Wine, glorious wine!!!! We have always enjoyed South African wines and after leaving Cape Town we spent two weeks visiting some of the vineyards in the Western Cape region of South Africa. We have toured wine regions around the world and take great delight in finding small vineyards producing wonderful wines that you cannot buy anywhere else. The Western Cape wine region is one of the most picturesque and renowned wine-producing areas in the world, which is why we are here. Nestled between rugged mountains and the ocean, this region offers a unique terroir that produces award-winning wines, particularly Chenin Blanc and Pinotage. With its idyllic vineyards and scenic wine routes, this region is a must visit destination for wine lovers.
We based ourselves in the town of Wellington, just north of the Paarl wine region. Wellington itself is nothing to write home about, in fact when we arrived our Airbnb our host asked us why we we came to Wellington. It’s not the nicest town around and there is nothing to see in the town itself but within 30 to 40 minutes in every direction there are wine estates to visit, and that’s why we’re here!
We didn’t even make it to our Airbnb before we visited our first winery 😆 On our way to Wellington we had a couple of hours before we could check in so we stopped at the Nederburg Winery for a wine tasting and lunch. Nederburg is one of South Africa’s most historic and celebrated wineries, located just outside Paarl. Founded in 1791 the estate has evolved into a benchmark for innovation and quality in South African winemaking. The tasting room allows guests to sample award winning wines and The Manor restaurant offers seasonal meals paired with the estates wines. We have been drinking Nederburg wines for over 30 years so for us it was a must visit to see this iconic wine estate. We shared a tasting of 5 red wines at a cost of 95 Rand (USD $5.20), this was offset against the 5 bottles of wine we bought. We returned to Nederburg again towards the end of our two weeks for lunch, another wine tasting, and to buy 3 more bottles of our favorite wines.
Avondale Wine is a family run estate located on the slopes of the Klain Drakenstein Mountains specializing in premium organic wines. Before our wine tasting we had a private tour through the cellars and we were quite interested in their clay pot project, something we have not seen very often. They are ageing some of their wines in huge clay pots, as it was done thousands of years ago. Our cellar tour and tasting of 4 wines cost 105 Rand (USD $5.75) each and neither of us was thrilled with the clay pot wines, they taste too much like dirt for us, but we did buy a bottle of their Samsara, a nice full bodied Syrah.
While in Cape Town we discovered the most amazing wine and after some research we learned the vineyard was 8 minutes from our house in Wellington. The Diemersfontein Wine Estate has been owned by the Sonnenberg family for three generations and they produce one of the most interesting wines we have ever tasted, ‘The Original Pinotage”. The estate is celebrated for pioneering this distinctive coffee and chocolate-infused Pinotage, which has become a cult favorite, and one of mine. Most of the time you taste wines and the flavors are very subtle, but the coffee flavor of this Pinotage is front and center if you pay attention. We enjoyed it so much we bought 12 bottles ❤️ Diemersfontein offers a diverse portfolio of wines beyond their Pinotage including Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and their premium Carpe Diem range. We bought a few bottles in addition to the Pinotage. Diemersfontein was so close to our house we visited twice more during our stay in Wellington to enjoy lunch on their deck overlooking the scenic gardens. This is another must-visit destination in the Cape Winelands, and apparently I was so focused on their wines I forgot to take any photos of the vineyard or gardens 🤷♀️
Babylonstoren Wine Estate is a historic Cape Dutch farm in the Drakenstein Valley, dating back to 1692. The estate has 5 hectares of gardens and 72 hectares of vineyards, producing elegant wines that reflect the unique terroir of the Simonsberg slopes. The estate is 30 minutes from Wellington so we signed up for a two hour cellar tour and wine tasting. It was one of the most comprehensive tours we have been on and once again we came away with more knowledge of vine management and grape growing, particularly here in South Africa. The wine tasting at the end of the tour takes place down in their barrel room and consists of 10 wines paired with small bites to complement the wines. The cost for the wine tour was 550 Rand (USD $30) each and as much as we enjoyed our tour the estate is large and very commercial whereas we prefer the smaller estates producing more unique wines. Babylonstoren has fruit and vegetable gardens, water buffalo (we bought some of their farm made bocconcini), numerous shops, an olive oil factory, a gift shop, a cheese shop, a butcher shop, a hotel and a couple of farm-to-table restaurants. It’s a busy place!
Rhebokskloof Wine Estate, located in the Paarl region, is just 20 minutes from Wellington, and was recommended by fellow nomads. The estate produces a variety of wines including Shiraz, Chardonnay and Pinotage, reflecting the unique terroir of their land. We each did a tasting of 5 reds costing 115 Rand (USD $6.25) per person after which we enjoyed lunch overlooking the lake and gardens. We bought a couple of their award winning wines to take home.
To offset all the amazing wine tastings and lunches we were fortunate to find a gym just 2 blocks from our house. We joined Evolve Gym for the two weeks we stayed in Wellington. We had not worked out since Portugal what with our safari and neither of us feeling up to working out during our time in Cape Town, but we got back at it here in Wellington. Regular exercise, and finding a decent gym, is one of the biggest challenges of nomad life but even intermittent gym time is better than no gym time 💪 A two week membership cost 400 Rand (USD $22) each.
While our intention was to visit as many wineries as possible and get to the gym every day we did squeeze in a bit of sightseeing, which may have included a winery stop 😂 Our first excursion was to drive the Bains Kloof Pass, a fabulous twisty road up and over the mountains just outside Wellington. The pass reaches 1,949 ft (594 meters) at its highest point and is 11 miles (18 km) long. There are amazing views over Wellington and the valley from the viewpoints.
One of the reasons to go over the pass was to visit the Bosjes Chapel, situated on private farm surrounded by a pomegranate orchard and a vineyard. I’m not sure why the chapel was built but its an interesting building and a very popular wedding venue set amongst the winelands.
Our other sightseeing excursion was to the town of Paarl, just 30 minutes from Wellington. There was not a lot to see in town so we drove up to Paarl Rock. This smooth rock high above town has fantastic views and was an interesting visit but in all honesty there is not much to do around here other than visit wine estates. So what did we do when we left Paarl Rock…..we headed back down the mountain to Fairview Winery. It was very busy and their stand up wine tasting did not appeal to us so we had a nice lunch, with a glass of their wine. They have pretty gardens and a few goats to look at.
In total we visited 7 wineries, a couple them twice, during our two weeks in Wellington so I think we achieved our objective. We expanded our knowledge of South African wines, found some new favorites and even got to the gym regularly.
Now we’re off to Franschhoek, and more wine estates…..