Three Wine Districts tasting tour

Description

The South African wine regions consist of 30 Wine Districts, all very different. On this tour we will visit three of them during the day, usually Paarl, Stellenbosch and Franschhoek.

You will learn about terroir and its influence on the grapes, as well as our Culture, History, and Cuisine in as much or little detail as you like.

Itinerary

This is an example of a Three Districts Wine Tour.

Stellenbosch Valley

We’ll probably begin this tour where most of our oldest winemaking history resides, in Stellenbosch. The town is the historic heart of the country’s wine region with some of the finest examples of Cape Dutch architecture. In 1679, the Dutch East India Company’s governor, Simon van der Stel noticed the fertility of this long valley on the banks of the Eerste River, as being ideal for vineyards. This foresight led to the growth of one of the world’s best wine regions. Naturally we will stop and taste at a particularly historic and special winery.

Stellenbosch includes some of the most famous names in Cape wine. The ‘town of oaks’, is also the educational and research centre of the Winelands. Stellenbosch University is the only university in Africa, which offers degrees in viticulture and oenology, and it has many of the country’s most successful winemakers as alumni.

The district, with its mix of historic estates and contemporary wineries, produces excellent examples of almost all the noble grape varieties and known for the quality of its blended reds.

Paarl Valley

After a scenic drive to the charming Paarl valley, with its “Pearl”, an ancient granite mountain dominating the area, we stop at the first tasting venue for a tasting and possible cellar visit. (Nelson Mandela was freed from the Groot Drakenstein prison in the valley).

The Berg River is the life-giving artery of the Paarl and Franschhoek valleys and provides necessary supplementary irrigation in the hot growing season before the harvest. We will follow the river upstream into the Franschhoek Valley.

Franschhoek Valley

We’ll continue Southeast to the scenic village of Franschhoek established in 1688 by French immigrants fleeing religious persecution in Europe. These early settlers helped develop wines which were sought after by Napoleon, Bismarck and Edward VII, the Prince of Wales and today by me.

The Franschhoek valley is enclosed on three sides by towering mountains. Streams flow into the valley floor to form the Berg River, fast flowing in winter when snow caps the peaks and a mere stream in summer. The valley is surrounded by dramatic mountain ranges and the valley floor is full of beautiful wine estates.

We will visit one of the less frequented estates for a private tasting.

Good to know

• Minimum of 2 guests for tour to run
• We will collect and drop off within 40km from Central Stellenbosch, for collections further away a small extra tariff will be charged