Category: Winelands

South Africa becomes more and more famous around the world for its delicious wines and Going on a Wine Tasting Tour is a must. Numerous festivals in the country reward the best ones and many passionate wine-growers work every day to produce fine wines. The region around Cape Town is well-known for its Winelands which produce the major proportion of wines in the country. Let's discover 4 Winelands must-sees around Cape Town. Constantia: the oldest vineyards This current luxurious suburb of Cape Town hosted the first vineyards in the region. It is Simon Van Der Stel, from the Dutch East India Company, who established the first wine estate there. He named it "Groot Constantia" that can be translated by "Great Constantia", in homage to his wife Constance. During the 17th Century, the district was well-known for its dessert white wines that could be found on European tables like in France. Constantia still produces the best white wine in the country, but also has quality red wine like Shiraz or Merlot. Finally, since 2003, the Groot Constantia vineyard started again the production of dessert white wines dropped during the 1880's. Stellenbosch: the heart and soul of the South African viticulture Stellenbosch is the heart and soul of the viticulture in South Africa, especially around Cape Town, producing 15% of the global production of the country. The city was created in 1679, and is named after its founder, Simon Van Der Stel too. At the beginning, Stellenbosch was an ideal area for agriculture thanks to its rich soil irrigated by the Eerste River. The vine-growing only took place several years later, after the arrival of the Huguenots at the end of the 17th Century. Nowadays, the district hosts the largest wine estates around Cape Town. The area is celebrated for its fine

A Winelands tour is one of the main attractions in Cape Town! With mountains at the background, the vineyards of the region count among the most beautiful in the world and have nothing to be ashamed of in comparison to the French or Californian ones. Whatever the season, it is always a pleasure to taste the South African wines to appreciate their wealth and diversity. Before the tasting, let's take a moment to go back to the origins of the Winelands in Cape Town. A Dutch and French legacy It is in 1652 that Jan Van Riebeek, member of the Dutch East India Company arrived in the city now known as Cape Town. His purpose was to forify a sort of way-station for the boats sailing from the Dutch Republic to Batavia (Jakarta today). This area was also used as a supply base for the ships, so the Company needed to cultivate cereals, vegetables and fruits. For that, the Dutch explored the inlands and started farms there. At the end of the 17th Century, after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, many French people who had taken refuge in Holland volunteered to try their luck in the current South Africa. They came with their culture and knowledge but also some vine stocks and their savoir-faire acquired in France. They mainly lived in Franschhoek but helped for the development of the wine-growning region in its entirety. It is only at the end of the 20th Century that the South African wine became very successful all around the world, in other words, after the Apartheid and the end of production quotas. In a bit more than 20 years, it found its place on the international stage and never stop improving and developing itself thanks to young and passionate winegrowers. The Pinotage: