How we score Swan Valley wineries: our methodology

What the score is

Every winery business in this directory gets a composite score from 0 to 100. We currently score 64 businesses in Swan Valley. The score comes from five measured signals, combined with fixed weights. Nothing else goes in.

The five signals, heaviest first

Signal	Weight	What it measures
Sentiment	28%	A synthesis of recent review themes: praise versus complaints
Rating	27%	Google aggregate star rating
Volume	20%	How many reviews, log-scaled
Recency	15%	How recently customers reviewed
Completeness	10%	Whether phone, website, hours and address are listed

Sentiment (28%)

Sentiment carries the most weight here, and that is deliberate. A star average hides patterns. Two wineries can both sit on 4.5 stars, yet one collects repeated complaints about the same thing: slow service on busy weekends, a cellar door that feels rushed, tastings that run short. Reading what recent reviews actually say is the only way to catch that, so we do it and score it.

Rating (27%)

The Google star average is still a useful, widely understood summary of how people felt overall. It sits just behind sentiment because it is a blunt number.

Volume (20%)

More reviews mean a more trustworthy picture. We log-scale the count, so going from 5 reviews to 50 matters far more than going from 500 to 545. A handful of reviews does not equal hundreds.

Recency (15%)

Cellar doors change. Staff turn over, menus shift, ownership changes. A winery reviewed last month tells you more than one whose last review is two years old.

Completeness (10%)

If you are planning a day in the valley, you need a phone number, a website, opening hours and an address. Listings that publish all four score higher on this signal.

How the weights are set

This directory sets its own weighting within fixed limits. The same weights apply equally to every listing. No signal other than the ones above leads the score, and none is adjusted for individual businesses.

Scores are never edited

Scores are earned from this rubric and the data only. They are never edited by hand. Paid placement, when it exists, is always labelled and never changes a score. If a list has picks or an order that an editor reviewed, we say so on that page. You can see our ranked picks in the best wineries list, or start from the home page.

Honest limits

• Low-confidence scores. A business with few recent reviews gets a low-confidence score and is labelled that way. Treat it as a rough guide.
• We synthesise, not republish. We summarise review themes in our own words rather than copying reviews. We link out to Google so you can read the source yourself.
• Google is the source. Our review signals depend on what has been posted there. Wineries with a quieter online presence may be under-represented.
• A score is not a taste test. It cannot tell you whether you will like a particular shiraz or verdelho. It shows how customers have recently found the experience.

Freshness

We refresh the data monthly. Each listing carries a "last verified" stamp, so you can see when we last checked it.

Who publishes this

Swan Valley Winery Guide is published by Scout Local Media, an independent Australian publisher operating since 2026. The directory is built from published review data and public business information. We rank by merit, not payment. Our aim is to help people find trusted wineries and help good local producers reach people looking for them. Visit scoutlocalmedia.com.au.

The rankings are maintained by Petra Nathan, Lead Editor, who oversees the methodology and the editorial standards described on this page.

Contact

Spotted an error, or want to update your details? Email hello@scoutlocalmedia.com.au.