Swan Valley

The Swan Valley is the shortest road trip on this list and, for a first or last day in Perth, the most useful. Twenty-five minutes from the depot puts you at the first cellar door. It is also the oldest wine region in Western Australia, planted in the 1830s, which is why the vines here are older and gnarlier than anything in Margaret River.

The drive from Perth

There are two ways in and they suit different days. Great Eastern Highway through Guildford is the scenic option: you pass the heritage streets, the antique shops and the Swan Valley Visitor Centre, which is the sensible first stop if you have not booked anything. Reid Highway to West Swan Road is the faster option if you are heading straight for the northern end of the valley.

Either way it is a 25 minute run on sealed suburban roads with no tricky sections. That is the whole appeal. You are not committing a day to driving, you are committing a day to the valley.

What to do when you get there

The official count is more than 150 venues, including over 40 wineries, 10 breweries, 9 distilleries, a few cideries and a meadery. Nobody sees all of it. Pick a lane and stick to it.

• Sandalford Wines for the big-name estate experience and the vineyard tours.
• Sittella Winery for lunch with a view over the vines, and for the sparkling.
• Mandoon Estate if the group is split, because Homestead Brewery is on the same site.
• Margaret River Chocolate Company and Yahava KoffeeWorks for the people who are not drinking.
• Caversham Wildlife Park inside Whiteman Park, which is the easiest place in Perth to see a wombat.
• Whiteman Park itself for the heritage trams, the Bennett Brook Railway and the Motor Museum of Western Australia.

The valley has two signposted routes worth following. The Swan Valley Fine Wine Trail links the estates known for Chenin Blanc, Verdelho and Shiraz. The Fortified Wine Trail is the older tradition and the one most visitors overlook, which is a mistake.

When to go

September to November and March to May. Spring brings the wildflowers through Perth and the valley, and Entwined in the Swan Valley runs across two weeks in October with food, wine and heritage events at venues up and down the region.

Avoid January and February if you can. The Swan Valley sits inland and regularly runs hotter than the coast, well over 40 degrees on the worst days. Cellar door hopping in that heat is not the day out you had in mind.

A half day loop that works

If you want a plan rather than a list, this one runs cleanly and finishes before the gates shut. Leave the depot at 10am and start at the Swan Valley Visitor Centre in Guildford to pick up a map and a couple of recommendations. Head north up West Swan Road with a first tasting around 11am, then book lunch for 12.30pm at Sittella or Mandoon so the middle of the day is sorted. Spend the early afternoon on two more cellar doors, drop into the chocolate factory or Yahava on the way back down, and be at Caversham Wildlife Park by 3pm if there are kids in the car. That has you back in Perth well before peak hour.

Doing it in reverse works just as well in summer, because the northern end of the valley holds the heat longest and you would rather be there in the morning.

The hire car we would put you in

The Compact Hatch, a Kia Picanto or similar. It is the cheapest car in the fleet, it is automatic, and the valley is 25 minutes of easy suburban driving, so there is nothing here that asks for a bigger engine or a higher seat. Cellar door car parks are gravel and often tight, and the Picanto slots into gaps that a wagon cannot. Four seats and a bag is enough for a couple or a pair of friends with a case of wine on the back seat.

If there are more than four of you, take the People Mover instead. Eight seats and four bags means one designated driver covers the whole group, everyone travels together, and there is room for the boxes on the way home. It is the single most sensible car in the fleet for a group wine day.

Before you leave the depot

Book any winery lunch before you drive out, because the good ones fill on weekends and there is nothing worse than turning up hungry at 2pm. Take a cooler bag if you plan to buy: an afternoon in a hot boot does no wine any favours. And decide on the driver before the first tasting, not after it.