Plaisir de Merle.Credit: Alamy
Find rambling old farmhouses, history and great wine in the Cape region, writes Rachel Olding.
Long lazy lunches, huge servings of artisan chocolate and wine, lavish estates and emerging wealth are what this booming area is all about - just ask the owner of the Lamborghini left wrapped around a tree between two wineries one recent Sunday afternoon.
Despite a 350-year history as a supply station for Dutch East India Company explorers, the hills and stunning estates of the Western Cape are classified as a "new world" wine region.
Solms Estate.
When trade sanctions were lifted in the 1980s, the international floodgates opened and centuries-old vineyards with their gable-roof Cape Dutch farmhouses were inundated with new money and a growing interest from wealthy Western Cape professionals seeking weekenders.
You'll need to hire a car (do leave the Lamborghini in Cape Town) or a tour guide to explore this area well, and there's no textbook way to do it. Most people mosey about between the quaint towns of Stellenbosch, Franschhoek and Paarl (each about 30 kilometres apart) and simply stop at places that take their fancy.
It's worth leaving enough time to explore the historic estates and towns at leisure rather than rushing to one or two tastings.
Solms estate grapes.
And you can't leave without trying the region's key grape variety - the striking red pinotage with its gamey, earthy taste.
An itinerary that includes some or all of the following eight key places will satisfy your senses.
PLAISIR DE MERLE
The Graff Delaire estate.Credit: Alamy
SIMONDIUM
One of the grandest and prettiest estates, this 320-year old winery is in the foothills of the dramatic Simonsberg Mountains. Its vineyards seem to be dappled in autumn sunlight all year and the estate's white Cape Dutch buildings are in top shape.
Many wineries have free tastings but here you pay the equivalent of about $4 for a tour of the Plaisir de Merle range which is housed in a 1823-built barn, decked out with comfy couches.
R45 Simondium; see plaisirdemerle.co.za.
DELAIRE GRAFF ESTATE
STELLENBOSCH
Stellenbosch wineries have refined the art of the long lunch. Two or three sittings are unheard of at the crisp, sunny restaurant at diamond mogul Laurence Graff's estate. Bentleys and BMWs fill the carpark before 11am and well-heeled visitors don't budge from the restaurant until evening.
Outstanding wines such as a top-selling cabernet franc rosé start at R50 ($5). Delaire Graff is one of the area's newer wineries, perched on a hill with stunning views of a valley that stretches to Pollsmoor prison on the horizon, the jail where African leader Nelson Mandela was held.
R310, Helshoogte Pass, Stellenbosch; delaire.co.za.
VERGELEGEN
SOMERSET WEST
The area was settled by the Dutch in 1700 but grape-growing was eventually phased out, only to be re-introduced by its Anglo-American owners in the late 1980s.
Within 10 years, the wines from this stunning estate were earning five stars in John Platter's annual Guide to South African Wines. Vergelegen is famous for its reds, grown in an octagon-shaped winery. Equally famous are the estate's magnificent gardens, featuring camphor laurels planted in 1705, architecture and centuries-old farmhouses.
Lourensford Road, Somerset West; vergelegen.co.za.
HUGUENOT FINE CHOCOLATES
FRANSCHHOEK
Ever since this part of the valley was settled by French Huguenot refugees in 1688, Franschhoek has considered itself South Africa's little Paris. The chocolates and cheese are the real deal.
Huguenot Fine Chocolates makes delectable truffles using imported Belgian ingredients.
Other producers here include African Chocolate Dreams (Huguenot Square, Franschhoek) which combines traditional Belgian chocolate with local ingredients such as rooibos tea.
Buy a handful and take a stroll, checking out Huguenot Street's other providores and cafes.
62 Huguenot Road, Franschhoek; huguenotchocolates.com.
THE TASTING ROOM
FRANSCHHOEK
Chef Margot Janse's lavish degustations have earned this restaurant a place in the San Pellegrino World's 50 Best Restaurants list. Bolts of neon colour are splashed across the minimalist room and dinner is almost a theatrical performance. Traditional African ingredients such as wildebeest, Karroo lamb, cornbread and pap (ground maize meal) are given a super-modern treatment with cutting-edge techniques and presentation.
Wash it all down with a good bottle of local pinotage.
Le Quartier Francais, corner of Berg and Wilhelmina streets, Franschhoek; lqf.co.za.
THELEMA
STELLENBOSCH
Former Durban accountant Gyles Webb bought an old fruit farm (the region has pear, apple and strawberry farms as well as an emerging olive oil industry) and transformed it.
Thelema is considered one of the world's top 100 wineries, according to Wine & Spirits Magazine. North-facing wineries in the western Cape are good for reds, south facing for whites. Thelema has both. The cabernet sauvignon/merlot blends and chardonnay are consistent prize winners and, like most of the wines in this region, the prices will seem incredible to Australian visitors. A good bottle starts at $6.
Helshoogte Pass (R310), Stellenbosch, thelema.co.za.
CONSTANTIA VALLEY
CAPE TOWN
Home to South Africa's oldest vines, the area's properties range from the historic Groot Constantia to the glam Steenberg. The valley is on the Cape Peninsula, which juts out into the Atlantic ocean, bringing cooler temperatures that are perfect for sauvignon blanc.
There are also several renowned restaurants in the valley. Don't forget to stop at Klein Constantia to taste the exquisite dessert wine, Vin de Constance.
See constantiavalley.com.
SOLMS DELTA
GROOT DRAKENSTEIN
A little winery with a big history, the Solms' owners recently traced the slaves who had worked on the property since the 1690s, found their families and made them beneficiaries of the estate. The history forms part of a small museum onsite. Many staff are Cape Malay descendants of slaves and there's a Malay influence in the restaurant's menu. The wines are cheeky and names playful: a "Vastrap" chenin blanc/semillon is named after a genre of music that unites Khoesan trance-dance with Dutch folk music.
Delta Road, off the R45, Groot Drakenstein; solms-delta.co.za.
The writer travelled courtesy of South Africa Tourism.
TRIP NOTES
GETTING THERE
Qantas has a fare to Cape Town for about $2010 low-season return from Sydney, including tax. Fly to Johannesburg (13hr) and then to Cape Town (2hr 10min). Melbourne passengers pay about $30 more and fly Qantas to Sydney to connect. See qantas.com.au.
GETTING AROUND
Hire a car in Cape Town or take a tour. All major car rental companies have offices at the airport and the countryside is great for self-drive holidays. For tour operators, see wineroute.co.za; franschhoek.org.za; and winelands.co.za.
STAYING THERE
Many wineries have excellent accommodation. Kleine Zalze and Delaire Graff have beautiful lodges. Franschhoek has excellent hotels including La Residence, a favourite of Elton John's, and the hip Delicious Hotel. Being a university town, Stellenbosch is better for less expensive accommodation.
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