Benettep
One of my favourite places in the whole wide world is the Coastal Winelands of South Africa on the Western Cape. Spending a dreamy day on a bucolic wine farm, bathing in the soft afterglow of a delicious wine tasting under enormous blue skies, is my idea of heaven.
South Africa has a rich history of winemaking and a cultural tradition of hospitality that combine to create a luxurious and immersive experience when visiting its wine estates in Cape Winelands.
Most of the Western Cape is characterized by a Mediterranean climate, which means one can expect long, hot summer days and evenings sipping chilled white wines and rosé. The blustery, wet winters are ideal for soups, stews and full-bodied reds while enjoying the stunning scenery.
Constantia Valley in the heart of Cape Town
Arriving in Cape Town is a thrilling experience in itself. This gracious city, first established by the Dutch in 1652, is an eclectic mix of European charm and African vibrancy, sprawled under the watchful presence of Table Mountain. A gateway to rugged mountains framed by blue seas and white-capped waves breaking onto pristine white beaches, Cape Town embraces wine farms in the very heart of the city in Constantia Valley.
Coastal Winelands of South Africa, also known as Cape Winelands
Groot Constantia Wine Farm
Just a short 20-minute drive from downtown Cape Town, a visit to Groot Constantia is about more than just culinary and wine-tasting delights. It’s a journey through the rich history of South Africa’s first wine estate, founded in 1685 when Simon van der Stel planted vines on this site 339 years ago. Today, the Groot Constantia Trust, a non-profit organization, manages the estate and reinvests all profit into preserving and maintaining this iconic working farm for future generations.
Groot Contantia ancient oak trees line the road to the old farmstead in South Africa Cape Winelands. Photo: Julie Coghlan-Smith©
The avenue to the house, lined with oak trees, is alive with squirrels and has a view that stretches all the way to False Bay. The original farmhouse, outbuildings, and wine cellar are beautifully preserved. Take the time to linger and enjoy this historic farm, taste wine, and have brunch or lunch. Buy wine and gifts at the tastefully curated gift shop.
Groot Constantia is noted for producing high-quality red wines, including Shiraz, Merlot and blended red Gouverneurs Reserve.
My preference in wine leans towards heavy reds, the local pinotage — an indigenous grape — and chardonnays. At Groot Constantia, you can purchase any bottle of wine with the confidence that you are getting a top-quality product.
The once bustling farm yard at Groot Constantia and its 300-year-old cellars. Photo: Julie Coghlan-Smith©
The original 763 hectares granted to van der Stel were divided into six wine farms within the Constantia Valley, all open to the public. Wine farms in the vicinity include Buitenverwachting, Constantia Uitsig, and Steenberg Vineyards, all within a short distance of Groot Constantia.
Fun Facts about Contstantia
‘Constantia Wyn’ was auctioned in European markets in the late 1700s. It appears in Jane Austen’s novel Sense and Sensibility as a cure for a broken heart and in Charles Dickens’ story The Mystery of Edwin Drood as a means of lifting a character’s spirits.
Somerset West
A 40-minute drive along the N2 from Cape Town to Somerset West takes you to some of my favourite wine farms. They are well worth visiting for the experience, beauty, and wine.
Spier Wine Farm (A Marsh of Reeds)
But first, detour off the N2 to the highly popular Spier, established in 1692. The estate offers various picnic, dining, and bakery options and beautiful views of the Helderberg Mountains.
After wine tasting, it’s a wonderful spot to browse the outdoor exhibition of artwork showcased around the farm or relax under its big oak trees and sneak in an afternoon snooze.
Agapanthus in bloom at Spier Wine Estate, South Africa Wine Country. Photo: Julie Coghlan-Smith©
Vergeleging Wine Estate (Dutch: Far Away)
Vergelegen, founded in 1700, is a graceful, sprawling estate with lovely walks that take you to courtyards, ponds and fountains, the old library, a treasure trove of art and antiquity, manicured gardens and sweeping lawns anchored by 300-year-old camphor trees and an iconic 400-year-old yellowwood tree.
