue.
But it’s clear that James’ enthusiasm is for his range of gins. “The 1827 is a hot summer day gin. It’s the one I’d take to a desert island if I was only allowed one.”
The citrus content is high, the juniper has been sourced from Tuscany, and extracts of the native lemon myrtle plant has been added to the botanicals mix. It’s enough to win over even a hardened gin-sceptic.
Staying at Mandoon Estate in the Swan Valley
At this point, it’s probably best to stop pretending the jaunt around the Swan Valley is educational, and pull in to the last stop for the day. The sprawling and scenic Mandoon Estate has handy split-level apartments on site, which is useful once you’ve ploughed through the wine list at the cellar door, then shambled across to the in-house brewery/ restaurant for dinner and a beer-tasting paddle.
By the time the head hits the pillow, the feeling is warm and fuzzy rather than frazzled. It’s exactly what a stopover should be, but rarely is: discovery without the distress, and hedonism without the hassle.
Plan your visit to Swan Valley
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| How far is the Swan Valley from Perth Airport? | The Swan Valley is just 15 minutes by car or taxi from Perth Airport. |
| Which wineries should I visit in the Swan Valley? | Olive Farm Wines for unique varietals, Mandoon Estate for wine, dining and accommodation, plus many boutique cellar doors across the region. |
| Where can I taste coffee and honey? | Yahava Koffeeworks offers international coffee tastings, while The House of Honey showcases locally produced varietal honeys. |
| Is there distillery tasting in the Swan Valley? | Yes, Old Young’s Distillery produces award-winning vodka and gin, with guided tastings available. |
| What else can I do in the Swan Valley? | The Caversham Wildlife Park offers close encounters with native Australian wildlife such as koalas and wombats. |
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