* I attended this experience as a guest.
It’s a Tuesday night during a sitting week and we’re at Parliament House. But not for work – Swan Valley has come all the way from WA to Canberra to showcase what their region has to offer.
Swan Valley was named by the RSPCA as Australia’s first humane food region: this means throughout the cafes and restaurants you can expect meats to be free-range and eggs to be cage-free. Animal welfare is paramount. Swan Valley is also home to around 150 wineries in the region, so there’s plenty to like!
I find it quite novel that so many producers in a region as far away as Western Australia find the time and effort to come all the way to freezing Canberra – it’s really quite wonderful to have Swan Valley come to us! The whole point, of course, is to convince us of the value of the region so much so that we give them a visit in return. I’m happy to report that there are enough stand-outs for me to genuinely consider a visit – something I wouldn’t have done otherwise.
The highlights:
Wild Swan Distilling Company is a microbrewery doing gin and vodka. And not just any vodka, but cold brew coffee vodka and pavlova vodka. I don’t even like coffee and I find the cold brew absolutely genius.
Ti produce tell me their strawberries aren’t quite at their peak yet, but of course they wanted to bring a batch. I’m not sure what their peak looks like: these are among the brightest, sweetest and juiciest I’ve tasted. Within an hour they’ve handed out every single strawberry they’ve brought.
Feral Brewing is a big player in the small brewers scene. I’ve long enjoyed their beers at some of Canberra’s beer festivals and Plonk stocks a great range. It turns out they’re from Swan Valley!
Mike Price of Sittella Winery and Restaurant is one of the key ambassadors for Swan Valley. Having trained in Michelin star restaurants throughout France, his food philosophy involves the least amount of human interference possible. On this cold winter night his roasted carrot shots hit the spot.
Have you been to Swan Valley? Would you go?
Date: Tuesday, 23 June 2015
Want more? http://www.swanvalley.com.au
In The Taratory 
What do you reckon?