Camphor cinnamon trees planted between 1700 and 1706 at Verheleging Wine Estate. Photo: Julie Coghlan-Smith©
Lunch at Vergelegen is a perfect combination of relaxed hospitality and delicious cuisine and is highly recommended, with magnificent views across planted vineyards stretching to the purple Hottentot Hollands mountains. Once again, leave with your favourite bottles of wine — they are all excellent and highly regarded by wine critics.
The estate offers a variety of wines, including Cabernet Sauvignon, Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, and Straw Wine, which is a wine made from grapes that are dried while still on the vine. I love the MMV Brut: A Blanc de Blanc, 100 per cent Chardonnay, which was first developed in 2005.
Walkway to the Vergelenging Library converted from the original wine cellars. Photo: Julie Coghlan-Smith©
Stables at Vergeleging Wine Estate in South Africa Wineland near Cape Town. Photo: hoto: Julie Coghlan-Smith©
Lourensford Wine Estate
Lourensford is truly one of the most beautiful wine estates in Cape Winelands. Established in 1709, it offers a visual feast across 4,000 hectares of forest, fynbos, fruit orchards, and vineyards. The gardens’ colours and layout are enhanced by the strategically curated Anton Smit Art Route of bold African sculptures.
Arriving at Lourensford to a show of Red Hot Pockers showing off their orange heads against the fall vineyards. Photo: Julie Coghlan-Smith©
The farm offers a coffee roaster, coffee shop, casual dining restaurant, antiques, art galleries, a yoga studio, and pickleball. What better way to start the day than a stroll through the Anton Smit Art Route to a yoga class or pickle ball workout?
As always, the wine tasting is not to be missed.
South African artist Anton Smit’s magnificent sculpture welcomes visitors at the estate’s entrance. Smit’s spectacular sculptures are strategically curated throughout the estate’s beautiful garden area. This sculpture is one of my favourites–explosive strength and inward vulnerability. Photo: Julie Coghlan-Smith©
South African artist Anton Smit’s spectacular sculptures are strategically curated throughout the estate’s beautiful garden area. Photo: Julie Coghlan-Smith©
Wine tasting at Lourensford Wine Estate. Photo: Julie Coghlan-Smith©
Lourensford Wine Estate produces wines that express the unique terroir qualities of the estate, made from strict vineyard selection, berry sorting and delicate wine-making practices to make classic, elegant, award-winning wines.
And, yes, I do have my favourites and often pick up a bottle of easy-drinking, soft-on-the-palate Merlot.
Ernie Els Wines
Ernie Els Wines offers award-winning range of wines named after South African golf legend Ernie Els, this estate is situated on the Annandale Road between Somerset West and Stellenbosch.
Golf enthusiasts will know that Els won the U.S. Open in 1994 and 1997 and the Open Championship in 2002 and 2012. He is one of six golfers to win the U.S. Open and the Open Championship twice. He also won two World Golf Championship events, seven World Matchplay titles, and 19 PGA Tour events. However, they probably don’t know that he is a prominent winemaker in the Helderberg area unless they have visited the Western Cape of South Africa.
The magnificent view from Ernie Els wine farm tasting rooms. Photo: Julie Coghlan-Smith©
The winery officially opened in 2005 and produces a range of wines but is best known for its Cabernet Sauvignon. The wine-tasting rooms and restaurant display unusual South African artwork and sculptures, and the panoramic view is spectacular.
This estate is one of my favourite wine and lunch venues. The menu is updated regularly, with fare made from fresh, locally sourced, simply delicious ingredients. As with all South African wine estates, the staff are knowledgeable and hospitable about the wine and the menu. Sitting on the sunny verandah, sipping wine, it feels like time has slowed.
Simple elegance, the signature style of the Ernie Els tasting room and restaurant. Photo: Julie Coghlan-Smith©
Ernie Els Wines are premium South African wines in various styles, including red, white, and rosé, produced using organic viticulture on various soil types, including granite and oak leaf.
