There are so many wine estates in the Western Cape that I always wonder how a tourist decides on which wineries to visit. I decided after visiting 23 wineries within a few months of moving to the Cape, that I would start a blog (http://westerncapewineries.blogspot.com) to keep a record of all my visits and also to share my experiences with others in hope that it would help visitors to the Cape choose which wineries to visit according to their preferences based on quality of wine, views, group friendly, child friendly etc.

After visiting over 150 of the 600+ wineries in the Western Cape, I personally have my favourites based on the overall experience I had. When I critique a winery it is not just on the wine, due to the fact that what I like is not necessary what others will like, it is very subjective, which is one of the things I love about wine. Therefore, my opinion of the top 10 wineries to visit in SA is based on the service, views, restaurant (if they have one), the quality of the wine, wine tasting experience, location plus more.

First on my list is Delaire. This estate is beautiful from the moment you drive up the driveway, to the views, the building, the interior design, the service, the food, and the whole experience. I have been here twice for a wine tasting and once to dine at Indochine, and it was great on all three occasions. It is very modern, posh and classy with good wine and great food. – Helshoogte Pass, Stellenbosch.

Next in line would be Hidden Valley. I am a big fan of the views from this estate, on a clear day this is a must. I like how they have expanded their wine tasting options over the years to include olive and wine pairings, chocolate and wine pairings, and then you have the standard wine tasting also. The outside seating is perfect to enjoy the views while tasting their lovely wine. This winery is not pretentious, is chilled and a great place to hang out. The restaurant is well known and you can enjoy the fantastic view from the restaurant also. – Annandale Rd, Stellenbosch.

Another must is Waterford Estate. This is a beautiful Tuscany style building, the CWG winemaker Kevin Arnold makes beautiful wine. The setting of the tasting area in the courtyard, the music, the water fountain, professional service, is beautiful and tranquil! There is no restaurant here, so if you want to eat in this area, then I recommend Dornier Restaurant just down the road – Blauwklippen Rd, Stellenbosch.

Next on my list would be Jordan. This is a hidden gem with a very unpretentious, homely, welcoming feel. They have a fine dining restaurant which is very nice, and they have recently opened a bakery which I think is fantastic and a great decision made by the Jordan family. It now means you don’t have to spend lots of money to enjoy a meal at Jordan winery. You can enjoy charcuterie and/or cheese board, plus many other deli items, their desserts look amazing too! This is a nice setting, especially when the weather is nice and you can sit outside. The wine here is great and consistently. – Stellenbosch.

While up this way, De Morgenzon is a must. Again, another beautiful winery, with an old dutch style building. They have a few tables outside to enjoy a wine tasting. This winery doesn’t have a restaurant, so if you are hungry, head to Jordan, they are neighbouring wineries. The service was good here, the wines are very nice, and I particularly enjoyed the white wines. I personally felt the wines were underpriced here considering the quality of the wine! This was a great find. – Stellenbosch.

Altydgedacht is now in a completely different area, so if you decide to visit this winery, I would suggest also visiting Diemersdal, Nitida and De Grendel. This charming winery is very low key, and doesn’t look like much, but it is a hidden gem and a beautiful winery on any day, regardless of the weather. In winter you can enjoy a tasting inside, and if you decide to eat you will be sitting at one of 5 tables with huge barrels on both sides of the tables, heaters, blankets and beautiful fairy lights dangling from the ceiling intertwined on twigs. In summer you can enjoy a relaxed meal on the lawn, it is also lovely. The wine here is very good and they are using a few cultivars which are not commonly used in SA. – Durbanville

Lemberg is in Tulbagh, so if you visit this area I would also recommend visiting Saronsberg, Waverly Hills and Rijks. Lemberg is also quite simplistic but in winter they have the beautiful fire place which adds charm. More than anything though, I love coming here for the wine!! If you are visiting SA in winter, I highly recommend staying in Tulbagh for the weekend of the Winter in Tulbagh festival. It is on 28 and 29 June this year. There is a very nice vibe in Tulbagh over this weekend!! – Tulbagh

Maison is a winery I visited recently and really enjoyed. They have a lovely modern building with a lovely restaurant. You can sit at long tables outside on the lawn or at regular sized tables on the porch. As for the tasting they have a really nice wine and food pairing for R50 which I highly recommend doing. The service we had here was really good and the wine was very nice. If you visit Franschhoek then I also recommend La Motte, Vrede en Lust, Boekenhoutskloof and Moreson. – Franschhoek

Glen Carlou is on Simondium Rd not far from Franschhoek. This is a road full of fantastic wineries and I can highly recommend using one day to visit the wineries on this road. I would recommend Anura for the cheese, Babylonstoren for the wine and food, Vrede en Lust for the wine and views, and then the rest you also can’t go wrong with. What I like about Glen Carlou is the modern building, the lovely views and the fact you can do a wine tasting of not only the Glen Carlou range but also of overseas wines. The food here is also very nice. – Klapmuts, Paarl

Vondeling is in Paarl and worth the journey. There are many wineries out this way but Vondeling really stood out for me. The service is very welcoming, the setting is lovely with the church, view of the vines and they have a big tasting room. I was really impressed by their wine here, the stories about their surroundings and how I was made to feel so at home. If in Paarl, I would also recommend Ridgeback and Laborie. – Paarl

Ok, so I can see I haven’t really kept to ten wineries, but it really is hard to keep to ten. Here in SA, the wine tasting experiences are all so completely different at each winery which is what intrigued me so much. I have found that you need to allow about one hour at each winery, and I don’t recommend visiting more than 3 wineries before lunch. If you have wine with lunch you really shouldn’t bother trying to taste wine afterwards. If you do a non-alcoholic lunch then you can safely visit 5 wineries in one day.

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