I’ve discovered the scrumptious Sweet Temptations Trail, a mouth-watering artisan adventure that takes you to some of the Swan Valley’s sweetest spots. Sweet-tooths will love the tour that focuses on local produce, hand crafted in the Swan Valley region.
Absolutely anyone can take part in the DIY self-drive tour, it’s a tonne of fun for couples, friends or even families. Taste everything from nougat, honey, sweet nuts, raw treats, fresh macarons and there’s even a few cheeky wine stops, because the Swan Valley boasts some top-notch sweet wines after all!
Maison Saint-Honore
Maison Saint Honore owner Alex Lui-van-Sheng first shared his marvellous macarons with Perth at farmers markets. His little business soon took off and now he’s running a macaron factory in the Swan Valley. Here you can pop in and purchase so many different flavours of these yummy morsels or stay a little while longer, grab a table and enjoy a brunch or coffee with something sweet.
First, we sampled the freshest French macarons, as well as a host of other sweet treats made at Maison. And for those who may like something a little more savoury their house baked croissants are a big favourite too!
The café has a playground, as well as a separate, quieter garden area. See my separate blog on Maison Saint Honore here.
Find Maison Saint Honore at 110 Benara Road, Caversham, WA.
Pinelli Estate Wines
While we were at Maison, their friendly neighbour Daniel Pinelli, Owner from adjoining winery Pinelli Estate Wines, popped by to let us taste their Pink Moscato. You may know I’m rather partial to a drop of vino, and when Daniel told us his Moscato had fairy floss notes, I just knew it would be a winner! After a little sip, I let out an audible “ooooo”, I was sold. It’s one of the best Moscatos, if not the best, that I’ve tried. Pinelli Estate wines, a family winery with an Italian heritage, are only available from their cellar door or online.
Find Pinelli Estate Wines at 114 Benara Road, Caversham, WA.
Morish Nuts
Next, we checked out Morish Nuts, for tastings of sweet coated nuts and toffee popcorn crunch. Morish Nuts has gone from Owners Archie and Marie making tasty nuts in a rented Cottesloe townhouse and being sold at markets, to the big operation it is today, they supply nuts to several airlines and hotels. Thier caramel coated and coffee glazed macadamias are to die for. If you love a savoury nut, make sure you taste their wasabi and abalone coated morsels. Best of all, their entire range is gluten, lactose, additive, preservative and colour free. A great excuse for a nibble!
Find Morish Nuts at 640 Great Northern Highway, Herne Hill.
Mondo Nougat
We don’t have far to travel to our next destination. Mondo Nougat is found in the same spot as Morish nuts. Owner Andrea Mondo took us through how Mondo Nougat is made using a traditional Southern Italian recipe, which you can try and buy. There’s lots of different flavours… think cherry, cappuccino, lemon and more, as well as soft nougat or something with a little more crunch. In the café, there’s coffee, hot chocolates and of course loads of taste bud tempting desserts including their crowd favourite, the Mondo Nougat cheesecake. We even got to try their freshly made nougat, still warm and gooey!
Find Mondo Nougat at 640 Great Northern Highway, Herne Hill.
The House of Honey
We got a warm welcome and introduction to honey by owners Rupert and Kim Philips, who’s pure honey is sourced straight from the hive. Their apiary sites are found all around WA to benefit from the many different nectars, which each give a unique flavour to each honey type.
At The House of Honey, you have the opportunity to sample many varieties of pure, natural honeys at the tasting station. We watched the busy worker bees in the glass covered hive. There’s also a café offering loads of house made honey ice creams to devour in their pretty surrounds.
While you’re there, check out the new meadery. The “honey wine” is said to be the world’s oldest alcoholic drink.
Find The House of Honey at 867 Great Northern Hwy, Herne Hill.
Swan Valley Vegetarian Cafe
I’ll be the first to admit, once the word “vegetarian” would fill me with dread! Now, since dropping the gluten and also being very aware of my body’s reaction to certain food additives, preservatives and flavour enhancers, I can fully appreciate eating a cleaner, greener diet. At the Swan Valley Vegetarian Café everything is vego, made from scratch and EVERYTHING is also gluten free. I was so excited that I could try it all!!
I tucked into their tasty and delicious cakes, and raw treats. There were even colourful tastings of their various flavoured lattes.
Here owner Julie, who is also a naturopath by trade, formulates and hand blends her own range of herbal teas. I really love their Valley Chai blend and will have to head back for more. It’s a lovely café and their lush courtyard is a great spot for a healthy lunch.
Find Swan Valley Vegetarian Café at 990 Great Northern Hwy, Millendon.
Olive Farm Winery
Lastly, we headed to one of my very favourite Swan Valley wineries – Olive Farm Wines. It’s safe to say I’ve never left the cellar door here without a bottle of wine to take home.
This time, Gemma from Olive Farm took us through their sweet wine selection and each was paired with some delicious handmade chocolates from nearby Whistlers. The combo of OFW Muscat with burnt caramel crisp was my favourite. Their signature fortified wines and sparkling Moscato are handcrafted by third and fourth generation Swan Valley winemakers.
And we even got to poke our heads into to warehouse where the magic happens. Their winemakers took us through the amazingly efficient process of taking the grapes from vine to the huge tanks – with the help of both manual work and shiny German picking machine “Ralph”.
Find Olive Farm Wines at 920 Great Northern Hwy, Millendon.
A big shout out to Top Gun Tours! Thanks to Matthew for driving us around the Swan Vallley in style.
Most of the eight destinations on the trail offer breakfast, morning teas and lunch, so you will be spoiled for choice food-wise. Otherwise, you could take your own picnic to tranquil Maali Bridge Park, located on the banks of the Swan River. The Swan Valley Sweet Temptations Trail is a must do for any sweet-tooth (imagine all the local goodies you can pick up along the way!) and a delicious way to spend a few hours.
Download your map here and get tasting!
Thanks to the City of Swan for inviting me along on their scrumptious tour!