Rust en Vrede Wine Estate (Dutch for Rest and Peace)
Rust en Vrede has a rich history of wine-making dating back 300 years; its official title deeds were registered in 1694. The distinguished Cape Dutch buildings on the property date back to 1780 and are still used daily. Known for its portfolio of robust reds, it is a favourite of mine.
Autumn’s paintbrush on Rust en Vrede vineyards. Photo: Julie Coghlan-Smith©
The Helderberg mountains shelter the farm from the powerful south-easterly and south-westerly winds that give the coastal area its reputation as The Cape of Storms, creating a microcosm in this warm valley that lends itself to growing Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes.
Drive up to the estate on a narrow road winding through vineyards lined with roses and oak trees to enjoy a wine tasting and lunch in a serene setting with mountain views. Finish the meal with a glass of Potstill Brandy, aged for 12 years.
The immaculate wine cellar at Rust en Vrede. Photo: Julie Coghlan-Smith©
My Mum and Dad enjoying a cappuccino in the mellow autumnal beauty on the Rust en Vrede patio outside the wine cellars. A wine tasting followed. Photo: Julie Coghlan-Smith©
Rust en Vrede produces full-bodied Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah with robust structure and excellent aging potential, complex and powerful. The estate also produces other wines, including Merlot, red blends, Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Grenache, Pinot Noir, Pinotage, and Sauvignon Blanc.
Stellenbosch in Cape Winelands
Stellenbosch is an extraordinary, pretty university town known for its restored Cape Dutch architecture dating from the 18th and 19th centuries and for its stone-paved streets lined with deep gutters called lei water slote, art galleries, jewellery, funky boutiques and endless coffee shops and restaurants. Stellenbosch is in the heart of the most famous wine region in South Africa, Cape Winelands, and is home to some of the country’s top wineries.
Dorp Street, lined with some of the country’s best preserved and restored 17th—and 18th-century Cape Dutch architecture, gives the town an old-world charm. Notice the deep gutter, the old “lei water” system that channeled water to gardens and orchards. Photo: Julie Coghlan-Smith©
One of the many quirky and inviting coffee shops, cafes and restaurants that line the street of historic Stellenbosch in Cape Winelands. Photo: Julie Coghlan-Smith©
The area is internationally recognized as the birthplace of Pinotage grapes — a unique wine from South Africa and a cross between Pinot Noir and Cinsault. Classic Cape Pinotage has the aromas of roasted coffee notes, dark chocolate, and berries, and when I swirl it on my tongue, I taste “home.” However, Cabernet Sauvignon is the region’s most prized grape variety, often found with Merlot as part of a Bordeaux Blend.
Lanzerac Wine Estate
Dating back to 1692, Lanzerac Wine Estate is the oldest farm in the area and a historic landmark ideally positioned in the beautiful Jonkershoek Valley on the outskirts of town. It is the perfect refreshment stop after a morning hike or to escape the busy shopping crowds.
Historic Lanzerac Wine Estate in Stellenboch offers a luxurious hotel, spa, and restaurant stay. Photo: Julie Coghlan-Smith©
Lanzerac is known for bottling the world’s first Pinotage in 1959, and it is also known for excellent quality Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and recently, increased plantings of Chardonnay. I always associate Lanzarec with rosé, possibly because my visits to Lanzarec have been on blistering hot days, the heat trapped in the valley. Nothing tastes better or looks prettier than a chilled glass of rosé on a hot South African afternoon.
I have also visited in winter and snuggled next to a roaring fire for a Wine and Chocolate Tasting that includes five Jonkershoek wines paired with five handcrafted chocolates.
Did I mention there is no bad season to visit the Cape Winelands? Any season has charm, and the cuisine, wine and scenery will never disappoint.
Boschendal Wine Estate (Wood and Valley)
An authentic working farm an hour’s drive from Cape Town, Boschendale has deep historic routes in the Drakenstein Valley. Its title deeds date back to 1685, and it has a 335-year history of winemaking. Its fertile grounds adhere to strict sustainability principles and host an impressive selection of livestock and poultry. Guests can pick fruit from the orchards and swim in the dams.
