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.