Stellenboch and the Wine Routes

Our day began with a lovely breakfast at our guest house--The Yellow House. We found our way to the craft market and felt like we made our best bargains. South African craft sellers pride themselves on bartering much like those I have delt with in South America, Mexico, and even the USA. Then we were off to taste some of the best wines of the world. At Lindsay's insistence, Don and I had mapped our our wine route for the day. Stellenboch wine routes are the oldest in South Africa and one of the biggest tourist attractions in the Western Cape. With more that 150 wineries along five distinctly different routes, mapping the stops for the day was not an easy task. Targeting the smaller boutiques that specialized in reds narrowed the view.

Wine Stop #1: Beyerskloof--A charming hands-on handcrafted-type operation with a modest cellar and warm, welcoming tasting room. We found the new tasting room under construction, but enjoyed tasting some of the Cape's finest reds.

Wine Stop #2: Devon Hill--exquisite wines and a splendid view. www.devonhill.co.za

Wine Stop #3: Bellevue Estate--situated in Bottelary Hills, recognized for the production of high quality red wines. This winery boasts the world's first commercial Pinotage planted in 1953.

Wine Stop #4: Fort Simon Estate--unusual stone architecture of both the tasting room and the cellar inspired by Nambian stone houses and medieval European castles. Purchased a nice book of the Stellehboch Winelands.

Wine Stop #5: Simonsig--where we met Debbie Burden, their award winning winemaker. Debbie was the first winemaker to autograph my book of this wine region. We also picked up a nice padded shoulder bag to assist with comfortably transporting our wine purchases back to the USA.

Wine Stop #6: Knorhoek--where we stopped for lunch shortly before their kitchen closed at 3pm. Don sampled their best red wine and Lindsay their best white wine with lunch. Of course, Sho and I made them share the wines as we ordered lunch to be shared family style. The chicken curry was excellent as well as the platter of meats and cheeses.

Wine stop #7: Kanonkop Wine Estate--one of South Africa's leading red wine Estates. Although the owner had just left, the friendly and proper friend of the family neatly autographed the book. She also placed a nice red stamp of the winery beneath.

Wine Stop #8: Muratie Estate--owned by the family of the late Ronnie Melck, one of the great characters of the South African wine industry. Cobwebs draped the bottles that lined the windows of the tasting room. Lindsay and Sho found the bartender entertaining when I asked for an book autograph, they said he teased in Africaans.

Wine Stop #9: Uitkyk--one of the most beautiful estates, pronounced 'ate cake,' was the last wine stop for the day. The name means "look out" which it does from the southwest slopes of the Simonsberg Mountain where it is situatied across the Caoe Flats to Table Mountain in the distance. Uitkyk's colorful history dates back to 1712. The manor house was designed by a talented French architect.