Program
DAY 1: ARRIVAL TOWN CAPE TOWN – SOUTH AFRICA
Today you will take a morning flight to Cape Town, South Africa where you will arrive in the early evening. Upon arrival, you will be met in the arrivals hall with a nameplate and given a private transfer from the airport to your hotel. After check-in at your hotel, you will be expected in one of the most beautiful rooftop bars in the city with a view of Table Mountain. After this you are expected for dinner in a wine restaurant.
Overnight.
DAY 2: CAPE TOWN – TULBAGH (B, L)
After breakfast, today you will be off the beaten track instead of the classic routes. Your day begins with a trip to Swartland to discover an olive and wine farm. First you taste their olive oil. Afterwards, you will visit the vineyard (the closest plot) with the winemaker and talk about winemaking techniques specific to the region. Visit the wine cellar and learn about the winemaking methods specific to the estate, followed by a wine tasting. Both tastings, both olive oil and wine tasting, are complemented with details on planting, bottling, including the olive harvest, the different grape varieties and more.
Lunch will then be served in a local restaurant serving traditional South African dishes. After lunch visit a small, actually micro winery. Here you discuss with the winemaker how he selects the plots from where he buys the grapes he uses to make his wines. Indeed, he does not own his own estate, he buys from other winemakers. Another way to make wine here. In the late afternoon you will leave for Tulbagh.
Overnight.
DAY 3: TULBAGH – WORCESTER (B, L)
After breakfast, leave early in the morning to visit the next winery in the Slanghoek Valley. Here you will meet two generations of winemakers who explain the evolution of their estate to you, the transition from bulk wine production to bottling and further to the takeover of the son, the development of a special vintage unlike the previous generation. Afterwards, a wine tasting will be offered with three of their special wines.
Lunch on the estate with the winemaker. After lunch, head to the second winery of the day, one of the largest wine cellars in the region. This winery is not open to the public, but you will have the privilege of discovering it.
At the end of the afternoon you will leave for Worcester.
Overnight.
DAY 4: WORCESTER – ROBERTSON (B, L)
After breakfast, leave early in the morning to visit the first winery of the day near the town of Robertson. Here you have a meeting with the winemaker. The characteristic of this estate is that it is divided into a plot, planted with different grape varieties. The winemaker then gives you a word explaining his winemaking approach. This is followed by a visit from the winery and a wine tasting.
After the tasting, for lunch, a traditional braai (South African barbecue) will be prepared for you. You enjoy lunch together with the winemaker.
Overnight.
DAY 5: ROBERTSON – GREYTON (B, L)
After breakfast, depart for Greyton in the early morning. Here you visit a winery together with the owner himself. Born in the United States, she fell under the spell of the region and built her winery and estate from scratch to produce wines of a rare elegance. She tells you about her unusual career and the characteristics of her country. After a word of explanation, you will participate in a wine tasting and discover its beautiful wines.
You will then be offered lunch in Greyton at a traditional South African restaurant.
Rest of the afternoon at leisure.
Overnight.
DAY 6: GREYTON – HERMANUS (B, L)
After breakfast you leave for Hermanus in the early morning. Here you will visit a special winery and the winemaker will explain the characteristics of his vineyard (which is not next to the cellar) and its details. Indeed, the winery of this winery is located almost by the sea, where you will taste a whole range of wines in white, rosé and red.
After lunch you will discover everything about the abalone. The local abalone (Haliotis midae) is an endemic sea snail on the Cape’s whale coast and is a traditional delicacy, especially in Asia. This coast is the “heart” of the abalone habitat. Learn about the South African abalone before putting on boots for the tour. Here you will discover the aquaculture industry in one of South Africa’s oldest and largest abalone farms, Abagold, located in the new port of Hermanus. Here you will discover how these sea snails are cared for during the first 8 months of their life and much more interesting. You end this visit with an abalone tray to discover the gastronomic aspect of the abalone!
Overnight.
DAY 7: HERMANUS – STELLENBOSCH (B, L)
After breakfast departure to Franschhoek in the early morning. Here you will visit one of the best wineries of this wine region. Specialist in the traditional Champagne method in South Africa (called the Cap Classique method), the winemakers will explain the pros and cons of growing Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier (the 3 grape varieties allowed in the Champagne label area ). Their small estate offers you a very intimate and unique visit. Then you will participate in a wine tasting with wines from the estate and a “real” champagne for comparison.
After lunch in Franschhoek you will leave in the early afternoon towards Paarl to visit a winery that makes its wines biodynamic. You learn the conditions of such viticulture, how they apply it here, what the influences are on the vineyard and the biotope in general. You will be accompanied by the owner and an experienced oenologist who will explain the oenological details and the commercial aspects of the estate. After this you will be offered a wine tasting with two white wines, a rosé, two red wines and a last surprising wine.
Overnight.
DAY 8: STELLENBOSCH (B, L)
After breakfast, you will leave in the early morning for a winery located at an altitude of 450 m. So it benefits from a microclimate. Ronel, the estate oenologist, will provide you with information about his approach to winemaking and his philosophy for making his wines.
After this, you will leave the larger, more developed vineyards of South Africa to discover a small and hidden winery in the mountains. Lunch is offered here in the form of a picnic.
The afternoon is devoted to discovering the city of Stellenbosch.
Overnight.
DAY 9: STELLENBOSCH – NORTH ANGLE – CAPE TOWN (B, L)
After breakfast you leave for Constantia in the early morning. Visit of Klein and / or Hoge Constantia.
Lunch at a beautiful winery. In the early afternoon you will travel and you will take a walk on the beach of Noordhoek.
Overnight.
DAY 10: CAPE TOWN – CAPE POINT NATURE RESERVE – TAFELBERG – CAPE TOWN (B)
After breakfast, you will participate in two excursions, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. The first excursion will lead you around the Cape of Good Hope peninsula. Here see its steep coastline, coastal villages, the beautiful nature reserve, Cape Point, the Penguin colony (optional visit), the villages of Muizenberg and Constantia.
Looking down at the iconic Table Mountain is one thing, but it’s quite another to be on top of the mountain, offering such a beautiful view of Cape Town, Robben Island, the peninsula and beyond. Indeed, with the second excursion you take the cable car to the top of Table Mountain which is already a trip in itself, as you will be safely and carefully transported from the lower cable station to the top of the mountain and vice versa. The journey takes just over 5 minutes and the high-tech rotating cable car gives you a great view of the city.
Overnight.
DAY 11: CAPE TOWN – CAPE TOWN AIRPORT (B)
After breakfast, and depending on your flight times, you will get a transfer to the airport for your flight back home… or an extension of your trip to one of the other beautiful provinces of South Africa or for a few days on safari. Ask us about this possibility.
DAY 12: ARRIVAL AT HOME
After a long flight arrives today and you can unpack the suitcases full of memories of those delicious wines and beautiful South Africa.
