A Day in the Winelands

Out past the last of Cape Town the mountains close in, and the road runs into a series of valleys with vines on the floor of every one. The Winelands are older than most people expect. The first estates were laid out by Dutch settlers and then by French Huguenots who arrived knowing what to do with a slope, and the architecture came with them: whitewashed walls, thatch, and the curved gable over the front door that is the signature of the whole Cape.

Stellenbosch is the town to start in. Oak trees down the middle of the streets, water furrows running along the kerbs, a university, and cafés full of students who have no interest in the vineyards whatsoever. Around it are estates of every size, from farms with a table under a tree to cellars that could seat a wedding, and you can get between three of them without anyone becoming tired.

Franschhoek is the other register: one long street in a closed valley, largely made of restaurants, and taken seriously by people who take restaurants seriously. The tram is the thing to know about: an open-sided carriage and a coach running a loop of the estates, hop-on and hop-off, so nobody has to negotiate about who is driving.

Tastings are small pours across a flight, usually with someone who grew the fruit standing on the other side of the counter. Ask what they are proud of rather than what is famous. Most estates will pack a case to take home and arrange the shipping, and most of them do lunch that is worth planning the day around.

If you would rather not plan it at all, there are two scheduled ways in. The afternoon version stays in Stellenbosch: the galleries, the old streets and the shops, then out to an estate for a cellar tour and a tasting. The full day goes further: into Franschhoek past the Huguenot Monument, raised to the French refugees who settled the valley, for lunch in the village, then over the Helshoogte Pass to Stellenbosch. A cellar tour and tastings at two estates fit in along the way. The private version is the same country with the estates chosen for you and nobody else in the car.

Then the drive back over the pass with the light going sideways across the vines. Pair the day with Table Mountain at the start of the stay and the whale coast after it. The coast road out to Hermanus goes through wine country of its own.

Good to know

• Take a driver. Every estate assumes you have one and the police assume you do too.
• Book lunch. The kitchens in Franschhoek fill weeks out in season, and a table is not a formality here.
• Two estates and a proper lunch beats five estates and a sandwich.
• Winter is green, wet and quiet, with fires lit indoors. Harvest is hot, gold and busy. Both are good.
• Tasting and cellar-tour charges are set by each estate and change. We confirm them in writing with your day.
• Shipping a case home is normal and the estate arranges it. Ask before you buy, not after.