The Wine Route in Cape Town, South Africa offers the traveller an experience that takes culinary travel to new levels. The Cape vineyards boast old Dutch style homesteads with rolling hills offering plush green landscapes and some have the world famous Table Mountain as their back-drop.

The Cape winelands are made up of different regions and each region has something unique to offer in their ‘wine routes’. The most popular winelands are Constantia, Franschhoek, Paarl, Stellenbosch and Wellington. Out of these, the most frequented wine route by tourists is Stellenbosch. Stellenbosch is about a 45 minute drive away from the main city. Stellenbosch is home to the first offical wine route that was founded in 1971. The wine farms in the area include well known and acclaimed wine producers and estates such as Delair, Spier and Neethlingshof to name but a few.

Tours to the Cape winelands can be organized through tour operators or directly with the wine estates. A typical tour to a wine estate would include a personalized tour of the estate with an expert tour guide who are usually owners of the wineland. The tours include walks around the vineyards, the guide takes you through the process of wine making that is practiced on the particular estate. Guests are given the opportunity to partake in some wine tasting and indulge in some delightful gourmet style meals.

Some of the wine estates like Buitenverwachting in the Constantia Winelands, offer their guests restaurant facilities and a picnic on the estate lawns. The Neethlingshof estate in the Stellenbosch Winelands offers its guests a chance to tour the cellars and to tour the vineyards on a tractor drawn trailer. This particular wine farm offers their guests private wine tasting and a South African style braai (barbeque) for lunch.

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