Cape Winelands

Cape Winelands
Cape Winelands
Cape Winelands
Cape Winelands
Cape Winelands
Cape Winelands

Intro

Two mountain ranges provide a spectacular backdrop to the Cape Winelands, whilst the sea and Cape Town, The Tavern of the Seas, form the front-drop. And what better backdrop to a tavern could there be than one of the world’s prime wine-producing areas?

The wine industry in South Africa employs a quarter of a million people and contributes R200 billion a year to the country’s GDP but while wine is the main focus, the area also boasts some of the most outstanding examples of the area’s generic Cape Dutch architecture. Perfectly proportioned manor houses stand behind mossy cobbled courtyards lined with immaculately restored outhouses and barns. Above them, towering mountains and below, row upon row of sun-drenched manicured vines. And with good wine comes good food - some of the best restaurants in the land are to be found in the winelands towns.

The Hottentots-Holland and Helderberg ranges are traversed by spectacular mountain passes, offering stupendous views of False Bay and on a clear day Table Mountain and its neighbouring peaks. A number of nature reserves provide opportunities for hiking and biking and there are numerous championship golf courses.

Thrills & Spills

Hikes and Bikes through the mountains and valleys of the region from the mild to the rugged.

A Tractor Tour from Montagu to the top of Langeberg mountains offers a bird’s eye view of the Koo Valley and the Robertson Valley.

A Snowman in Africa – Capetonians invade the mountains above Ceres annually following the occasional snowfalls that transform an already lovely area into a white winter wonderland known locally (if not internationally) as “The Switzerland of Africa”.

False Bay’s largest beachfront destination is Strand, which unsurprisingly means “Beach”. The waters of the bay are a tad warmer than those of the ocean on Cape Town’s Atlantic seafront, although the increasing popularity of shark-diving might prove a slight disincentive to the less determined bather.

Morgenhof - Situated on the slopes of the Simonsberg mountains just outside Stellenbosch, Morgenhof is an extensive 213-hectare wine estate dating back to 1692. www.morgenhof.com

Bergkelder Wine Centre - A superb Cape wine experience awaits guests at the famous “Cellar in the Mountain” on the slopes of the historic Papegaaiberg in Stellenbosch. www.bergkelder.co.za

Boschendal Estate - Nestling at the foot of the scenic Groot Drakenstein, Boschendal has a rich cultural tradition. Vineyard cultivation began here in 1685. www.boschendal.com

Top Traveller's Tips

Wine Estates Boschendal is an all-in-one wine estate – wine tours, historical buildings, fine-dining restaurant, a café and Le Pique Nique under waving pine trees – and Nederburg, near Paarl, is probably SA’s most recognised wine label. www.boschendal.com and www.nederburg.co.za

The Taal Monument stands on a granite koppie near the pearl-shaped Paarl Rock. It was built in 1975 to mark 50 years since the declaration of Afrikaans as an official language, making it the youngest language in the world. www.taalmuseum.co.za

Hot Water Springs throughout the region bubble around many an ailing (or just bathing) body. A prime example is to be found at Avalon Springs in Montagu. www.avalonsprings.co.za

Cape Hangklip Near Betty’s Bay was a refuge for the runaway slaves who hid in its caves. 028 271 5657

Karoo Desert National Botanical Gardens, Worcester – 4000 species of plants, 350 of them rare or endangered. Inspect the succulents year-round and the colourful flowers in spring. www.sanbi.org

Franschhoek bills itself as the gourmet capital of South Africa and with some justification. Regular winners in the restaurant ratings include Le Quartier Français, La Grande Provence and Reubens but there are many less expensive and equally impressive options. www.franschhoek.org.za

Cheese – a number of the Cape vineyards produce some excellent cheeses to pair with their wines. Most notable among these is Fairview, outside Paarl – hence their cunningly named Goats Do Roam wine in the style and bottle of a Côtes du Rhône. www.fairview.co.za

Pavement cafés and restaurants are rare in South Africa but Stellenbosch offers plenty of possibilities. Go for a mosey around the town and then settle down to some people-watching over an Italian coffee or, better still, a bottle of Alto Rouge from nearby Stellenbosch Farmers' Winery.

History & Heritage

National Monuments populate every corner of the Western Cape, and the Winelands offer their fair share. Church Street in the Boland town of Tulbagh has the distinction of encompassing the highest concentration of national monuments in the country.

Stellenbosch is the second oldest town in South Africa and is justifiably renowned for its oak-lined streets and glorious gabled Cape Dutch buildings bordering its central squares.

Museums abound, such as The Huguenot Memorial Museum in Franschhoek (meaning French corner) – where many a South African wine enthusiast has traced his roots back to the settlers who emigrated to the Cape to escape religious persecution in Europe between 1688 and 1700. Stellenbosch’s numerous museums include some lovingly restored homes, a number of wine museums, some impressive collections of agricultural machinery and a somehow incongruous collection of dolls.

Critics Cuisine

96 Winery Road Somerset West – Ken Forrester’s excellent eatery for inspired South African favourites. 021 842 2020

Sosati Stellenbosch – a mid-price braai restaurant, slap in the middle of Stellenbosch’s historical centre. 021 883 2636

Reubens Franschhoek – award-winning sophisticated Brasserie. Delicious calf’s liver! 021 867 3772 BREAD AND WINE AT

Moreson, Franschhoek. Much more then bread and wine! Superb charcuterie. Lunchtime only. 021 876 3692 FRENCH

Connection Franschhoek – Matthew Gordon’s accessible and informal brasserie in the main street. 021 876 4056

Haute Cabriere Franschhoek – go for Achim von Arnem’s and Matthew Gordon’s tasting menu in this underground hobbit’s lair. 021 876 3688

Harbour Lights Gordon’s Bay – a cheerful seafood legend. 021 856 1830

Paddagang Tulbagh – local Boland cape flavours, bredies and bobotie. 027 230 0242

Go back

A Case of Good Wine

Although common knowledge has it that the Huguenots initiated wine-growing in the Cape, the truth is that a number of Dutch settlers were already making some very quaffable wines by the time they arrived. Simon van der Stel’s Vin de Constance, from Klein Constantia, for example, was a world leader in the 1680s. By 1859 more than four million litres of wine had been exported to Britain from the Cape before the wine industry all but collapsed in 1866 following an outbreak of Phylloxera. The current wine harvest is estimated at 780 million litres per year, making South Africa the world’s eighth largest wine-producing country, just ahead of Australia and behind – with the largest first – Italy, France, China, USA, Spain, Argentina and Chile.