SOUTH AFRICA - STELLENBOSCH: A TASTE OF THE WINE ROUTES
by Eldrid Retief



It is one of those gorgeous South African spring days, a bit like Goldilock’s porridge, not too hot, not too cold, just right.

I’m looking out over endless vineyards, swirling, smelling and tasting a Jordan Winery Chardonnay, a recent winner at a big wine festival, chatting about the gaslight-era days with my old schoolfriend, Ted Jordan, and his wife Sheelagh. From the Jordan hillside vineyards you can see Table Mountain, False Bay on the coast and Stellenbosch.

The Jordan’s winery is one of the 110 wineries along the Stellenbosch Wine Routes, one of the biggest tourist attractions in the Western Cape.

The hedonistic Edward VII, who revelled in South African wines, especially when he was Prince of Wales, and Napoleon, who quaffed it to console himself in exile, knew you can never get too much of a good thing, and the wine in Stellenbosch in the beautiful Cape winelands is a very good thing indeed. Wine is a constant presence when you’re holidaying here.

The wineries of the Stellenbosch Wine Route, only 30 minutes from Cape Town, are situated along the four main roads leading to Stellenbosch, most of them offering wine tasting, cellar tours as well as lunches in their shaded gardens or restaurants. You can even book a picnic basket, do the winelands on horseback, or book a wine tour and let someone else do the driving.

Before you start this journey of discovery of fine wines and gastronomy, arm yourself with a guidebook to Stellenbosch and its Wine Routes (freely available in the region). But put aside a few days of your stay in South Africa. This is not a journey you want to rush. The Wine Route is divided into five sub-routes. Maps will guide you on your tasting tour. The entrance to each cellar is clearly signposted with the Wine Route logo.

Each winery is distinct. On the one hand there are those like the Jordan’s where the focus is entirely on wine. The farm they bought in Stellenbosch in 1982 has a history going back over 300 years. Their son Gary and his wife Kathy Jordan (he's a geologist, she an economist) have been making world-class wines there since 1993.

Then there is Spier, probably the most unique winelands development in the world. Only a ten-minute drive from Stellenbosch, twenty minutes from Cape Town International Airport and thirty minutes from Cape Town, Spier is far more than a conventional wine farm.

It is a diverse cultural village with five restaurants (including sophisticated African cuisine at Moyo and an authentic Cape Malay buffet at the Jonkershuis) and expansive, indigenous gardens, an 18-hole golf course, all-weather tennis courts and an equestrian centre. The Estate is home to important environmental and educational initiatives such as the cheetah and raptor conservation projects, and includes a 155-room hotel, conference venue, spa and retail outlets.

Embraced by majestic mountains, Stellenbosch, the leafy capital of the winelands, is the country’s oldest town (Cape Town is of course a city). Noted in the record books back in 1655, it is now an elegant Dutch-gabled university town punctuated with giant oak trees. The Eerste River meanders tranquilly through it.

The “Town of Oaks” is best seen on foot. My guide Siertske van Wyk vividly captures the essence of this historic town, and the pride in her every utterance is reflected in the beautifully preserved Cape Dutch, Victorian and Georgian architecture along Dorp Street. Every street we tread breathes an old world charm.

One of the many homes and museums we explore is the Stellenbosch Village Museum, a group of four lovingly restored and furnished period houses of the 18th and 19th centuries reflecting different periods in Stellenbosch architecture, gardens and dress. Here Seronie Swarts shows me how the early settlers used wormwood for their tummy problems, camilla for restlessness, bayleaves for cuts, rosemary as tea or as a hair rinse.

There are myriad antique and bric-a-brac shops to browse in and a host of arts and crafts galleries, pottery studios and innovative jewellery design studios, but thank goodness the usual rapacious appetite for the tourist dollar has not turned this charming town into a mushrooming jumble of glitzy shopping centres, fast-food joints, and souvenir T-shirt warehouses. Stellenbosch has retained its historic dignity although it has a bustling sidewalk café scene in the French tradition, a vibrant nightlife, and excellent restaurants – at one of which I pass up the chance to have flamed grilled warthog fillet served with a plum sauce or the pan-friend crocodile with seed mustard sauce.

It will be remiss of you if you do not visit Oom Samie se Winkel, a traditional trading shop reminiscent of bygone days and redolent with the aroma of tobacco and dried fish (bokkoms), spices and leather. It includes a Victorian wine shop, a restaurant, and a charming tea garden.


SCRIBBLES ETCETERAS

Stellenbosch offers an eclectic choice of superb accommodation, from luxurious small hotels to stylish country auberges, charming guesthouses, comfortable self-catering cottages and intimate B&Bs.



In Stellenbosch one of South Africa’s most cherished hotels and working wine estates, Lanzerac Manor, has blossomed into an internationally renowned destination with 48 luxuriously appointed suites and deluxe rooms. Classical décor perfectly complements the authentic Cape Dutch architecture with each room opening onto its own private patio offering superb views over the manicured gardens, vineyards and mountains. The Lanzerac is a classic example of true Cape tradition and superb hospitality that provides the elegance and style so admired by its local and international guests. The visitor’s book is impressive and reads like a Who’s Who of celebrities, politicians, foreign dignitaries, authors, poets and stars of stage and screen.

For more information, visit Lanzerac Manor’s website at www.lanzerac.co.za or email info@lanzerac.coza.

Photo courtesy Jordan Wines, Stellenbosch
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