Here in Western Australia, we are lucky to have nine amazing wine regions to choose from. We are spoilt for choice, but which wine region is right for your Perth wine tour?
Perth is believed to be the only Capital City in the world to have not one, but TWO wine regions within 30 minutes of our CBD - these being the Swan Valley wine region and Perth Hills wine region. For those looking to go further afar, some of our regions are quite remote and have very few cellar doors, but the world-famous Margaret River wine region has plenty to offer.
The main regions that we recommend for Perth wine tours (in no particular order) are:
The Swan Valley Wine Region
A Perth wine tour to the Swan Valley wine region is high on most visitors' to-do list due to it's proximity to Perth (about 30 minutes from the City) making it a very leisurely tour. Being our oldest wine growing region, it has had almost 200 years under its belt - building a reputation for quality, boutique wine production.
You may wonder why you have not heard of, or seen, Swan Valley wines outside of Western Australia? Quite simply, the region is actually quite small (roughly a 32km loop in total) and most of the wineries don't make enough wine to be able to export to large markets.
With the first plantings dating back to 1829, the Swan Valley is the second oldest wine region in Australia - and for the first 150 years, the Swan Valley was our only wine region! The region was put on the map in 1937 by the highly respected winemaker Jack Mann, who created Houghton's White Burgundy - one of Australia's most acclaimed wines.
This region has just 890 ha under vine, with a warm Mediterranean climate with very hot Summers but with low humidity and good breezes which is ideal for avoiding disease. This climate results in juicy fruit-forward wines that are very ageworthy, but also extremely drinkable as young wines due to their tannins being lower than many other regions.
The signature varietals in the Swan Valley wine region are ones that thrive in the warmer weather - Chenin Blanc is the superstar of this region, along with Verdelho, Grenache and Shiraz. In fact, Jancis Robinson (world-renowned wine critic and Master of Wine), believes the Swan Valley makes some of the best Verdelho in the world. Both of these are varietals that you will get to taste on your Perth wine tour.
This region also boasts world-class Fortified wines thanks to generations of winemaking tradition and the warm climate allowing the grapes to reach a ripeness that many other regions can never achieve.
The Perth Hills wine region is located in the Darling Range and is geographically quite large, spanning from Chittering in the North to Serpentine in the South. On a Perth wine tour in this region, we concentrate on the pocket known as the Bickley Valley - located about 30 minutes from the Perth CBD.
The Bickley Valley has about a dozen boutique wineries, along with a handful of local cider makers. Originally an area that was mostly orchards and market gardens, present day vines date back to the mid-1970's however the 'Perth Hills' was only gazetted as a wine region in 1999 , making it quite a young region in comparison to the historic Swan Valley. With just 119 ha under vine in the whole Perth Hills wine region, the wineries here are mostly very small producers that sell directly through their cellar door.
Home to the highest altitude vineyards in Western Australia, the elevated location of the Bickley Valley has a continental climate similar to areas of Spain, Portugal and Italy, with milder temperatures and a slightly later ripening season than that of the Swan Valley.
There are no strict 'signature' varietals in this region, being small producers that mostly sell direct to the public, many of the wineries have a varied and interesting tasting line up including some rare varietals that are hard to find elsewhere. There are some emerging varietals such as Vermentino, Fiano, Tempranillo and Montepulciano that are starting to become popular in the Perth Hills - they grow particularly well in this climate and are well received by customers.
The most famous of Western Australia's wine regions, technically a wine tour to Margaret River may not be a 'Perth wine tour' as it is located about a 3 hour drive (270km) south of the CBD. Although it's not that close, our two day wine tour to Margaret River showcases everything that the region is famous for.
The first plantings in Margaret River took place in 1966 by Tom Cullity (of Vasse Felix), with the assistance of the Swan Valley's winemakers passing on their generations of knowledge and cuttings from their vines.
At approximately 100km in length from north to south, and with about 5,840 ha under vine, there is a lot of variation in the characteristics of the wines depending on which subregion the grapes are from. The Margaret River region's terroir is considered to be very similar to that of Bordeaux with a similar Mediterranean climate, with its proximity to the ocean on three sides imparting strong Maritime influences.
Although it covers a large physical area, the Margaret River wine region makes up only 2% of Australia's total grape crush, 60% of the producers here make less than 4000 cases a year! Yet it produces 25% of Australia's premium wine - with the grape prices being valued at almost twice the country's average.
The signature wines in the Margaret River region are namely Bordeaux varietals - Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec and Chardonnay thrive in this area and are consistently produced to world-class, award winning standards. Shiraz is also popular in this region, as well as the Semillon Sauvignon Blanc blend.
There are 100+ cellar doors to visit in this region, which is one of the reasons that all of our Perth wine tours to the Margaret River and South West region are hosted as private tours - so we can handpick the wineries that will suit you best.
