I spend a lot of time sniffing Chenin Blancs out in the winelands. This is a dirty job, but someone has got to do it. I take my quest of trying to visit every wine farm in the country quite seriously, and have notched up about 80 farms or so at this point… I need to do a count.

Over time, I have found firm favourites depending on who the client is – red wine lovers are different from champers-guzzling wedding parties, wine connoisseurs need to taste the really good stuff as opposed to wine snobs (read the French) who need to be handled with kid gloves.

But the Cape Winelands, comprising Stellenbosch, Paarl and Franschhoek, is so diverse that I find you can always satisfy the needs – how to choose? How to choose… and that’s where I come in.

I have a formula, though, and here’s how I would go about a blind wine tour – ie, I don’t know the clients, I’m not allowed to ask them what they like and I need to make sure the tour delivers. Here’s how:

FAIRVIEW

You start the trip at Fairview www.fairview.co.za – this is the lazy wine guide’s favourite, because man these guys are slick – cheese and wine tasting, beautiful estate, some goats prancing around and Khoi fish in the pond and a well known cheeky brand known as the Goats do Roam (yep, the French hate them). Fairview also has some sweet BEE social initiatives through Fairvalley wines and overall this is deservedly an estate that attracts a lot of visitors. It’s a crowd scene, but a good one, and it represents big business in the winelands well.

Click here for some awesome pictures of the fun that we have!

TOKARA

GT Ferreira’s baby project is a magnificent modern building nestled on top of Helshoogte pass complete with helicopter pad and breathtaking views from the tasting room. The huge fireplace, big comfy leather chairs and swanky interior makes for a great winter or summer spot. This is my “fancy” visit – they make really good whites with grapes taken from different regions, the folks are friendly and there’s always a buzz. It has made a splash in SA winemaking in a relatively short time, with good reason!

Click here to see a gallery of our trips

MURATIE

The legendary Melck family are pioneers in SA winemaking – Tannie Annetjie even helped create Oom Samie se winkel, and she still makes the jam preserves you can buy in the tasting room. This Stellenbosch estate is an institution, it’s been around for over 330 years and I don’t think they’ve renovated since then. Cobwebs, ancient wagon wheels, historic paintings of owner mistresses in the 1800′s with the accompanying saucy legends, encapsulated in the iconic Ansela van de Caab flagship red and well documented by the informed tasting staff. This is my “real” visit – an estate that celebrates it’s heritage. The ports are great too!

MIDDELVLEI

This third generation estate in the heart of Stellenbosch has been a favourite for a while. Owner Ben Momberg, ably assisted by canine companions Pinotage and Tinta, takes us through his cellar for an informative winetasting lesson and inappropriate amounts of wine tasting from different containers and wooden barrels. By the end of it, we are more than ready for lunch, which is a farmstyle braai in summer and a great snack platter by the fireplace in winter. This is the business!

Interested? I know I am! Click here to book the wine tour!