Our Stories

You may belong to the group who bounded into the New Year, resolving to enjoy a Dry January.

Or you may belong to a second group of South Africans, summoned to a family meeting by Uncle Cyril and unilaterally informed that you too would be practicing Dry January.

If you're longing for an adult beverage and an excuse to get out of the house, our wineries have responded with some delicious mocktails and mocktail and food pairings.

Durbanville’s wine route has a charm of its own; offering warm hospitality, a restaurant on most farms, a child-friendly atmosphere, a wide selection of wines and personal experiences, that keeps locals and visitors coming back again and again.

Durbanville local and the woman behind popular Facebook page 'What's On in Durbanville' takes us on a tour of the valley.

Vineyards are relatively new to the area by comparison to most others, but the region returned to the headlines since wineries officially established themselves under the banner of the Agulhas Wine Triangle last year. As for wineries, they’re spread far apart in this intriguing territory.

Over holidays the stretch of the R43 between its intersection with the N2 and the coast gets particularly busy as families head out to the favourites of Hermanus, Franskraal, De Kelders and Pearly Beach.

At these times, the R43 becomes its own de facto wine route - not by traditional evaluations of terroir or climate, but because of the many of these regions the road traverses. In this example, there are also several world-class wine experiences along the way too.

This then becomes the invitation not only to stock up for the coming weeks of relaxation, but to replenish the home cellar by filling the Ventertjie on the return trip.

One can hardly mention Darling without mentioning Evita Bezuidenhout, or Tannie Evita as she is affectionately known by South Africans. The former stateswoman owns the local railway station and has a whole boulevard in the quaint town named after her.

We sat down with a glass of her favourite wine, Groote Post Old Man's Red Blend, as she shared her recipe for that quintessentially Afrikaans confectionary, koeksisters, with us. Cheers skattie!

Of South Africa’s 23 wine and brandy routes, the Darling Wine Route is one of South Africa’s most charming enclaves. Besides its exquisite West Coast location and famed music festival, Darling draws oenophiles to the route, due to a bevy of reasons. We talk to Charles Withington, proprietor of Withington Wines and the Darling Wine Shop, about what not to miss when visiting this quaint little town.

In the Middle Ages wax seals were used to authenticate documents. South Africa’s own sustainability wine seal does a similar job. The seal guarantees that the information on the bottle label about the variety, vintage and origin of the wine is accurate and that the wine has been grown and made in an environmentally friendly way. To date, South Africa is the only country in the world with such an all-encompassing guarantee.

Stanford has always been a popular break-away destination thanks to a combination of factors. It’s a mix of well-preserved historical buildings, lush gardens, muted CBD, diversity of activities on surrounding farms and distance from the city all conspire to make it so. This month we visit the relatively young Stanford Wine Route and explore what its members have to offer visitors on the look for a country retreat.

If you love being immersed in nature, but still enjoy those small luxuries (like fresh linen and your own loo), glamping is the perfect solution. Don’t worry about pitching tents, setting up a mobile kitchen or dragging along your toolbox with outdoor gadgets – it’s been taken care of.

You can just rock up, start the braai, pour a glass of wine and relax at any of these glamorous camping spots in South Africa’s winelands.

If you come to South Africa, you should certainly celebrate your visit with a glass of Pinotage, our very own wine, “born” in South Africa over 80 years ago.

Pinotage was developed by Abraham Perold, the first Professor of Viticulture at Stellenbosch University.

Let us help you pick a wine estate or event to celebrate Pinotage Day at on Saturday, 10 October 2020!

The world celebrates Cabernet Sauvignon Day on September 3. Clifford Roberts highlights Worcester as an area to explore an alternative expression of the variety.

The Worcester wine region has become a champion of Chenin Blanc. So much so that it isn’t popularly associated with Cabernet Sauvignon as much as it once was. To disregard it completely however, is to make a serious mistake.

As if from nowhere, the small producer Tesselaarsdal Wines appeared and quickly became a darling of the wine world. Owner Berene Sauls tells Clifford Roberts how it happened and how she’s dealing with the travails of 2020.