Cape Town Wine Tours – Experience the best of South African wines.
Experience the best Cape Town Wine Tours and and taste some award-winning wines South Africa is known for. Immerse yourself in the local splendour of the Cape Winelands and enjoy unforgettable wine tasting in Cape Town! Why the Cape Winelands is One of the World’s Best Wine Regions When it comes to exceptional wine experiences of South Africa, the Cape Wine region ranks among the best wine destinations in the World. With its scenic landscapes, diverse terroir, and centuries of winemaking tradition, it offers some of the best Cape Town wine tours and wine tasting experiences. Whether you book tailor-made tours or full day wine tours in Cape Town, you will enjoy a range of unique experiences curated by different wine specialists in the region. Unique Wine Tasting Experiences in Cape Town Visiting the Cape Winelands goes beyond sipping wine. It is a rewarding experience, an immersion into the culture, history and beauty of South Africa’s winemaking heritage. We have some great benefits that put us on par and ahead of many of the other wine regions around the World. Cape Town is in the major wine-producing areas compared to other wine regions in the World. Unlike other wine regions around the world that require hours of travel from the nearest port of entry. This accessibility makes it easy to enjoy multiple wine tours in Cape Town in a single day. Spectacular Cape Wine Regions In Cape Town, we have the spectacular cape wine region of Constantia that is a 20-minute drive at the most from the city centre. And the wine regions of Stellenbosch, Paarl and Franschhoek are all under 1-hour of driving from the city centre. Even the outlying wine-producing districts such as Worcester is just over an hour. Robertson being at best a 1h30 minutes from the city centre of Cape Town. With all these options so close, the Cape Winelands makes the perfect destination for tailor-made wine tours in Cape Town. History and Wine Regions of South Africa To better understand the Wine regions of South Africa and the wines produced in South Africa . We need to go back in history a little bit. South Africa’s wine making tradition dates back to 1652 , when the Dutch settlers arrived in Cape Town and discovered that the Mediterranean climate was ideal for the making of good wines. They planted the vineyards for that purpose. Wine-makers produced high quality wines dessert wines, sweeter varieties, and red wines under strict restrictions. As a result, South Africa became well known for the dessert wines and red wines. The Discovery of Cold Fermentation in Tulbagh Early in the 1950s, cold fermentation started in the Tulbagh area on the Twee Jonge Gezellen wine estate. This process was essential for the production of good white wine. Winemakers placed a barrel of wine under a cold mountain spring to reduce the temperature of its contents The result was a good white wine from this barrel. The Making of Vin De Constance Wine Vin de Constance was the wine that gained prominence in the early days before the cold fermentation process. The sweet wine is from the Constantia wine region at Klein Constantia wine. Winemakers produced this dessert wine in small volumes and offered it only to a select audience in the early days. Vin de Constance was very popular but only available to royalty and the rich. One of the early supporters of Vin de Constance wine was Napoleon. He was permitted to receive a daily measure of Vin de Constance while banished to Saint Helena. Stellebosch: The Heart of Cape Town Wine Tours Any Cape Winelands tour would be incomplete without a visit to Stellenbosch. During the Wine Tours in Cape Town, exploring the city centre of Stellenbosch is one of the top things to do. Stellenbosch is a beautiful old town and centre of the wine region. The term’ spectacular cape wine region will not be complete without Stellenbosch. History of Pinotage Wines in South Africa There is a variety of different wines produced in the Stellenbosch wine region. Pinotage is our very own South African cultivar developed in the Stellenbosch wine region by Professor Harold Perold. He decided to cross Pinot Noir with Hermitage rootstock and created wine out of this named Pinotage. He found that this was a good full-bodied red wine. Professor Perold published his findings but, the agriculture faculty did not take it up. After the passing of the professor, his former student passed his old residence and saw that the property developers were removing his vines. The student managed to stop them and saved the grapevines that he later took to Elsenburg Agriculture College. Kanonkop Wine Estate Kanonkop Wine Estate took these findings and developed Pinotage under the winemaker Beyers Struter who was at Kanonkop at the time. Mr Struter brought Pinotage to prominence and won many awards. Beyers Struter then eventually decided to leave Kanonkop Wine Estate. He then went and set up his own and purchased a property just across the valley from Kanonkop. Beyerskloof Wine Estate Beyers Struter had a 5-year restraint of trade agreement. He saw how the South African consumer arena was changing. More African communities are now discovering wines which is a huge growth area for the future. Struter developed a Pinotage wine that was easier to drink, a picnic-style wine marketed under the label Beyerskloof. The original Pinotage was a full-bodied red wine ideal when paired with a red meat dish. But it is also a wine that would not suit the palate of a new wine drinker. Today, Pinotage wine is still the traditional full-bodied Pinotage. Discover this when you visit Wine Estates in the Stellenbosch Wine regions, especially at Kanonkop Wine Estate. But for the new entrants, we have the Beyerskloof variety that is a much easier wine to drink. We also have a white Pinotage that is now available on any wine tours in cape town. They are still producing a variety of sparkling wines, white wines and red wines.
