Swan Valley: Winery Day Tour with Lunch & Local Tastings

4.94

(775 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

The first thing I noticed stepping off the coach in Swan Valley was the way the air smelled — a kind of earthy sweetness, maybe from the vines or just the morning sun on wet grass. Our guide, Paul, had this easy way of talking about wine that made me feel like I could actually taste what he was describing (I’m still not sure I got all those “stone fruit” notes though). At Lancaster Wines we sat right among the rows of vines, passing around a cheese board that looked almost too good to touch. The brie was so creamy it nearly slid off my cracker — and yeah, I dropped one. No one cared. That’s how relaxed it felt.

I didn’t expect to laugh as much as I did at Sittella Wines. The staff there seemed to know everyone by name — or maybe they’re just good at faking it. Lunch was a vineyard platter with bread that tasted homemade and olives so salty they made my mouth water for more of their sparkling rosé (which went down faster than I meant). Someone at our table tried to pronounce “verdelho” properly; Li laughed when I tried to say it in Mandarin — probably butchered it. There’s something about eating outside under those big gum trees that makes you forget you’re only half an hour from Perth.

We stopped at a boutique brewery for a quick beer (I went for a pale ale) before wandering through shelves of jams and chutneys at this place called Providore — smelled like Christmas in there, all spice and sugar. By the time we hit the Chocolate Company, I’d already sworn off sweets for the week but caved instantly after trying their truffles. The whole day felt unhurried, even though we packed so much in. On the drive back, someone dozed off behind me and I caught myself thinking about that first glass of wine under the vines — how quiet it was except for laughter and birds overhead.