Perth itinerary – Swan Valley

There are plenty of destinations within an hour of Perth’s CBD to spend a day, so on Day two on our Perth itinerary we decide to take our interstate visitors to the Swan Valley and tantalise their tastebuds. Swan Valley is Western Australia’s oldest wine growing region and is a short 30 minute drive away from the Duxton where they were staying, in the city.

We begin our daytrip taking the ‘scenic route’ and first stop of the day we would recommend is Guildford. Put on your walking shoes and step back in time, soak up the atmosphere in a place where history lives on in the restored buildings and colonial charm. The James Street antique strip offers a large range of second hand goods and quaint speciality gift stores. Also on James Street is Alfred’s Kitchen, a late night kiosk established in 1946. When first established, Alfred’s provided a first stop for weary travellers and truck drivers from north and east. Now it’s main feature is an outdoor fire where customers can sit and enjoy the great burgers Alfred’s is renowned for.

The Old Gaol and Taylor’s Cottage are in Meadow Street. From 1867 to 1969 the Old Goal was the local lockup for petty criminals awaiting trial or those with sentences less than four weeks. Taylor’s cottage was built as a stable in 1863 and converted to a home early 1880. Nearby the historic Rose and Crown Hotel situated at the gateway to the Swan Valley was built in 1841 and provided a resting place for travellers. No trip to Guildford is complete without a drive past the magnificent Guildford Grammar School and Chapel of St Mary & St George. Built in 1912 and set on 100 hectares of undulating land it is very picturesque with the imposing Gothic entrance framed by old London plane trees. If you are exploring Guildford and in the need for a good meal for afternoon tea I recommend you head to our favourite restaurant, Padbury’s.  But for us it’s on to the Swan Valley.

Swan Valley, a world class wine region, characterised by more than 40 boutique, family owned wineries producing Chenin Blanc, Verdelho, Shiraz and some of the world’s finest fortifieds. There are also many breweries, distilleries, restaurants, cafes, arts and crafts, fresh produce and a boutique cheese café in the area. There is also an accommodation and day spa, WA’s oldest confectionery, wildlife parks, picturesque picnic spots and nature walk trails.

Time now for coffee, so our next stop is Yahava KoffeeWorks on West Swan Road. We had planned on a sit down coffee but once inside began looking at the gift shop full of coffee (and tea) related gifts and made our way to the Brew Bar tasting bench for a complimentary tasting. We chose 4 coffees and learnt the history, culture, origin and process for each coffee.

Cape Lavender was our next stop, a restaurant and gift shop brimming with lavender themed products from dog shampoo to sugar free lavender lollies, face cream, tea, sugar and  linen spray.   All the tables were occupied in the cafe from the coach bus full of tourists that had not long arrived, so our friends did not have the opportunity on this occasion to try the lavender scones and lavender tea. Another place to indulge the passion of coffee was right next door, under same roof at Mago Coffee. Mago’s showroom is full of high quality coffee making equipment, coffee beans.

We only stopped briefly to move onto our next self indulgent stop. 200 metres away at Margaret River Chocolate Company is a chocolate delight. We didn’t need a golden ticket to get inside the door and didn’t find any oompa loompas, but we were in chocolate heaven as we were greeted with large bowls of chocolate pastelles in dark, milk and white with a spoon. These mouth watering samples were a chocolate overload, spoon after spoon of chocolate deliciousness. Oh I almost forgot, you can view the chocolate products being made through the viewing window. With the huge range of chocolate goodies available, huge freckles, rocky road, truffles, novelties, chocolate sauce, lip balm, ice creams and a café, this is a great place to satisfy your sweet tooth.

Next door the sister company of Margaret River Chocolate Company, a wine and food lover’s paradise, Providore, a purpose built outlet. Housing a spectacular range of food and wine tastings from vineyards, organic olive grove, orchard and vegetable gardens from Margaret River, the range of produce is spectacular. The tasting centre showcases a huge range of home made jams, preserves, olive oils, sauces, dressings at tasting counters where staff can speak with customers about food ideas and explain uses for the ingredients available. However on the day we were there they were staffed by only one lady who had her hands full serving wine tasting and trying to take payment for the goods being purchased so we were on our own. Unfortunately despite the large signs next to the bowls of plastic spoons asking people to use separate spoons for each tasting we noticed one tourist go down one entire row sampling with the same spoon. Ooh next ? Fortunately we had just completed our tasting, but we did explain the sign to him prior to leaving for our next stop, lunch.

We had decided on taking our friends to our firm favourite, Edgecombe Brothers in Gnangara Rd. More than just a winery, this family run winery restaurant produces table grapes, melons, pumpkins, citrus, broad beans, olives and asparagus as well as being a working vineyard.  We had a relaxed and tasty lunch and did a wine tasting whilst there. My favourites were the Chenin Blanc late harvest and the Muscat. We all agreed the Chocolate coated Muscat figs for dessert  were decadent. We relaxed and enjoyed the rural vista overlooking the vines and Darling Ranges.

After lunch we went to the Cheesebarrel. They don’t make the cheeses, but import them from all over the world and is definite must do next time we are in the Swan Valley. It would be a lovely place to select the cheeses to mix with crackers, figs, etc with wines to match from next door Olive Farm Wines and eat outside on the deck overlooking the tranquil vineyard overlooking Susanna Brook.

From cheese back to wine and next door was Olive Farm Wines, a fourth generation, family run winery since 1933. Inside we spot an oversized acrylic glass and take this photo opportunity and let our hair down.  Our first wine to taste was the methode’ champenoise, Verdelho late picked, Traminer, Autumn Cabernet, Liqueur Muscat and Liqueur Verdelho.

We left the best winery for the day til last, Windy Creek. This is where I’ve been purchasing my secret luscious ingredient to my Christmas trifle for many years. With the Darling Scrap as the backdrop and being owned and operated as a family winery we enjoyed not only the tastings, but the over the counter banter and complimentary Borrello cheese. On sale was Wicked Stepmother’s preserves and chutneys. We all enjoyed a variety of wines and the hospitality and as always made some purchases from their list of fabulous fortifieds to take home.

Our day of eating and drinking in the valley ended at Mondo Nougat. We arrived just prior to closing time so quickly made our purchase and used the props outside the store for another photo opportunity in the La Dolce Vita Bambino car. Next door is Morish Nuts which was closed but had another photo prop outside the shop.

So ended day two of our Perth itinerary and our day in the valley, where the traditional small boutique wineries stand their ground amongst the international players like Houghton and Sandalford. The region’s charm is that the people who make the wine are mostly the ones who greet and serve at the cellar door.

The Swan Valley also holds the honour of being the first official Humane Food Region in Australia, meaning the chefs produce humane food like free-range pork , fresh cage free eggs and some of the tastiest, most wholesome produce in WA.

We ended our day with a meal at the iconic Witches Cauldron in Subiaco, followed by time for some breathtaking photos at Kings Park and South Perth before taking our friends back to the Duxton for the night.

Don’t forget to read our day one , where to stay and things to do in the city.

Have you been to any of these places in the Swan Valley? Did you like our choices or did we miss one of your favourites?

Thank you to Cynthia from Food Pornographer for allowing us to include her photo of Alfred’s Kitchen.

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