![](https://i0.wp.com/www.freshstarttraveller.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/img_6332.jpg?resize=1170%2C690)
Swan Valley
On 27th May 2017 by HelenI felt this place really deserved its own blog post separate to my Perth post which will be up soon.
Swan Valley is absolutely beautiful. It’s like Australia, France and Italy collided and have made the most picturesque area full of vineyards and good food.
We honestly had the most jam packed day ever and saw as much as we could. The shops and vineyards tend to shut pretty early about 4-4:30pm so you need a plan of action for the day. We started by heading to the Visitor Centre to pick up some maps and then we started. Having friends who live so close is a godsend as they took me to the best places.
To start we went to Yahavana Koffee for a coffee tasting which was yummy! We tried three different blends a light, medium and strong, before we headed to the cafe for a drink. The coffee was pretty powerful at the tasting so we settled for tea and milkshakes in the cafe but they were equally as good.
Once we had finished there we took the very short drive to Margaret River Chocolate company and the Providore/Coward and Black shops. The chocolate shop is a must see for everyone who has a sweet tooth. You can grab free chocolate samples and they sell everything from chocolate bars to massage oil! The shop across the road sells chocolate liqours, jams and chutneys.
We then headed for lunch at Swan Valley Vegetarian Restaurant where EVERYTHING is gluten free and vegan. It was delicious. We had a gluten free paninies and a mezze plate, we shared chips, the drinks were delicious Rachel had a ginger chai latte, I had a cold press juice with apple and beetroot and Luke had a gluten free beer.
Once lunch was finished it was time for wine! I’m not a big wine drinker but we went to a lovely vineyard called Upper Reach and had a try of their wine which was actually pretty good (even the red wine which I usually hate). Their vineyard was stunning and had the most gorgeous views and they do weddings too.
Next we headed to The Cheese Barrel for a cheese tasting (yummy). There was a blue cheese, Camanbert and a smokey cheese from Tasmania. We all laughed at how much cheese cost that was imported from the UK, Red Leicester costing $110 per Kg for example!
After this we headed to The House of Honey and Meadery for a honey tasting and a mead tasting – sadly I couldn’t taste the mead as it wasn’t gluten free but Rachel and Luke said it was good as bought some.
Following this (told you it was a mammoth day) we then went on to Sittel Vineyard which was sadly closing for the day but the grounds were beautiful to look at.
We next headed to Mandi Nougat and Chocolate and Morish Nuts for tastings and ended up coming away with a small bag of caramel covered cashews – should have got the big one they were sooo good!
We then went to another vineyard, Houghton, for a further wine tasting, again very nice wine and finally we tried to go to Whistler’s Chocolate Company and Cafe but again they were closing and we were only allowed to walk around.
We got home absolutely exhausted and just spent the evening relaxing and chilling out.
Leave a Reply