I can safely say no trip to Cape Town is complete without a visit to the amazing wine country that is just outside the city. Stellenbosch, Franschhoek, and Constantia are just a few areas near the city boasting gorgeous vineyards that are worth a visit. During our adventures in South Africa, we opted to stay in Franschhoek, and it was a magical experience and a great introduction to the wine country. My only regret was not staying longer – I truly think you could spend a whole week in this area of the Western Cape. It was the great next stop after our safari adventure, and the perfect way to spend some time while on a vacation in South Africa.
Hotel — Protea by Marriott Franschhoek
This Marriott hotel in Franschhoek was fantastic — a stunning property with a gorgeous courtyard pool and views of the mountains, and it was super close to some cute cafes and the wine tram departure station, so we didn’t need to arrange transport to get there, we could just walk to start our vineyard adventures. The staff were all very friendly and the rooms were large and comfortable. Overall it was a great short stay, I’d definitely love to go back and stay longer.
The Franschhoek Wine Tram
Warning — it will be difficult to choose which Franschhoek Wine tram line you’ll want to take, since there are so many options with so many amazing vineyards on each! We opted for the Blue Line, which took us to 4 amazing wineries. The tram is a hop-on, hop-off system, which passes by each vineyard about once per hour. You can opt to jump to a new place every hour, or start early and relax at your leisure for a few hours at any given vineyard on the line. I’d say one hour is just ever so slightly rushed, which is why a lot of people start their wine train adventures early — at like 10am! This gives you more time if you want to enjoy staying at any given winery for longer.
My top tip would be to book your tram line and departure time early – they were flexible when we needed to change, but it could very easily get booked up and you’d be out of luck if you wait until day of to buy tickets.
The Blue Line Wineries in Franschhoek
La Bri
Notable for being one of the oldest Huguenot (French Protestant) wine farms in South Africa, La Bri was first established in 1688. Its a beautiful boutique winery with some amazing views, and delicious wines. Here we opted for tastings of four wines, and our host was very friendly and knowledgeable about all the wines she poured for us. It was a beautiful stop to kick off the adventure.
Holden Manz
The second stop on our day of adventure was Holden Manz, and it was just as beautiful as La Bri! Here, in addition to another four-pour tasting, we also opted to get some food. The oxtail croquettes were delicious, and we had a lovely lounging space to relax and enjoy our wine during our hour stop here. It looked like a stunning venue to host a special event, they had a great space if you were planning a wedding or other celebration.
Mont Rochelle
Owned by Richard Branson, the Mont Rochelle winery was the third stop on our day. By this time we were getting quite hungry, and lucky for us, there was a menu of delicious options for food to accompany our wine. A lovely charcuterie board and some “taquitos” were the perfect pairing with our third round of wine tastings to enjoy at a beautiful shaded table at the vineyard. Our host here was also very nice and gave us some great background on the wine offerings.
Klein Goederust
And the last, and favorite stop on the trip was Klein Goederust, a winery noted for being the only fully black-owned winery in Franschhoek. The owner grew up in a family of farm laborers who worked on the wineries under apartheid, saving up for 15 years to purchase the estate. It’s an incredible and inspiring story, and the wine here is also fantastic. While all the wineries were amazing, this one did feel like we saved the best for last.
Noble Hill
Since I was driving I didn’t try any of the wines here, but still enjoyed our stop at Noble Hill, another famous winery in this region of South Africa. It has gorgeous grounds, and very cool decor, I felt particularly inspired by the wall of cactus pots, pictured below. We started our second wine country day here, stopping for an iced tea before venturing to our second stop, Babylonstoren.
Babylonstoren
This place was amazing, and was completely unplanned when we originally sketched out our South Africa itinerary. It was a recommendation from a couple who were on our safari tour, and I am so glad we had some time to pencil this in. Babylonstoren is a huge farm boasting all sorts of amazing products you can enjoy on site, including olive oils (try the tastings!) fruit and vegetable gardens, a restaurant, hobby farm animals, and more.
We booked a table here for lunch, and it was a delicious experience in stunning surroundings. It brought a whole new meaning to the phrase “farm-to-table” since we literally were right in the middle of the farm where so many of the ingredients were sourced from.
Cafes in Franschhoek
Mother Dough
Before you embark on your wine adventures, consider stopping at Mother Dough for a delicious coffee and pastry to start your day. They had a great selection of both savory and sweet options and a lovely patio to sit out and relax while waking up for the day.
Terbodore Café
Another great cafe, we stopped here to get a quick coffee and a wrap sandwich before our rushed start to our wine tram adventures. The wrap was delicious as was the coffee, It’s very close to the Protea Marriott hotel in Franschhoek, so I’d highly recommend a stop before going out on your wine day.
Nice photos, which remind me of my visit to Franschhoek during my South African roadtrip.
[…] in every single way. Not only did we have an amazing time on our safari stay as well as our adventures in the wine country, the time spent exploring the city itself was also magical. Cape Town is a stunningly beautiful […]