Sustainable and Responsible Travel
Sustainable and Responsible travel and being responsible in all that you do while planning your safari holidays are of utmost importance. Carry that responsibility through till you are actually executing your travel plans. It is the only way forward to rebuild international travel as we emerge from this current Covid pandemic. Are you a RESPONSIBLE tourist? Have you acted responsibly and chosen an ETHICAL tour and safari operator to travel with? Many companies in the tourism sector may aspire to be Ethical and even advertise that they are “Ethical”. Unfortunately, much of this is window-dressing. It is a fact that few companies believe that they can actually “afford” to be fully Ethical. The demand from the uninformed travelling public to pet a lion cub remains as a constant lure for tour operators to include animal petting excursions on their itineraries. Ethical Tourism What does it mean to be ETHICAL? It means that as Safari Operator we are taking responsibility for the environment in every aspect. It means that we as tour operators are taking every step required to protect our people and cultures from abuse and exploitation. Most importantly, it means that we protect the environment and animals from exploitation. “Petting cute cubs seems completely innocent as an exercise, but behind the scenes, it’s very different,” according to Dr Paul Funston, Lion and Program Director at Panthera, the global wild cat conservation organization. You do not need to pet or interact with a wild animal to learn about it – that’s EXPLOITATION! Be responsible Irresponsible tourism promotes animal cruelty! It is in our human nature to nurture. Many tourists coming to Africa wish to interact with wild animals from cats to elephants. The urge to post that selfie with a cute Lion or Cheetah cub on your lap is simply irresistible. Now consider how this cute little cub came to be in the enclosure that you have just entered. You want to play with this cute bundle of fur, but what are the consequences? Dr Paul Funston continues, “Realistically, cubs have to be bred at a high rate for the petting demand – these cubs are NOT orphans. They are bred to be removed from their mothers at birth. They are hand-reared, often by unsuspecting VOLUNTEERS who pay a handsome price to work on these operations. When the cubs grow too big to be petted, they are used for walking experiences with tourists. As they grow older, they become too dangerous for such interactions. Now they are sold to canned lion operators, TO BE SHOT by trophy hunters who are often American and Russian trophy-hunters”. Captive-bred lions cannot be released back into the wild. These lions pose a serious threat to people and livestock due to being habituated to humans. These Lions have nowhere else to go except for a few “lucky” ones that may end up in a small enclosure in a zoo. Ban on imports to the USA There is currently an import ban to the USA on captive-raised lion trophies. Their bones get exported to Asia and their teeth and claws are turned into jewellery. Lion bones are passed off as Tiger bones, as they are indistinguishable. These bones will be turned into Tiger Bone Soup or Tiger Bone Wine and a lion skeleton sells for over $2000 (as of 2017). This is AFTER the trophy-hunter has paid for and departed with his “trophy” which is usually the hide, the head, and paws. At these rates, the temptation is great for the hunting safari outfitter to pass off the lion as a “WILD” lion and the trophy hunter simply doesn’t ask too many questions. Very convenient! Responsible Travel organizations Are you a responsible tourist? You have to do your research. Check the credentials of the tour and safari operator that you choose to travel with. Sustainable and Responsible Travel organizations such as CREST in the USA, Fair Trade Tourism in Southern Africa, and Travelife in Europe can assist. They have a membership of operations and operators that have been vetted to comply with the required principles of sustainability. Look for their symbols and be responsible! Announcement to ban trade in captive wildlife products Minister Creacy, The South African Minister of Forestry, Fisheries, and Environment announced in May 2021 that the trading in captive wildlife products is getting stopped. The organization Blood Lions have campaigned for many years to have this industry abolished. Dr Louise De Waal is the campaign manager for Blood Lions and she reports that there are at least 60 facilities in South Africa that offer volunteer opportunities with big cats and carnivores. This is an industry known as “voluntourism”. Unsuspecting visitors, often from other countries, are offered hands-on opportunities to interact with the animals, feeding them and rearing the young. Arm yourself with all the information and contact Africa Explore Safaris to travel in a responsibly and sustainably manner. Now read the book Cuddle Me, Kill Me by conservationist Richard Peirce. It is available on Amazon. To plan your Safari Vacations to Africa contact your Ethical Safari Operator