On your first tour to the Cape Winelands we would strongly recommend you explore the oldest wine regions of the Cape. The Stellenbosch Wine region is the oldest wine region in the Cape and the town is the second oldest town in South Africa.

This day takes you on a magical scenic journey through this beautiful mountainous region. We explore the history, the wine and the architecture of the region. The region is most famous for its red wine – there is however some great white wine found on the higher slopes of the mountains.

Our recommendation for today would be to concentrate on the Stellenbosch wine region and to select two wineries in this region based on your wine tastes.   Be sure to let us know what types of wines you enjoy so that we can match your tastes to our wine estates (as well as any other interests – foodies, into gardens, art….).   The Stellenbosch region boasts wonderful red blends and is our most famous region for Bordeaux Style red blends.   The most common varietals found  in this region would be Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Shiraz, Pinotage (the local South African red varietal), Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Chenin Blanc.   The Stellenbosch region actually needs a few days for one to explore it properly.    As the area is so large – it has been divided in to a number of different wards.   The area consists of valleys and mountains – each with different soils and temperatures.   As such the variety of styles and winds on offer make this a great area to explore!   It is historic, boasts a huge variety of award winning wine, scenic, foodie, arty and creative.

We also explore the town of Stellenbosch during the tour – it is our second oldest town in the country.   It boats a wonderful combination of Dutch and English colonial architecture, oak lined street, white buildings and a great vibe as it is a university town.    It is great fun to explore the oldest part of town on foot and check out the architecture, the shopping and the street side cafes.

Lunch is usually planned in this region as it is the foodie haven of the country.   It boats many of our top restaurants and as such a gourmet fine dining lunch is highly recommended – it does however take time!  We would recommend a quicker lunch for wine fanatics so you can experience more wineries!

We do a circular drive through the region you will get introduced to the beauty of the Cape Winelands and will be orientated for your next trip back to the Cape Winelands!

We would love to hear your wine and other interests and we will then brief the guide to take you on a day that matches your interests.    For the first time visitor to the Cape we would strongly recommend you focus on the Stellenbosch region.   We are however happy to work with your Wishlist and can include Stellenbosch and Franschhoek regions in to our day.

Timing:   Full Day Tour:  9am to approximately 5.30pm

Type of Tour:   We only offer private tours.

Ideas for lunch:

• Delaire for the views & the architecture.   The restaurant is a la carte – as such it works well for our wine tours
• If you would love to explore local flavours – we would recommend a BRAAI (traditional BBQ) lunch at Middelvlei Wine Estate
• For wonderful quick – yet amazing food – Spek & Bone is our favourite local spot in Stellenbosch Town.   This has the double advantage of us being in the heart of this wonderful town so you can explore it on foot after lunch.
• For those who want to explore the wine and yet do a casual lunch at the same time – Rust en Vrede does a wonderful simple farmers lunch – the choice is steak or salmon.
• Babel for the farm to table food and for foodies.   We love to combine this with a walk on the wonderful estate of Babylonstoren.  (You need two hours for this lunch!)
• Tokara or Jordan for long multi course wonderful lunches!

Information we need:

• What types of wines do you enjoy?   Are you more into white or red wines?   Champers? What varietals do you like?   This information makes it easier for us to chose which estates we take you to when we are on the tour.
• What is your level of interest in wine?   Fanatics?  Everyday wine lovers?  Novices?
• What other interests do you have?   There is so much variety in this region – it is great to know your other interests so that we can combine them into the tour.   Are you foodies?  Art lovers?  Into History and architecture?  Gardens?
• Where are you staying?
• Any dietary issues?   This helps us when selecting the restaurant to take you to for the day.

Cost:   The cost depends on the number of people for the tour – please simply email us for a quote.