For all you passionate Wine Lovers out there…do yourself a favour and add this one to your bucket list – not only is the Western Cape Wine Region the Longest Wine Route in the world, stretching from Constantia in Cape Town to Port Elizabeth… a distance of about 850 km…. but it is the only one to claim a new grape variety “Pinotage” created outside of Europe.

Considered to be one of the Top Wine Regions in the world, winemaking here dates back to the late 17th century with the arrival of Huguenot migrants from France.

Stellenbosch

This is the 2nd oldest town in South Africa, dating back to the mid 1600’s, and is situated about 50 km east of Cape Town. This is an excellent place to use as a base to explore this whole region. Stellenbosch is characterized by its unique and stately white washed Cape Dutch, Georgian and Victorian Architecture, and its oak shaded streets, lined with cafes, art galleries, museums and boutiques. The town is surrounded by breathtaking mountain backdrops and rolling vineyards, all within a 15 min drive of white sandy beaches. 

It is also home to one of the countries top Universities, and seeing students all over town somehow keeps the place with one foot in the real world, as well as adding a modern energy to the charm of yesteryear. There is almost a village like feel to this town which makes you feel quite comfortable from the minute you arrive. 

With over 200 Wineries in the region, this a must see place for lovers of wine and good food as many of them have restaurants, wine tasting rooms, gift shops and quite a few also offer a variety of accommodation options.

Stellenbosch & Franschhoek… a neighbouring “picture perfect postcard town” about 30 km away, are both surrounded by vineyards and the mountainous nature reserves of Jonkershoek and Simonsberg.

Paarl is another town in the area which is surrounded by some stunning world famous wineries, so its worth heading out in that direction, but in terms of exploring the towns themselves …I found Stellenbosch and Franschhoek to be the must see ones if you are pressed for time.

Franschoek is a lot smaller than Stellenbosch and the main road  seemed to consist mainly of restaurants,  cafes, boutiques and art galleries, but from here you can explore the Franschoek valley in a unique way by by taking the Franschhoek hop on and off, Wine Tram Tour.

There are so many stunning Wine Farms in the Western Cape its impossible to go into detail about most of them.

However two of my favourite and well worth visting Wine Farms are situated side by side and have a lot to offer, so if youre pressed for time this is a good spot to visit. They are the Spice Route & Fairview situated in the Paarl area.

In addition to its wines Fairview is also known for its artisan cow and goat milk cheeses, and the Goatshed Restaurant – a country style casual restaurant offering delicious farm style meals and cheese platters.

The Spice Route is a destination all on its own ….here you will find a Winery, Bistro, Pizzeria,  Deli, Distillery and state of the art Craft Brewery(the Cape Brewing Company) – as well as a Glass Blowing Studio, Gallery, Gift Shop and a Chocolatier …you can quite easily spend the day here and even explore the area on bike as there are some great mountain bike trails in the surrounding area.

Other must see’s are Tokara,  a modern Winery with a Chic Restaurant and Gallery, and Thelema a smaller family owned and operated Winery offering Stunning Mountain views.

Then there is the infmous Spier Estate –  a short drive from the centre of Stellenbosh. This is one one of the oldest farms in South Africa and the Eerste (First) River passes through the estate – here you can enjoy prebooked Picnics on the lawn under the trees along the river.

Spier is not only known for its award winning wines, but also for its extensive Contemporary Art Collection, its Wild Bird Rehabilitation Centre, and it boasts a village like 4 star Hotel on the farm, as well as market stalls selling unique african arts and crafts.

And then I have to mention the stunning world reknown Babylonstoren in the Franschhoek area – with its incredible gardens boasting over 300 varieties of edible plants – basically a fruit and vegetable garden paradise with great botanical diversity ..offering seasonal Farm to Fork food in its 3 restaurants.  It also boasts a luxury Farm Hotel and a Garden Spa.

There are so many stunning wine and fruit farms in the area, many offering World Famous Award Winning wines and unique experiences, you would have to spend  months in the area to explore them all, so a good way to plan your visit to this region is to read up about the different farms and what they offer at one of many websites dedicated to this region.

Here is a link to much more info and is a good starting point on deciding which Wineris you would like to visit.    SA Wine Farms