Wine Tasting - Day 1

We spent our first day in the Winelands in Stellenbosch.  Stellenbosch is a quick hour drive from downtown Cape Town.  You could make it into a day trip and stay in Cape Town or you could even join a bus tour out to the Winelands.  Personally, I think it's better to do it on your own.  There are a crazy number of wineries in the Winelands.  We basically picked the places that we thought looked the coolest.  We enjoy wine but can't really tell you much about it so we weren't too serious about our tasting.

Our first stop was Waterford Wine Estates.  We picked Waterford because they have a chocolate and wine pairing.  I cannot recommend that tasting enough.  I'm not a huge fan of chocolate but this was the most delicious chocolate and it paired so well with the wine.  The chocolate wine tasting was 60 rand or a little less than $10.  I had the standard tasting for 30 rand or about $5.  The tasting occurred in a beautiful shaded courtyard that felt very Italian or Spanish.  Waterford also has a special wine drive in a jeep.  Unfortunately we couldn't fit it into our schedule which of course was based around food.

Our next stop was lunch at Le Pique Nique on the Boschendal Wine Estate.  They have tables set up outside under the trees and the waiters bring you a picnic basket full of all sorts of goodies like meats, cheeses, salads, and pates.  It was a huge meal and so relaxing to have a leisurely meal in the shade.  You can also order wine by the bottle or glass from the estate to go with the lunch.  If you'd like to dine at Le Pique Nique, make sure you make reservations for your picnic basket.  Actually, you need to make reservations for everything before coming to the Winelands, especially in the high season.  They have a ton of wonderful restaurants.  Without a reservation in advance you may wind up eating at the local pizza joint.  And South Africa isn't exactly known for their pizza.

 

Since we'd only tried one wine with lunch, we decided to head over to the tasting center and try more Boschendal wines.  We split a tasting between the two of us for 15 rand or $2.

Last stop of the day was Rustenberg.  We chose Rustenberg because we really liked the design of their tasting room.  Very modern.  Rustenberg was a little off the beaten path and was uncrowded.  We stood at the bar tasting with a staff member who guided us through the whole thing.  I believe the tasting was also free, at least for their more affordable wines.  The specialty wines may have had a fee associated with it.  We ordered a bottle of wine and they suggested that we take a walk in the gardens while they brought it up from the cellar and had it wrapped up.  They have a beautiful garden with lots of flowers and ponds.

One last note:  many of the wineries are closed on Sundays so take that into account when planning a trip.