Lancaster Wines

Lancaster Wines is a family-owned boutique winery at 5228 West Swan Road, and the setup could hardly suit dogs better: the tasting happens in an open-air, undercover shed among some of the valley's oldest vines, so there is no indoor room your dog has to be left outside of. Tastings run from 10am to 5pm, seven days, and the venue describes itself plainly as dog friendly.

The dog setup

Well-behaved dogs on leads are welcome in the alfresco tasting shed, which is where the whole experience takes place. The seating is rustic timber and the space is open along the sides, so there is room for a dog to settle beside you or flop in the shade of the vineyard edge. Keep the lead on throughout the grounds. Bowls are not a standard fixture, so pack your own water for warm afternoons in the valley.

The vibe

Tastings are walk-in, free and informal, and the crew pours Swan Valley reds and whites with a signature sticky Shiraz to finish. Cheese and charcuterie boards cover the food side, sized for sharing over a long tasting. Wine tour buses pass through at intervals, which makes mid-morning and mid-afternoon the calm spots in the day. Because everything is outdoors, a stinking hot or pouring afternoon changes the experience, so check the weather before you lock it in.

Getting there and parking

The cellar door sits on West Swan Road about 25 minutes from the Perth CBD, with free on-site parking right by the shed and flat ground all the way in, an easy walk for older dogs.

Make a day of it

The dog-friendly options stack up nicely along this road. Ugly Duckling Wines further north takes dogs on its vineyard-view deck, Edgecombe Winery accommodates dogs in its outdoor spaces in Henley Brook, and Riverbank Estate over in Caversham is another outdoor-seating stop if you loop back through the valley.

Aim for a weekday or the quieter shoulders of a weekend if your dog prefers calm, and bring a water bowl in summer. More dog-friendly cellar doors are listed under other WA wineries, and the West Swan guide maps the local run.