Cape Winelands

There are many old Wine Farms dating back to the 1680s such as Klein and Groot Constantia in the Constantia Valley; Meerlust and Vergelegen close to the town of Somerset West; Rustenberg and Spier near Stellenbosch; Nederberg and Laborie near the town of Paarl – each with their classical historic old Dutch gable homesteads. L’Ormarins and La Motte in the Franschhoek valley feature French inspired architecture dating back to the 17th Century. Newer names amongst the wine farms that have become famous are: Welmoed, Delaire and Lourensford, and they offer the best of the new world vineyards.

The quaint village of Franschhoek is named after the French Hugenots that migrated to the Cape during the French revolution and brought with them the know-how of French cuisine and viticulture. Here in a beautiful valley are numerous excellent restaurants offering local and French cuisine of note. The village lies in the shadow of the breathtakingly beautiful Franschhoek mountains and developed its own hospitable character over the years. There are a number of first class art galleries and antique stores to brows around and pick up the odd gem to take back home.

The town of Paarl – home to KWV – the well known historic Cape brandy and wine maker, has a Dutch oriented historic charm. It nestles below the large solid granite Paarl Rock with its tall spired Afrikaans Language museum on top. There are a number of cycle tracks and nature trails around the town that will challenge the fittest amongst the visitors.

Wellington to the south of the mountain ranges is connected via the Bain’s Kloof Pass to the small towns of Tulbagh and Ceres on the northern side. It is here where a variety of fruit are used to produce delicious marmalades, jams, fruit juices and dried fruit. In the recent years olive farms have emerged here and elsewhere and a visit to any of a number of these is worthwhile. There are also a few excellent local cheese makers and leather goods manufacturers.
The historic towns of Robertson and Montague are separated by a short tunnel through the mountains and are two of the prettiest Garden Towns of the Boland. It is here where you find the largest wine-producing area under irrigation in South Africa. Robertson is famous for its superior wines and some of the country’s top racehorse studs have been raised and trained here, whereas Montague has one of the country’s largest dried fruit and nut producers.
For the golfing enthusiast Royal Cape, Erindale, Westlake and the links course of Milnerton Lagoon are just four of the World-class golf courses within 30 minute drive from the city of Cape Town. The main arterials to reach the main towns around Cape Town are the N1 north to Paarl, Stellenbosch, Wellington and Worcester whilst the N2 takes one eastward to Somerset West, Hermanus, Swellendam and onwards to the Garden Route. Fortunately there are ample tourism brochures and maps available to find your way as each town has its own tourist information office.