The Boschendal farmstead. Photo: Julie Coghlan-Smith©
Once again, visitors experience sublime hospitality and can pair wine with “soil-to-fork fare” at a choice of two restaurants or picnic on the lawns. The artisan Farm Shop & Butchery and Homeware Shop carry carefully selected sustainable, local produce.
A farm-to-fork meal enjoyed in the cozy Deli Eatery that serves hearty farm meals. Photo: Julie Coghlan-Smith©
Boschendal is known for its consistent style of wine that balances fresh acidity with pure fruit. Some of their best-known wines include the Boschendal Méthode Cap Classique Brut and its Shiraz range. Simply delicious.
The historic and original old lei water system used to irrigate the orchards and vineyards at Boschendale. Photo: Julie Coghlan-Smith©
Babylonstoren (Babylons Tower)
An old restored Cape Dutch farm, Babylonstoren sits at the foot of Simonsberg in the Franschhoek wine valley. Owned by media and tech titan Koos Bekker and his wife, former magazine décor editor and South African celebrity Karen Roos, it is a restored Cape Dutch farm that dates back to 1692.
A working farm, it employs 216 people and produces wines, cheeses, fresh fruit and vegetables. The 3.5-hectare garden, intricately laid out with pathways, pergolas, and water features, is planted with 300 varieties of edible plants–an ever-changing tapestry of botanical diversity.
The farm offers a curated selection of fine red and white wines made with elegant simplicity.
Lavender in abundance at Babylonstoren. Photo: Julie Coghlan-Smith©
On a working farm, chickens and turkeys have free range. Photo: Julie Coghlan-Smith©
One of the many courtyards in the tapestry of gardens and courtyards of Babylonstoren. Photo: Julie Coghlan-Smith©
Hemel en Aarde Valley (Afrikaans for Heaven and Earth)
Two of my favourite estates are perched high on the hills surrounded by fynbos in the Hemel en Aarde Valley—Bouchard Finlayson and Hamilton Russell—two of the most southerly coastal wine farms in South Africa. Shale soil and cool ocean breezes ensure the grapes ripen slowly and grow steadily to produce intense flavours.
Protea, South Africa’s national flower, catching the sunlight in Hemel en Aarde Valley. Photo: Julie Coghlan-Smith©
Hamilton Russell Vineyards
Hamilton Russell, established in 1975, specializes in producing highly individual, terroir-driven Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, widely regarded as the best in South Africa and among the finest in New World wine. Its Chardonnay is indeed one of my all-time favourites, with its tightness, minerality, and bone-dry sensation that does not compromise length and texture.
The term “terroir” is best translated as “a sense of place” and refers to wine grown in synergy with the unique soil and climatic conditions to make the best possible wine from that particular location. Hamilton Russell is closed on Sundays.
The views and setting of this estate are spectacular.
Bouchard Finlayson Vineyard
The views and setting of Bouchard Finlayson are equally impressive. Established in 1989, the boutique winery is dedicated to making Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc wines. Its wines are acclaimed worldwide and recognized for producing some of the best Pinot Noir in South Africa, along with exceptional Chardonnays and Sauvignon Blancs.
Wine tasting at Bouchard Finlayson. Photo: Julie Coghlan-Smith©
Rustic, cool wine cellar at Bouchard Finlayson. Photo: Julie Coghlan-Smith©
Hemel en Aarde is an hour and a half drive from Cape Town. Take the scenic drive from Gordon’s Bay, then head along the coastal road towards Hermanus–a very pretty and rewarding drive. Look out for the Hemel en Aarde signs as you near Hermanus.
After some wine tasting, treat yourself to some shopping or whale watching in the quaint old fishing village of Hermanus.
Venturing further
The Garden Route from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth
If you drive the aptly named and popular tourist route, The Garden Route, a coastal adventure from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth, you will pass the beach town of Plettenberg Bay.
That Wine Demesne
Take the time to stop at The Beau de Jour Cafe off the N2 at Bramon Wine Estate, which sells That Wine grown and produced on the small, hand-cultivated 1.5 hectares of That Wine Demesne.
