Wine route / Stellenbosch, Cape Town

If ever you are close to the wineroute, stop off at a little vineyard called zewenwaght. it is in kuilsrivier and has the most delightful little restaurant. don't know what the prices are now but the food was brilliant.

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The Stellenbosch region has dozens of wineries, some very small farms and others which are, like the Ernie Els plantation, quite overwhelming. After spending three days visiting and sampling, here are some of my favorites.

Waterford -- a beautiful, Tuscan-style mansion set in an orchard of clementines, what really distinguishes this place (aside from its double-gold Kevin Arnold Shiraz) is the wine-and-chocolate tasting. If you're looking for something a bit different, Waterford is a great stop.

J.C. Bredell -- a small farm with great wines, an affable owner, and a dog who will chase anything for as long as you care to throw it. Don't miss the port-that-isn't-because-of-Portuguese restrictions!

Sylvan Vale -- camped on the grounds of a hotel with unbelievably beautiful vistas, this was a great "finisher" with a peerless cheese tray to go with the creditable wines. "Jewel of the Valley" is worth bringing home to someone special.

Vergelegen -- glorious wines, glorious scenery, VERY hard to find unless you've got a current Pletter.

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A wineyard with a difference Spier is an place for a family to visit, in addition to the cellars, tour, tastings and sales there is a choice of restaurants and there is also a deli and grill for light meals, or to buy a picnic to eat around the lake
we didnt eat at Spier but had a cup of tea on the deck of the Deli, the plates of food we saw looked very tasty, but we found service very slow

Horse riding is available at this 300 year old estate and Spier regularly hosts concerts, operas and drama productions, but we went to Spier to visit the Cheetah Outreach

the cheetah is currently an endangered species, in addition to the threat from other large predators their traditional hunting grounds are being lost to farming and as farmers shoot the cheetahs to protect their livestock their numbers are rapidly decreasing
Cheetah Outreach aim is to educate and to do this they they use hand reared cheetahs as `ambassadors` taking them to primary schools. They also work with the South African Anatolian Shepherd Guard Dog project which provides and supports the dogs for farmers to protect their livestock from wild cheetahs

for only R60 you can meet and stroke one of the ambassador cheetahs and learn from the dedicated staff about the projects, it was a wonderful experience, and you can learn more about the Cheetah Outreach at www.cheetah.co.za
dont forget to visit the Eagle Encounters, you can watch flight displays and you are given a gauntlet and are able to handle these wonderful birds, if you are lucky one may even choose to sit on your head

South Africa is an excellent producer of wine and was brought about over 400 years ago by the French settlers in the 1600's. There are MANY wine farms in the Stellenbosch region and 99% of them worth a visit. So if you enjoy good wine like - drive out there and experience!!

This is, bar none, my personal favourite wine estate in Cape Town, including those in nearby Stellenbosch etc.

Founded in 1685, it was once part of a much larger wine estate (spoken about in my Klein Constantia tip).

Its an historic wine estate with some delightfully old and well-preserved Cape Dutch-style buildings. Its splendidly laid out, and the whole estate has an air of calm and quiet serenity to it.

You can easily picture what it was like a hundred years ago. The estate has had an unbroken history of wine production since it was developed by Simon Van der Stel in 1685.

Some of their attractions include:
- Antique Market
- Wine Tasting
- Wine Cellar and Cellar Tours
- Historic Farmyard and Buildings
- Photoshoots & Filming
- Venue Hire
- Simon's Restaurant

Jonkershuis restaurant is the perfect venue to have lunch or a high/afternoon tea. The ambiance is amazing (I must write a tip on it!) and the waitresses are dressed in old fashioned dress of the era. Their pumpkin soup is just delicious!

They are a top venue for weddings too... providing stunning service, facilities and background for the photos. You can have your church service and reception here.

We looked here when we were looking for wedding venues, but it was above our rather small budget. Had we had a bigger budget though, this would have been our first choice!

Constantia is a leafy suburb in Cape Town, shadowed by the mountain range on the one side.

It was South Africa's first wine region.

Klein Constantia was once part of the Constantia Estate in the 18th century, when it was split into three estates: Klein (Small) Constantia, Groot (Great/big) Constantia and Buitenverwatching.

This is a lovely excursion to do in a day with the family.. tasting their wine, having a picnic, taking a long walk.

It is not as commercialised as its big sister Groot Constantia.

Worcester is the home of the Cape Gliding Club. It is a very active club with a club fleet of 3 trainers (2 seater gliders) and 2 singles. Many other private gliders are also flown from there. A 30min flight will cost in the region of ZAR500 and is a lovely way to see the Breede River valley. There is flying (weather permitting) every weekend and bank holiday, but if you can't make it then contact the club and there may be plans afoot for flying during the week - especially in the summer. The club also offers instruction on how to fly and runs 2 week long intensive courses in March and September each year with this in mind. All accommodation at the club is privately owned, but some are available for rent.

Groot Constantia is the oldest vine-growing estate in South Africa. The buildings here are a great example of Cape-dutch style architecture with reed-thatched roofs. When the weather is good you can sit in their beautiful garden and drink some wine, or taste one of their delicious cakes. I only pitied the poor waiters who had to wear 17th century slave outfits (both the Blacks and the Whites fortunately).