Cape Town winelands

A trip to Cape Town and the Western Cape would not be complete without a visit to the famous Winelands in the region. Within a 40 mile radius of Cape Town, the early European settlements of Stellenbosch, Franschhoek and Paarl produce some of the finest wines in South Africa.

The wineries around Cape Town are best explored by car but remember that drink driving in South Africa is a very serious offence. If you are planning wine tours around several wineries it is advisable to book a wine tour with a guide who can do all the driving for you.

The university town of Stellenbosch is perhaps the best place to kick off your wine tour. Stellenbosch attracts tens of thousands of visitors every year to its wineries and offers accommodation and visitor attractions in abundance as well as some of the best wines in the country. Stellenbosch is just a 45 minute drive from Cape Town and the surrounding scenery is worth the trip on its own.

Leaning on its French heritage, Franschhoek has established itself as the culinary capital of the Western Cape and has eight restaurants in the top 100 in South Africa. Bordered on three sides by the striking  Franschhoek and Drakenstein mountains, Franschhoek is well worth the trip. Many of the wineries are handily placed to be visited on foot. You can even tour the wineries in Franschhoek on horseback. Accommodation is plentiful – if a little expensive – and the town offers some excellent hiking trails in and around the surrounding mountains.

Set in the scenic and lush Paarl Valley, the town of Paarl is the third oldest town in South Africa. Paarl is a farming town and does not have the sophistication of its neighbours Stellenbosch and Franschhoek. What it does have is some stunning scenery, excellent award winning wineries and a more homely small town feel. Accommodation can be found to suit all tastes and budgets from lavish country houses to cheap and cheerful campsites.

A wine tour around Cape Town is well worth the trip. Not only will you have the opportunity to learn about and taste some excellent wines and ports but you will also get the chance to see the beautiful scenery on the outskirts of Cape Town. With the winelands being in such close proximity to the city, a wine tour can be a short welcome excursion rather than a long drawn out affair.