Cape Winelands Tour

Be sure to have a good breakfast before heading off on a Cape Winelands Tour with your Private Wine Guide!

Experience the Beauty and the Bounty of the Cape Winelands where the quality of the wine is complemented by the beauty of the scenery. The vines which are nestled in the valleys of Stellenbosch, Franschhoek and Paarl (Valley of Pearls) are steeped in history which is manifested by the Architecture, Museums and the Monuments.

Before embarking on a Cape Winelands Tour with Cape Splendour, the various routes and options will be shared with you so that you can choose what really suites you best. Options discussed will include:

• The types of wine you enjoy drinking.
• Do you have any wine farms you have heard about that you would like to visit?
• Would you prefer venues offering modern high tech, state of the art technology or old world charm or a mixture?
• What sort of lunch would you like, light and fresh or serious cuisine from some of the world’s best chefs? (Franschhoek is the Cuisine Capital after all!). You may wish to experience a traditional South African Braai (BBQ) on a family owned wine farm. Is it important to enjoy a beautiful view while you dine? You let me know and I will arrange it!
• There are activities the kids may enjoy like the, the Crocodile farm or the all-time favourite for the whole family, Butterfly World where they have everything from the Blue Duiker, South Africa’s smallest Antelope, amazing Parrots, Marmoset Monkeys (very friendly ones!), to Monitor Lizards and Spiders. Both these venues are in Paarl, so if you are looking for family vacation ideas, to mix in with your Cape Winelands Tour, it can be done! The Eagle Encounter and Segway Tours offered at Spier in Stellenbosch are also very popular!
• Stroking a Cheetah is also an option on a Cape Winelands Tour!
• If you are interested in mixing a bit of adventure travel with a wine tour you may like to start the day horse riding or Quad bike riding on the slopes of Paarl Mountain!
• An important question on this tour is whether you want to do more wine tasting than sightseeing or visa versa. Remember the larger the distance covered, the less time for stopping and tasting!
• Would you like to do a chocolate, cheese, olive or biltong tasting or even nougat and champagne tasting?
• Would you like to do a Cellar Tour?
• Would you like to taste some craft beer on your Cape Winelands Tour? Who says a Wine tour has to be all about wine?!
• Similarly, is Brandy to your liking, you can do a brandy tasting with or without chocolate!

Should you opt for a Cellar Tour, as part of your Cape Winelands Tour,   you will learn how wine is processed from the humble grape to the ‘nectar of the God’s. You may wish to experience Oom Samie se Winkel, a traditional trading store with everything from dried fish and homemade jams to antique typewriters and gramophones! Alternatively you may prefer to wander around the very scenic and historic town of Stellenbosch (The Town of Oaks), and enjoy the wonderful atmosphere of the sidewalk cafés, curio shops and art galleries with their resident artists busy at work!   Stellenbosch is the Home of Stellenbosch University and in keeping with most University towns, has a lovely student vibe.

Whilst driving through this magnificent wine growing areas on  your Private Winelands Tour you will experience at least three different tastings on Wine farms in at least two of the wine growing areas. I generally try to give you the opportunity of meeting the winemaker/owner on a small farm and allowing you to compare that experience with a large, ‘no expenses spared’ type of farm. If you are keen on a particular wine farm we can try and include that, or if chocolate or cheese with your wine sounds good, let me know and I will include that in our route! I can even arrange for you to meet a retired Springbok Rugby player/wine farmer.

There are some great markets in Stellenbosch, of Saturdays and Sundays there is the Root 44 Market on the Audacia wine farm, great for browsing, tasting, and listening to live music under the trees enjoying some home cooked food with local wine or craft beer.  The Slow Market at Oude Libertas offers a similar experience on Saturday mornings.  The Blaauwklippen Family Market is open on Sundays and offers a huge array of home cooked meals, wine, music and also Pony rides for the youngsters.

So, as you can see a Cape Winelands Tour with Cape Splendour Tours can be all about the wine, or it could be more about the food, or beautiful scenery or about enjoying a market experience or the history of the towns of Stellenbosch, Franschhoek and Paarl. It can be a fun day out Quad biking or horse riding and tasting chocolate, it can be anything you want it to be, that is the beauty of doing a Private Tour with Cape Splendour, you get to do what you want to do at your pace!