What a day on the Swan Valley Food and Wine Trail...I think you could call it a marathon of sorts. The Swan Valley is a wine and produce region covering a circular area of 32km. It amazed me how many places dotted this popular location...one after another...so don't blink.
With a 9:30am start we headed out, our first stop at the Whistler Chocolate Factory...I love this area already. We did some taste testing...this is the best part of the region...as almost all tasting is free!!!
Whistler is an old Western Australia chocolate, so a good place to start...loved the chocolate display when we entered the store.
Next was Mondo Nougat & Chocolate and then a quick stop into Morish Nuts. I'm sure the shop worker thought I was a pretty knowledgeable Canadian when I asked for a nougat flavour without nuts. His reply..."All nougat has nuts. It's like asking for chocolate cake without the chocolate"...in a nice Australian accent of course!
Macadamia nuts are a very popular nut here, so of course I had to buy some caramel chili covered ones for the trip home...yummy!
From here it was time for a bit of wine...first stop Houghton's...one of the largest and more popular/available wines in Australia.
Large samplers here and lots to try...6 in total.
After getting a good start on some wine tasting, we headed to our next winery...Oakover.
This place had a really nice vibe with both wine and coffee tasting...it also had a working roastery called Fiori.
Nice wines overall, especially the cab merlot.
For those looking for a deal you could find one here...too bad I couldn't fit then all in my luggage.
Time for a couple more stops before our lunch reservation, so we went to the House of Honey...love this place! So much delicious honey to try. They had honey candies, liquid and creamed honey, honey soaps, hand creams/lotions, clothing and the list goes on. We also had some delicious honey & ginger sparkling water...this was so refreshing we both bought bottles.
Just up the road we stopped in at one of our favourite wineries...Olive Farm Wines. They had a huge selection of wines here and you could try as many as you'd like.
I tried about four and loved two of the reds in particular. Of course the one I loved the most was being sold in China for over $400/bottle...I guess it was a steal for $42 at the winery!!
Right next door was the Cheese Barrel...I love cheese!
They had a huge selection of cheeses, but unfortunately since they didn't make any of the cheeses...more of a restaurant...they didn't have much to taste other than the cheese of the day. Very mild, but good...
It was almost 12:30pm so we headed to Sittella's for some wine tasting and lunch. Before we were seated we tried a number of the wines to see what we would like with our meal...I chose the sparkling Chenin.
We were then taken to a lovely table out on the deck...what a beautiful view of the vineyard! Such a spectacular way to spend the lunch hour...and I also fully appreciated the water misters that kept us cool as well.
The meal was phenomenal...we chose the January set lunch special...
I had the salmon and the strawberry desert...OMG!!
After enjoying our meal...and the view...we headed on our way. But not before we ran into the German couple I met yesterday on the ferry! It's like I'm a local already running into friends in the Swan Valley...very funny.
Edgecombe Brothers was our next stop...a small shop with a bohemian feel. I sampled a couple wines here, but nothing that really made an impression on me.
We decided to take a breather from wine tasting and take in some aboriginal art....jewelry, paintings, wooden products and painted glass. Lots of looking, but left without any purchases...but a nice stop.
We were told that Black Swan was a nice place to check out, but when we arrived it was very quiet and the tastings were at a charge...why pay when there's so much available for free. At this point I realized I didn't have my wallet so it was a good excuse to leave...nice to see my wallet on the ground by the car door. Yiikkkes!!!
So instead of Black Swan we headed to Swanbrook...nice wines here and the girl who served us gave us some great suggestions for other places to check out. I like how everyone supports each other in this very populated wine region.
On our way out we came across the perfect spot to take a "selfie"...or at least we tried. Unfortunately my arms were not long enough so I solicited our server to help us out and take our photo in their little picture frame. Cheese....
Time for a wine break and a little more chocolate at Margaret River Chocolate Factory. The best chocolate...so smooth and creamy. Loved taste testing here...I ended up buying some rocky road chocolate.
But it got even better...chocolate liqueurs! I tried all four flavours...wouldn't everyone???
And left the store with my own little bottle (macchiato), along with a recipe for Espresso Martini. Might be my favourite stop so far!
Our second last stop was Lancaster. Such a great vibe, a very personable server and they even had free cheese samplings...score! I had several wines here and a couple of the cheeses.
With only 20 minutes before closing time at most of the wineries, we headed off to Mandoon Estate & Homestead Brewery...along with our wine and cheese purchases.
This final stop...just past the women's prison...was incredibly nice. Huge outdoor property, a brewery and winery, restaurant, cafe, beer garden, private wine tasting room, kids playground and a wedding function center...one stop shopping here for the entire family.
With only a bit of time, I had a taste of all four red wines...not my favourite...but missed out on the brewery. Next time I guess.
So that ended our trip around the Swan Valley...I think it was a productive one...check out the stats:
- 2 chocolate factories
- 1 nougat shop
- 1 nut store
- 2 cheese places
- 1 honey store
- 1 art gallery
- 9 wineries
- 4 liqueurs tasted, and
- 28 wines tasted
We arrived back at Cathy's around 6:00pm and what does one do after a full day in the Swan Valley...have a carpet picnic with cheese, bread and wine of course. The fun never seems to end...
A full day and so much fun thanks to Cathy who was my designated driver and tour guide. Can't wait to come back for round two.
Tomorrow is my last morning in Australia before I head off in the evening on my 38 hour trip home. May check out the beach one last time before heading back home to the cold...important to maximize every hour that's left.
Until tomorrow...
Surprised the pictures were still in focus at the end there Lisa! haha
ReplyDeleteSounds like a blast though! (Robin)
Haha...barely Robin! Hard to keep up with these Australians ;)
DeleteLots of wine testing. How did you feel at the end of the day?
ReplyDelete