A Day Out In The Swan Valley With UberVINO.

It’s safe to say, since Uber has come to town, it has completely changed the way many of us travel. Now UberVINO is changing the game again.

Especially when alcohol is involved. I definitely didn’t taxi around as much as I use Uber. The convenience of Uber and their decent prices is just so appealing and for someone like me who is going to many wine events – it just makes life so much easier.

One thing about Perth that I still find a bit baffling is that everyone thinks the Swan Valley is so far away. As a result, many people have only ever been out to the Valley once or twice. To be honest, I don’t mind this as I like having the Valley all to myself, however for all the local business owners, I want to see them busy and being successful.

I’ve done a number of Swan Valley tours over the last few years – the ease of having the day organised for you is fantastic. I’ve also done many self-drive trips around the Valley where either I or someone I am out with is the designated responsible skipper. However, we now have another option to see the Valley which combines the above – UberVINO.

Basically, UberVINO is a service where you pay by the hour ($40) to have an Uber take you around the Swan Valley. You simply organise the UberVINO through the Uber app and you’ve got your personal driver for the day. You can organise your own itinerary and leave the driving up to your Uber driver.

I gave this a whirl with a few friends recently and it’s safe to say we had a great day out. I am sure our lovely Uber Driver, James, was having a great laugh at our chatter by the end of the day. The below itinerary is based on the back roads of Great Northern Highway. We wanted to stay off the main drag and visit some of the smaller wineries on this trip. Showing love to some of the forgotten wineries that the big bus tours often miss.

You can book an UberVINO anytime between 10am-3pm for as long as you want. The minimum charge is $60 which is 1.5 hours. We booked ours for just after 11am. James was a fantastic driver, and the Toyota Kluger that he drives was a very comfortable way to be ushered around the Valley.

Stop 1: Talijancich Wines

Address: 26 Hyem Road, Herne Hill 6056

Talijancich (Tali for short if you struggle to say it!) is located just off Great Northern Highway. It was the perfect way to start our self-guided tour. We tried through the range of whites, reds and of course we couldn’t go past the award-winning fortified wines. If we hadn’t of had brunch just before heading out, then there’s no doubt we would have enjoyed one of their cheeseboards on the deck with a glass or two.

Stop 2: Fig Tree Estate

Address: 100 Bisdee Road, Millendon 6056

Just around the corner is Fig Tree Estate who have something for everyone. From sparkling wine to dry and sweet whites, rose, red, fortified and cider – we all found a number of tipples we really enjoyed. Fig Tree’s cider is made from Donnybrook pink lady apples and is all natural, so there’s no sweeteners or anything extra added.

Fig Tree have a lovely courtyard and also offer food – I’ll definitely be heading back sometime soon for a lunch date.

Stop 3: Lamont’s

Address: 85 Bisdee Road, Millendon 6056

Lamont’s is just a hop, skip and a jump up the road from Fig Tree. Lamont’s was our lunch stop as I simply love their food. Their small bites share plate menu changes every month, so it really is a good excuse to visit often. Before sitting down for some dishes to share, we started off with a tasting at the cellar door.

If you have been to Lamont’s and have had a tasting with Scott, then you know that they offer a very unique tasting experience – “just swallow it and we’ll talk about it later” sums up Scott’s approach to wine tasting.

He’s very colourful to say the least!

Lamont’s also have cellar door dogs alongside being dog-friendly, so if you love your friends with four legs, then you won’t be disappointed with a visit to Lamont’s. The girls and I had a great time getting to know Truffles.

Stop 4: Tyler’s Vineyard

Address: 301 Padbury Ave, Millendon 6056

Tyler’s is a must-visit on any day out in the Swan Valley. It’s rustic, laid-back and the owners love a good laugh. You’ll meet Lucky the golden retriever and no doubt see chickens, sheep and more.

On the property, they grow only Grenache that they produce red and fortified wines from alongside a rose blush bubbles and a white wine from this red grape (they remove the skins from the juice asap so it’s white not red).

We were also lucky enough to enjoy our fortified tasting out of the super cute port-sipper glasses. To top off the experience you can create your own wine label by adding a photo from your phone to the label or the Tyler’s can take a picture of you in the vineyard or cellar door to go on the bottle.

Stop 5: Windy Creek Estate

Address: 27 Stock Road, Herne Hill 6056

Windy Creek have a little slice of heaven in the Swan Valley. Their newish cellar door can cater for many groups at once and they have a lovely courtyard over-looking the vines. It’s a wonderful spot to enjoy a glass of wine in the sun and get into full relaxation mode. They have a wide range of wines to taste through and some awesome wine deals – you can easily fill up the boot of your UberVINO at this stop.

By this time, we were nearing on 5pm which is typically when most wineries in the Swan Valley will begin to close-up for the day.

Our UberVINO dropped us back to our front door which ended our 6-hour Swan Valley day out. It ended up being $220 for the entire day. If you’re splitting the cost between say 4 people, that works out to be $55 each – which is not bad for a great day out.

Whether you UberVINO, jump on a tour or even cycle around the Valley – I am sure you’ll have a blast. You can pick up a map at the Swan Valley Tourism Centre in Guildford and you can pop over to my Swan Valley wineries section on the blog for some inspiration.

If you’re struggling to decide where to take your UberVINO to, feel free to pop me and email about the types of wines or the style of wineries you’d like to visit and I’m more than happy to make some itinerary suggestions.

And just remember, there’s never a good excuse to drink and drive.