Believe it or not, the appeal of the winelands is not just to sample several hundred different wines! The towns of Stellenbosch, Franschoek and Paarl are some of the oldest in South Africa. Their streets contain many fine examples of Cape Dutch and Georgian houses but the real architectural gems are the manor houses on the wine estates - usually beautifully restored and maintained and often used as wine tasting rooms. The towns of Worcester, Montagu and Robertson, centred in the Breede River Valley are approached through majestic mountain passes. There are a great number of wine cellars where tasting is possible throughout the week - sometimes a small fee is charged and many offer cellar tours too. A few can only be visited by appointment and many are closed on Sunday so phoning ahead may be advisable. There is such an abundance of good wine produced that giving guidelines on which vineyards to visit seems too limiting. Our advice would be - go and taste and if you like it, buy a bottle or two!! It is very acceptable to take your own wine to a restaurant where a small corkage fee may be charged so you can enjoy the wine you buy at the vineyards. If you do not have your own transport there are tours which visit various vineyards for wine tasting starting in Stellenbosch and Cape Town.

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