The Indigenous heritage of the Swan Valley region is a bit older. The Noongar people hung out here for about 40,000 years before the colonisers arrived, which puts nitpicking about planting times into perspective. Captain James Stirling (later Governor Stirling) explored the Swan Valley in 1827, and it’s fair to say he was reasonably impressed:
“…the richness of the soil, the bright foliage of the shrubs, the majesty of the surrounding trees, the abrupt and red colour banks of the river occasionally seen, and the view of the blue mountains, from which we were not far distant, made the scenery of this spot as beautiful as anything of the kind I have ever witnessed…”
The Italians and Croatians who eventually followed James used their Mediterranean climate expertise, and the result is the molto bene region you can visit today. A 25-minute drive from Perth, the gateway to the Swan Valley is the historic town (really a suburb these days) of Guildford, where you can browse antique shops in James Street and tuck into a fabulous counter lunch at the 139-year-old Guildford Hotel.
The 32-kilometre Swan Valley Food and Wine Trail takes you on a scenic loop of the area’s vineyards, fine-dining restaurants, cafes, galleries, picnic spots, markets, providores and roadside fresh produce stalls. You can also bike between bites and cycle between sips on the Swan Valley Heritage Cycle Trail.
The Valley boasts 40 wineries, plus microbreweries, distilleries and cideries. They even have a meadery, honey. It is renowned for fortified wines, especially Pedro Ximenez and Muscadelle, produced with techniques handed down the generations, such as Olive Farm’s famed Stari. The chenin and verdelho here are spectacular, and you’ll also find excellent petit verdot, shiraz, grenache and sparkling.
One advantage the Swan Valley has over the Hunter is proximity. The Hunter attractions are spread thin, like political leaders on the national hustings. In the Swan Valley, the next cellar door is just around the corner. And the nearest Sandgroper, who will happily take time out of their busy day to disparage the eastern states, is even closer.