Cape Town - Paarl Wine Route Travel Guides | Cape Town | Sub Regions | Cape Town - Paarl Wine Route

The route was set up in 1984 by local producers to help promote their wines and attract tourists into the area. The programme has been a great success and some of the estates have opened their own restaurants. These are usually very good, but don’t expect huge discounts on the wine with your meal. All of the estates have tastings and wine sales on a daily basis. Only the largest estates conduct regular cellar tours.

T 021-8726190, boland@wine.co.za Mon-Fri, 0800-1700; Sat, 0830-1300. Cellar tours by appointment.

Boland Kelder estate has an excellent wine cellar, and offers one of the most interesting cellar tours. One of their best wines is the Noble Late Harvest ’92, made from the chenin blanc grape.

T 021-8632450, fairback@iafrica.com Wine and cheese sales and tastings Mon-Fri 0800-1700, Sat 0800-1700.

This is a popular estate with a rather unusual attraction in the form of a goat tower, a spiral structure home to two pairs of goats. In addition to a variety of very good wines – look out for the popular Goats do Roam and their 2000 Chardonnay – visitors can taste goat and Jersey milk cheeses. The goats are milked each afternoon from 1530 onwards.

T 021-8073390, F 8071955, grovelj@kwv.co.za 0900-1700. Cellar tours by appointment.

Laborie is the easiest cellar to visit as it is close to the centre of town. The vineyard is impressive, developed with tourism in mind. The original Cape Dutch homestead, surrounded by rose bushes, has been turned into a restaurant serving good value buffets or a more fancy à la carte menu. Closed Sunday and Monday evening. There is a lovely tasting terrace, and rolling lawns overlooking the vineyards.

T 021-8623104, http://www.nederburg.co.za Mon-Fri, 0830-1700; Sat, 0900-1300 (Nov-Feb). Cellar tours, appointment only.

Nederburg is one of the largest and best-known estates in South Africa. Their annual production is in excess of 650,000 cases – the small Paarl estates produce in the region of 3,000 cases. As such a large concern they are involved in much of the research in South Africa to improve the quality of the grape and the vine. Every April the annual Nederburg Auction attracts buyers from all over the world. The best wines compare favourably worldwide; the Cabernet Sauvignon ’91 is rated by John Platter as a classic wine.

T 021-8872475, sonop@iafrica.com

Sonop Winery is fundamentally different from most in the Winelands as it is community-driven, where the farm workers have a direct input in the running of the business. Proceeds go towards local community projects and schools. They have only recently started tastings, so be sure to phone ahead to check that it’s possible. One of the better wines produced here is Winds of Change, an organic Semillon Chardonnay blend.

T 021-8822002, villeria@mweb.co.za Mon-Fri, 0830-1700; Sat, 0830-1300. Cellar tours by appointment.

Villeria is highly regarded and produces some of the best wines in the Cape. There are plenty of classic wines to choose from, including the Cru Monro, the Merlot ’89 and their Sauvignon Blanc. They no longer conduct cellar tours, but allow ‘self-guided’ tours.

The viewing of whales is naturally the main attraction, however, elsewhere along the coast there are miles of sandy beaches, wrecks to scuba dive, the chance of seeing the great white shark, and the southernmost point in Africa – Cape Agulhas. The most beautiful and exhilarating stretch of coast to drive along is between Gordon’s Bay and Hermanus, where the mountains plunge straight into the ocean forming a coastline of steep cliffs, sandy coves, dangerous headland and natural harbours.

Travel Guides | Cape Town | Sub Regions | Cape Town - Paarl Wine Route
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