The Swan Valley's Mediterranean climate allows winemakers to grow and produce a remarkably wide range of wine styles, from sparkling through to fortified. Very few wine regions can achieve this level of diversity.

Plan a visit to one of our many cellar doors to meet the makers and taste some of these regional specialties.

Sparkling Wines

Sparkling wines have long been the favoured drink to celebrate any occasion. Making sparkling wine in the traditional Methode Champenoise - the same method that produces champagne in France - is labour-intensive but well worth the extra effort.

In the Swan Valley, delicious and creamy sparkling wines are produced from traditional varieties such as Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc and Shiraz.

Chenin Blanc

Given its superstar status in the Swan Valley, Chenin Blanc is the most widely planted white grape variety.

Annually, the Region crushes around a third of Australia’s Chenin Blanc. And what a versatile fruit it is, making wines from sparkling to still, and crisp and dry through to luscious and sweet.

This sun-loving varietal, with its delicate floral aromas, apple-like flavours and zingy acidity, is ideal to serve with seafood.

Verdelho

Verdelho thrives in the climate of the Swan Valley.

The varietal is crisp and dry with tropical notes and is great with or without food.

The fruit is picked when it achieves the perfect balance between its natural delicate acidity and fresh aromatic fruit flavours. Verdelho's rich honeysuckle flavours are allowed free rein, without the influence of new oak.

World-renowned Master of Wine, Jancis Robinson believes the Swan Valley makes the best Verdelho in the world.

Rosé

Light in style, fresh and floral, Rosé is perfectly suited to Western Australia's climate and lifestyle.

Rosé is typically made from Grenache, Tempranillo or Shiraz, as well as from other emerging varietals.

Its distinctive pink colour varies in depth depending on the time it spends in contact with the skin of red grapes.

Grenache

First planted in the Swan Valley in the 1860s, Grenache has been under vine ever since.

Historically, local winemakers used it to produce world-class fortified-style wines. Now they’re exploring Grenache’s other side, creating luscious lighter wines such as Rosé and dry red styles.

With Grenache, less is more – the lower the yield, the better the wine. The combination of the Swan Valley’s older vines, rocky and shallow soil and warm climate provides the tough love necessary to naturally produce the very best Grenache fruit.

Shiraz

The Swan Valley produces warm climate Shiraz to rival some of the best-known regions in Australia.

Gravelly soil naturally controls the vine’s vigour, while warm summer days tempered by cool ocean breezes allow grapes to ripen to perfection, producing plush, medium- to full-bodied wines full of delicious dark fruit flavours.

The quality of the fruit also allows winemakers to test their long game; to create wines that are great drinking now with the ability to become even greater with time.

The use of new and old oak adds greater complexity and depth.

Fortified Wines

The Swan Valley is renowned for producing world-class fortified wines that can take decades to make.

Equally timeless is the production style; third-generation winemakers are still using the same techniques and vines as their grandparents.

Fruit is left on the vines for extended ripening in the summer sun. The berries are semi-dried which concentrates the grape sugars and flavours.

The term ‘Fortified’ refers to the addition of a small amount of brandy to strengthen the partly fermented wine, which is then left to mature in oak barrels.

Some of the luscious-fortified wines you will find in the Swan Valley are Pedro Ximenes, Muscadelle, Liqueur Shiraz and Liqueur Verdelho.

Emerging Varietals

Many new wine varietals are now being planted in the Swan Valley, with the predominantly Mediterranean varieties being perfectly suited to our local climate, way of life and the foods we like to eat.

A few of these exciting new varietals are:

Touriga Nacional - Origin: Portugal

Montepulciano - Origin: Abruzzo, Italy

Nero d'Avola - Origin: Sicily, Italy

Fiano - Origin: Campania, Italy

Mencia - Origin: Spain

Barbera - Origin: Piedmont, Italy

Arinto - Origin: Portugal