Cape Winelands on Safari in South Africa

SOUTH AFRICAN SAFARIS AND THE CAPE WINELANDS

The Cape Winelands lay just outside of Cape Town; with green rolling hills dotted with old vineyards and grand old manor houses. The Cape Winelands are famous for their international and award winning wines produced in the region – making it one of the more popular highlights in South Africa.

The Winelands are divided into 6 regions; Constantia, Stellenbosch, Franschhoek, Paarl, Robertson and Wellington. Stellenbosch is the best known area. Commonly referred to as the ‘heart of the Winelands’ the area boasts some of the oldest and the finest wines of the region... The best part about the Winelands is that the majority of the vineyards (if not all) offer wine tasting tours.

Frans Marala (Simonstig wine farm), Spartz Sterling (Delheim wine farm) and Neil Joubert (Spier wine farm) founded the 1st official wine route in 1971. Before that, the French Huguenots settled in the Franschhoek area (300 years ago) and founded over 30 wine farms. However, in 1659 the best wines were recorded coming from the Constantia Winelands area! On the 2nd February 1659 the first wine was produced by Jan van Riebeeck – who was the founder of the Cape.

All of the ‘Cape wines and Winelands’ are governed by the 1973 legislation act of the WO (‘Wine of Origins’) program which controls how the wine regions in South Africa are defined as well as what can appear on the wine labels. The Winelands may be filled with old, precious wines and farms, but the area is also of historic significance boasting some of the oldest buildings in the Cape. The stereotypical buildings found in the Winelands area are of ‘Cape Dutch’ architecture – with thatch roofs, cobbled stone paths and magnificent white entrances...

The Cape Winelands are sometimes referred to as the “Boland” which is an Afrikaans word that means ‘upper land’ .The Cape Winelands are located just outside of Cape Town (on higher ground) in the Western Cape and is a firm favourite holiday destination for safari travellers! The best times to visit the Winelands are in the summer months that correspond with Cape Town – late November to early March. Visiting the area in summer allows you to experience the beauty of this region at your leisure!

Have a look at our South African safaris that include the Cape Winelands below. There are also other South African attractions beneath that you might want to visit on your South African Safari.