South Africa · Southern Africa
The Cape Winelands.
Stellenbosch, Franschhoek and Paarl form the classic winelands triangle, about an hour inland from Cape Town.
Photo Nenad Gataric / Unsplash
The winelands are usually given two or three nights rather than a day trip, because the distances between estates are short and the appeal is unhurried. Franschhoek is the smallest and most walkable of the three; Stellenbosch is a university town with the widest range of estates; Paarl is the largest and the least visited of them.
How do you get to the Cape Winelands?
By road from Cape Town. Stellenbosch and Paarl are around 45 minutes from Cape Town International Airport, and Franschhoek a little over an hour. Stellenbosch and Franschhoek are linked by the Helshoogte Pass, a drive of about half an hour. Most visitors use a driver or a guide rather than drive between tastings themselves.
Should you stay in the Winelands or visit from Cape Town?
Both work. Constantia, the oldest wine-growing area in the country, is inside Cape Town itself and is an easy half-day from the city. Stellenbosch, Franschhoek and Paarl are close enough for a day trip, but staying two or three nights allows several estates, long lunches and no drive back to the city at the end of the day.
What is the history of the Cape Winelands?
Stellenbosch was founded in 1679, which makes it the second-oldest European settlement in South Africa after Cape Town. French Huguenot refugees settled the Franschhoek valley in the late seventeenth century and brought winemaking with them, which is where the name, meaning French corner, comes from. The whitewashed, gabled Cape Dutch farmhouses from that period still stand on many estates.
What wines is South Africa known for?
Chenin Blanc, of which South Africa grows more than any other country, and Pinotage, a red grape created at Stellenbosch University in 1925 by crossing Pinot Noir with Cinsaut. The Winelands also produce Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Bordeaux-style blends, and Méthode Cap Classique, the country's traditional-method sparkling wine.
What is there to see in the Cape Winelands?
Sample journeys that stop here
- A taste of culture →Four of South Africa's food cultures, tasted along the Cape's scenic routes from an open-top Jeep. Each stop is built around local dishes and what they are paired with, and the chefs and hosts tell their own stories.
What does the Cape Winelands pair well with?
- Cape Town and the Cape PeninsulaCape Town is the city most itineraries are anchored to, and the Peninsula gives it a coastline, a mountain and a wine region within an hour of the centre.
- The Garden RouteThe Garden Route runs roughly from Mossel Bay to Storms River along the southern coast, and is the country's classic self-drive stretch.
- Greater Kruger and the LowveldThe Greater Kruger is South Africa's principal safari region: the national park itself plus a belt of private reserves sharing unfenced boundaries with it.
More journeys through South Africa
Planning
Elsewhere in South Africa
- KwaZulu-Natal and ZululandKwaZulu-Natal combines a warm coastline, the Drakensberg mountains and Big Five reserves that are malaria-free or low-risk.
- The Eastern CapeThe Eastern Cape's private reserves are malaria-free and sit within reach of the Garden Route, which is why they so often close a family itinerary.
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