David and Joanne Butler from That Wine Demesne in their kitchen. Photo: Julie Coghlan-Smith©
In English feudal law, the “lord’s demesne” was the denoted lord’s house, park, and surrounding lands.
My longtime friend, David Butler and his wife, Joanne, run and work the farm. They specialize in Pinot Noir, a challenging grape to cultivate.
That Wine is described as quietly alluring, with delicate red berry fruit, light texture and comforting farmyard and forest floor nuances. For me, it is about friendship, a personal connection to deep roots that signify home, and Jo and David’s kitchen.
The wine is light-bodied and food-friendly. Buy a couple of bottles for your trip, as you will not get it anywhere else.
BC wine buyers tip – shopping for South African wines
The good news is that BC Liquor and other wine specialty shops carry a few decent South African wines. I always grab a few bottles of Spier Merlot or Pinotage when I spot it on the shelves. A favourite of mine is the easy-drinking pinotage called The Grinder.
Other great South African wines available in BC Liquor stores include those from the following estates: Meerlust, Mulderbosch, De Wetshof and Boschendal.
South Africa is known for producing outstanding Chenin Blanc, and if you are a white wine drinker and see a bottle, grab it.
Buying from other areas of Canada? Check here.
Buying from the USA? Here is a complete list of South African wine retailers.
Platter’s Wine Guide
For 45 years, The Platter’s Guide to Wine was my go-to Christmas gift to my father, an amateur wine connoisseur. When it was first published in the 1980s, it was a slim volume listing some 1,250 wines. Today, a substantial doorstopper reviewing 8,000 wines from 525 registered wineries in South Africa is a must-have guide to enriching your wine-tasting experience in South Africa.
Fun Facts about South Africa’s Wineland
The five main wine-producing regions in the Western Cape are:
- The wine paradise of the Breede River Valley, by far the largest wine-growing area in the country and a wine lovers’ paradise.
- The Cape South Coast
- The more arid Klein Karoo
- The northernmost Olifants River
- The Coastal Region
- South Africa ranks eighth in wine production out of the top 10 traditional wine-producing countries globally.
- Currently, around 87,848 hectares of vines producing wine grapes are under cultivation.
- The industry employs around 270,363 people and contributes more than R55 billion to the country’s gross domestic product.
- In 2023, the annual harvest produced 1,182,519 tons of grapes. 83.9% of the total harvest was used for wine.
- The red Pinotage is the most unique South African wine–a cross between Pinot Noir and Cinsault.
- Chenin Blanc is the country’s most planted and popular white grape and is renowned among critics as one of the best South African white wines.
- Another highly rated white wine variety of South Africa is Chardonnay, especially from the cooler, coastal Walker Bay region and Hemel en Aarde Valley
Insider safety tips for travelling to South Africa
South Africa, including the Western Cape, is known for its high incidence of crime. Having said that, I am South African and travel “home” frequently from Canada to visit family and friends. For the most part, South Africans are friendly, hospitable people, and you will find joy bursting onto the streets in the most unexpected places.
Here are a few rules I stick to to keep myself safe:
- Stay aware of your surroundings and avoid isolated areas at night. If it feels uncomfortable, move on.
- Be careful with your belongings. Don’t leave them on tables or visible in the car.
- The best way to travel around the Western Cape is in a hired car. Avoid inter-city trains, taxis and minicabs.
- Keep your car windows rolled up, doors locked, and bags and phones out of sight when driving. Check that your car is locked when you park and don’t leave anything in it.
- Use ATMs in well-lit places and watch for distractions
- Be aware of aggressive begging; however, tip car attendants, car guards (an unregulated service), and gas station attendants. I always keep a handful of out-of-sight two or five rand coins on me for tipping these services.
Security Alert
The N2, also known as Airport Road, skirts the edges of Gugulethu, Khayelitsha, Mitchells Plain, and Macassar. These are some of the poorest areas in Cape Town. Do not travel this road at night.
Where to Stay in Cape Wineland and Tours
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