Stellenbosch Wine Route

The Stellenbosch wine region is one of the world's great wine areas, with more than 150 estates within easy reach of the town. The wines are predominantly reds — Pinotage, Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, and Merlot — though the white wines from the cooler Jonkershoek and Simonsberg valleys are also excellent.

Most estates offer tastings by appointment or walk-in, typically for a small fee. Delheim and Tokara are accessible and reliable for visitors with no advance booking. Rust en Vrede is considered one of South Africa's great red wine producers and is worth seeking out for serious wine drinkers. Warwick Estate is popular for its tours and its accessible Bordeaux-style blends. The Stellenbosch Wine Route office in the town centre publishes a map of estates and can advise on what is open and suitable for your interests.

things to do sight
A story
South Africa's wine industry was saved from phylloxera in the 1880s the same way the French industry was — by grafting vines onto American rootstock. But unlike France, which replanted with the same varieties, the Cape winemakers had access to a wider range and planted more experimentally. Pinotage, the variety South Africa calls its own, is a cross between Pinot Noir and Cinsault developed at Stellenbosch University in 1925.