Vine Guide: Swan Valley edition
Old meets new in this deliciously under-the-radar WA region, where emerging grape varieties are stealing the show.
If your local pub’s trivia night asked teams to name the key wine regions of Western Australia, there’s a good chance everyone would immediately put down Margaret River. After that, a handful of people would probably think of Great Southern, but how many would come up with Swan Valley? This emerging region is one worth knowing – and not just so you can take out the title at your next trivia event.
While this vast state’s better-known wine regions are at least a few hours from Perth by car, Swan Valley – a subregion of the Swan District – is just a 25-minute drive from the capital city. It’s also one of the oldest wine-growing areas in Australia, with the first vines planted here almost 200 years ago. With its warm climate and dry summers, Swan Valley was quickly recognised for its grape-growing potential back in the day. Thanks to several population booms since then – the 1890s gold rush included – this region has seen a steady rise in plantings of vines, as well as other fruit and veg. In fact, about 5% of the nation’s table grapes grow here.
Despite the region’s long viticultural history and reputation for classic wines, Swan Valley is fast emerging as a star region for newer varieties and fresh wine styles. So much so that when we recently spoke to Jane Lopes about her new book How to Drink Australian, she reflected on their decision to place Swan Valley in the ‘Other Regions of Western Australia’ chapter rather than its own section. “This is a region that’s evolving so rapidly, with such interesting wines and developments, that by the end of the book, we said it should’ve gotten its own chapter!” she said.
The takeaway? Swan Valley is absolutely a region to watch.
Traditional landowners: the Whadjuk people of the Noongar nation
Elevation: 0-283m
Total vine area: 890ha
Average amount of wine produced: 2,258 tonnes
Soil: coastal sands over limestone, red and gravel loams, grey sand over clay
Climate: warm to hot Mediterranean
Mean temp (Jan): 24.2°C
Average growing season rainfall: 151mm
White grapes: 82%
Red grapes: 18%
1. Chenin blanc: 38%
2. Verdelho: 20%
3. Chardonnay: 12%
4. Cabernet sauvignon: 7%
5. Other whites: 6%
Swan Valley is the oldest wine region in WA and second-oldest in Australia, with the first vines planted along the Swan River by an English botanist in 1830.
The Whadjuk people of the Noongar nation have inhabited this region for more than 40,000 years (archaeological evidence in the Upper Swan confirms this timeline). They believe a Dreamtime serpent carved out the valley and Swan River, and that this creature – the Wagyl – still lives in the river today.
Perth airport is just a 10-minute drive from Swan Valley, making it an ideal stop on the way in or out of town.
Swan Valley has long been a major producer of fortified wines, which were once pretty much the only type of wine that Aussies drank. That winemaking tradition remains, with a range of deliciously rich, sweet styles produced here from the various local varieties. While verdelho used to be the backbone of many of these fortified styles, this variety is also now commonly produced as a crisp, dry white with enticing tropical notes.
This region is also home to the long-famous white blend formerly known as Houghton White Burgundy (these days, it’s labelled Houghton White Classic). Created by celebrated winemaker Jack Mann, who worked at Houghton for 50 years, it’s an approachable blend of various white grapes, including verdelho, chenin blanc and muscadelle. This wine quickly became a flagship not just for Swan Valley, but also Western Australia, if not the nation. And at around the $10 mark, it remains an accessible – and crowd-pleasing – piece of wine history.
These aren’t the only whites that shine here, though. Sparkling styles are among the standouts, while chenin blanc has more recently stolen the spotlight in a major way. This native French grape (commonly labelled as Vouvray and Savennières in France after its key Loire Valley appellations) thrives in this warm, sunny region. Here, it produces another dry and crisp white, but its intensity varies and it can be dialled right up to rich, full-bodied styles.
Being a warm climate, reds also are also right at home across the region – think shiraz, cabernet, grenache and petit verdot. But bit by bit, there are also more emerging varieties that truly suit this warmer climate, such as the lesser-known Spanish varieties of negramoll and touriga nacional.
Houghton Wines long flew the flag for this region, but there are plenty of other highlight producers that call Swan Valley home. Mandoon Estate is one of the grandest, not least for their many offerings at the cellar door, including a boutique hotel and their Maalinup Aboriginal Gallery. Sparklings, white blends, sauvignon blanc and shiraz are among their wines, and they’ve accumulated a heap of achievements in just 15 years since they launched.
Family owned Sittella is another name to know. They first planted vines here in 1993 and have since opened their popular cellar door and restaurant. Sparkling, verdelho and chenin blanc shine in their regional whites (they also work with Margaret River fruit), while their reds include tempranillo, grenache and petit verdot.
The family behind Nikola Estate – also with a drawcard cellar door and restaurant – has tended to Swan Valley vines for four generations and they’re now reinvigorating their original vineyard plots with a focus on sustainability. Their wine collection includes everything from verdelho, chenin blanc and vermentino to shiraz, cabernet and intriguing red blends.
Over at Faber Vineyard, it’s all about rich reds and whites, which the team have been fine-tuning for 25 years. Verdelho, shiraz and brown muscat lie at the heart of their range, but newer additions include their popular Chardonnay Blanc de Blanc sparkling.
As the next generation of makers move into Swan Valley and put their stamp on the region’s best varieties, newer styles are becoming the headline acts. Chenin blanc, for example, was one of the earliest grapes planted in Swan Valley – about a third of the nation’s total chenin is produced here – but these days, this versatile variety is coming into its own. From sparkling and dry styles to textural, rich and sweet expressions, this grape can pretty much do it all in these ideal conditions, and this new wave of producers is running with it.
If you’re newer to chenin blanc, it’s known for its striking phenolics – the tannin-like effect that creates shape and structure in white wines – and it ages exceptionally well, too. To check out some of the Swan Valley’s benchmark examples, look for those from labels such as Corymbia (helmed by Jack Mann’s grandson Rob Mann and his wife Genevieve), John Kosovich, Vino Volta and Paul Conti, to name a few.
Emerging varieties are also on the rise, with these grapes that are newer to Australia so well suited to the Swan Valley climate. Spanish-leaning varieties are particularly thriving, as seen with the new albariño from Sittella, while there’s plenty of action in the reds, too. In addition to the long-standing shiraz, cabernet and grenache vines in this region, there are now plantings of tempranillo, the little-known negramoll and more. These additions are paving the way for some exciting blends, as seen, for example, with Nikola Estate’s The Symbolist. This combines tempranillo, mencia, grenache, arinto, malbec, shiraz and montepulciano from both Swan Valley and the Perth Hills.
