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Experience

The Robertson Wine Valley

A private day over the mountains to the Robertson valley on the Breede River: cellar-door tastings, olives and cheese, a short river cruise and brandy at Klipdrift.

At a glanceOn land
How longA full dayA long full day with your own driver-guide
How hardLightTastings, a short boat trip and a small town on foot, with a lot of sitting in the vehicle
SeasonYear-roundAny time of year; hot in summer, green and quiet in winter

Robertson is the Winelands for people who have already done the Winelands. It lies beyond the first range of mountains, in the valley of the Breede River, and the drive there is part of the day: out through Paarl, under the Du Toitskloof mountains by the Huguenot Tunnel, and down past Worcester into farm country.

The valley is long and green between dry hills, with vineyards on the flats and the river running brown and slow through the middle. The soils here are rich in lime, which suits chardonnay and, as it turns out, racehorses: the stud farms are almost as much a part of the view as the vines.

The cellars are small and mostly family-run, and plenty pour at the cellar door without an appointment. Your guide chooses two or three to suit what you like to drink, which is the point of a private day. Between them come olives, pressed and cured in the valley and tasted like wine, and cheese from a farm shop along the road.

In the middle of the day there is a short cruise on the Breede, with vines and willows down to the water on either side. It is not a thrill and is not meant to be. It is a spell of sitting still in a place you would never otherwise see from the water.

Then Klipdrift, where brandy has been made since 1938, for a tour of the distillery and a tasting at the end of it. South Africans take their brandy seriously, and the good ones are a revelation to people who only know it from a hotel bar.

On the way home there is a farm stall for dried fruit, rusks and jam, and time in Robertson’s own streets for coffee, a gallery and one last cellar door. The town calls itself the valley of wine and roses, and its gardens make the case in summer. For a wine day in the other direction, the Swartland is quieter still.

Good to know

  • Private and on request. We confirm which cellars and the river cruise are running on your date.
  • It is a long day, with driving at both ends. Plan an easy morning after it.
  • Summer in the valley is hot. Hat, water and sunscreen for the boat.
  • Tastings are small pours and the brandy smaller. Nobody minds if you leave them.
  • Ask a cellar about shipping before you buy a case, not after.

Private and on request, any day, departing 08:00 and back around 18:00; which cellars are pouring, the river cruise's sailings and the distillery's tour times are set locally and change. We confirm what applies to your dates in writing before you pay anything.

The river is brown and slow, the vines come right down to it, and nobody on the boat is in a hurry.

Where to do it

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Questions we are actually asked

Is it worth the drive?
If you have already done Stellenbosch and Franschhoek, very much so. The valley is beyond the first range of mountains, which is exactly what keeps it quiet: smaller cellars, fewer coaches, and winemakers with time to talk.
What is there besides wine?
Olives and olive oil, tasted the way wine is, cheese from the farms, the river, the brandy distillery, and the town itself with its galleries and coffee. Non-drinkers have a good day here.
What happens at the distillery?
A tour of how the brandy is made and aged, then a tasting. Klipdrift has been made in Robertson since 1938 and most South Africans know the name. Brandy is the Cape's quiet speciality, and better than its reputation.
Can we choose the cellars?
Yes: it is a private day, and your guide picks two or three cellars around what you like to drink. Tell us your tastes when you book and we pass them on.

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