Off-the-Beaten-Track Wine Farms Near Cape Town

February 3, 2009 at 2:13 PM | by femmefatale | 0 Comments

Monica Guy is joining us again this week to tell us what more there is to do in South Africa. Enjoy.

Yesterday we told you about the South African Brandy tastings that you must experience when you make the trip to South Africa. But we can't forget about wine tours, can we? At the top of our list of Things To Do Around Cape Town still remains a tour of the wine farms in Stellenbosch and Constantia.

Did we say wine farms? We meant tourist farms. The two dozen or so farms who are fully kitted out for international visitors with industrial tasting rooms, restaurants that could feed the whole of Africa, international shipping options and marked up wine prices.

Okay, we take it back. Some of these places are pretty gorgeous � colonial-style white houses overflowing with summer roses and surrounded by fields of vines. Here's a few that you should stop by and see.

Spier
Spier is the oldest wine cellar in South Africa. Of course, like anything old and historic, these days it�s a busy wine attraction, hotel and conferencing centre with a car park the size of the short-term parking at Heathrow airport and a steady crocodile of tourists at the door.

Spier is the No. 1 recommendation from the tourist office and is easy to get to and get around. But if you want something a little more personal, a little more bespoke, and a whole lot better value on the wine-buying front, you have to hop in a car or a cab and check out some of the smaller farms.

Eikendal
We recommend Eikendal, pictured above, a little place just off the R44 near Stellenbosch.

Set by a small lake, it�s reminiscent of an English pub garden with its picnic-table seating and waddling ducks. Even serves fish and chips, or rather the local snoek fish and chips, for around R50 ($5) along with a good glass of wine for R12 ($1.20). The perfect place for a lazy Saturday afternoon.

And the wine�s great too. Try the tour and tasting (R20 or $2 for any five wines you like) and then plump for the cheapest and best value of the lot, the Eikendal Blanc 2007. At R27.50 ($2.75) a bottle, it�s perfect for taking to a braai or drinking on the beach.

Vergelegen
Posher peeps should take a drive to Vergelegen, right near the otherwise unexciting town of Somerset West. There�s a formal restaurant where you�d feel happy taking your in-laws, and a more informal �Rose Terrace� restaurant as well as picnic spots.

The cellar tour and tasting is again R20 ($2) but the best bit about Vergelegen is its beautiful gardens: perfectly designed to walk off your bellyful of food and wine.

Related Stories:
· Uncorked at the Times [Neil Pendock]
· Wine Mag Online [Official Site]
· John Platter�s South African Wine Guide [Platter Online]

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Tags: South Africa Travel / To Do / Wine-Tasting Travel / Wine Farms / → All Tags