Cape Winelands

Why

The Cape Winelands is made up of a collection of historic towns, Cape Dutch farmsteads, and wineries that produce award-winning wines to the world. Stellenbosch offers daily wine cellar tours and wine tastings, along with hiking trails, museums and trendy art galleries, whilst Constantia boasts the most incredible mountain ranges and an array of adrenalin activities such as zip lining, mountain biking and horse riding. Franschhoek is a picturesque valley of century-old Cape Dutch vineyards and internationally acclaimed restaurants, whilst Paarl is the second oldest wine region in South Africa and is renowned for the village of Spice Route and its full-bodied wine selection of spicy reds and crisp white.

When

Much like the rest of the Western Cape area, the Cape Winelands region boasts a relatively temperate climate throughout the year with warm, dry summers from November to March and colder, wet winters from June through to August. There is no single best time to visit the Cape Winelands as each season brings something special.

Summer provides the opportunity to sip chilled white wine whilst enjoying the magnificent vineyard views out in the sunshine. Winter brings lush green vegetation and offers a wonderfully cozy atmosphere. Autumn, on the other hand, turns the vineyards into a beautiful palette of orange and yellow, while spring sees the surrounding Cape countryside covered in a blanket of colorful wildflowers.

When deciding on which time to visit the Cape Winelands, it is advisable to consider which other destinations you would like to see on your trip. A popular combination includes Cape Town, the Cape Winelands, the Garden Route, and a classic safari experience in one of the Eastern Cape Game Reserves.

Where

The Cape Winelands is made up of a collection of historic towns and Cape Dutch farmsteads. Stellenbosch, Constantia, Franschhoek, Paarl, Tulbagh, and Wellington are the major wine routes, producing well-regarded South African wines to the world.

Stellenbosh is one of the biggest tourist attractions in the Western Cape with more than 200 wine farms and estates. There is a huge selection of accommodations options that range from historic Cape Dutch homesteads to modern luxurious hotels. Stellenbosch offers daily wine cellar tours and wine tastings, food tours, top rated fine dining restaurants, hiking trails, museums, trendy art galleries, quaint sidewalk cafes, and charming boutiques.

Constantia is nestled beneath the Table Mountain National Park and commands vistas of the Constantiaberg and Table Mountain ranges. Located only twenty minutes from the city center, Constantia is the ideal location when visiting Cape Town. Recognised as the oldest wine-producing region, dating back to 1685, Constantia boasts eight award-winning wine estates.  The mountain ranges and green belts offer breathtaking photo opportunities and then there are shops to explore, an adrenaline rushing zip lining adventure, mountain biking, horse riding, and a wide selection of world-renowned dining experiences.

Franschhoek is a beautiful valley that is home to century-old vineyards, Cape-Dutch architecture, hiking trails that wind through flowers and wildlife at Mont Rochelle Nature Reserve, a vintage car and motorcycle museum, and the Huguenot Memorial Museum which honors the area’s French settlers that arrived in the 17th and 18th centuries. The town is a sought-after food and wine center surrounded by an astonishing array of world-class wine estates, internationally acclaimed restaurants, upmarket art galleries, boutique shops and a variety of excellent cafes. A wine tram runs daily, offering six various routes to Franschhoek’s top wine farms.

Paarl is located an hour from the bustling city of Cape Town and embodies rich history and culture. Home to a 27-hole championship golf course and a pristine Jack Nicklaus signature golf course, Paarl consistently ranks as one of the top ten golf destinations in South Africa. The Paarl Wine Route, which is the second oldest in the country, is known for its full-bodied spicy reds and crisp whites. Spice Route is reason enough to head to Paarl for the day. With two fabulous restaurants, a coffee shop that serves homemade ice cream, a winery tasting room, a distillery, a cured-meats deli, a chocolatier, an art studio, a glass-blowing studio, the Cape Brewing Company, and a shop filled with hand-crafted treasures, Spice Route is a little village all on its own.

Tulbagh boasts the highest concentration of declared historical monument buildings in South Africa. Tulbagh is renowned for its wine route, local cheeses, Belgian chocolates and olives. For the more adventurous there are horse riding trails, hiking trails and mountain bike routes and the mountainous Groot Winterhoek Wilderness reserve beckons close by. If you’re a lover of fine art, you’ll be happy to know there’s a number of art galleries and artists in and around Tulbagh. If you looking to experience something different then take a tractor ride up the historic Oudekloof Pass to enjoy the mountains and views out over Tulbagh, or zipline amongst the rock formations of the Schurweberg.  

Wellington is a picturesque town located only 45-minutes from Cape Town, 15-minutes’ from neighbouring Paarl and 30 minutes’ scenic drive through the Winelands, to historic Stellenbosch. The region is renowned for beautiful Cape Dutch homesteads, picturesque environment, gardens and wineries. The historic Bain’s Kloof Pass, with unsurpassed vistas, indigenous flora and fauna and crystal-clear streams and rivers, is the perfect spot for hikers and fly-fishermen. Hiking trails, bird and wildlife viewing, Unimog expeditions, mountain biking, 4×4 routes and abseiling are just some of the outdoor activities to be enjoyed in the mountainous terrain and scenic surrounds.

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