go on a wineflies tour

I was invited to experience a Winefllies tour to Stellenbosch recently and I’m so glad I went along. We are mid harvest, so being on a wine farm is awesome right now. You get to see the grapes being harvested, picked, and brought into the cellar for the first pressing. It’s basically the most exciting time of year in wine production and when all the action happens.

Of course visiting wine farms to taste wine and eat delicious food in a beautiful setting is a good idea any time of the year and Winelflies offers daily scheduled tours departing from Cape Town. As much as this is great for tourists visiting the city and looking for a small and well-curated winelands experience, it’s also fab for locals who feel like a day out without the bother of driving. Their prices are really reasonable, all-inclusive and the tours come with a knowledgeable guide. They can make up bespoke trips and private tours If you want to do specific farms and be on your own.

On our tour we visited 5 wines farms, did two cellar tours, had a cheese and wine pairing, a chocolate and wine pairing and ate a traditional South African braai for lunch (BBQ).

The first wine estate was Villiera and seeing the bubbly making side of things was extra special. They make delicious MCC’s (I LOVE the Munro Brut) so it was the perfect spot to kick off our day at. We also met both the Grier brothers which was pretty awesome.

Next up was a stop at Remhoogte Estate where zebra roam in the distance. Here we experienced an Anura cheese pairing and only for Wineflies tours. Beautiful views to gaze at, a cute dog for cuddles and even a beer tasting went town. Wineflies like to take you slightly off the beaten track offering a more in-depth experience.

Lunch was at Middelvlei and a traditional South African braai. Braai broodjies (toasted sandwiches on the fire) along with grilled local meats and salads. Simple and delicious food. The cellar here was smaller than Villiera so was interesting to see the grapes being processed in a much more hands on way.

It was then onto Lovane a boutique wine farm (literally garagiste) where we tasted their superb wines paired with fair-trade CocoaFair chocolates. Delicious!

Our final stop was to a farm I had never been too called Annandale and this was a highlight for me. The place is totally rustic and frozen in time. Old dusty cobwebbed nooks and crannies everywhere with loads of history and interesting anecdotes. The farm dog and chicken will make themselves right at home in the tasting room with you. They have recently opened a little deli, which was a delight and a spot I plan to stop at again in the future. It’s so close to the R44 turn off so easy to access. They sell an amazing range of free-range meat and other farm products.

This was a full and fun-filled day out that I can highly recommended. My feet and ankles were stained with red wine and my head was buzzing from the 30 odd wines I tasted. My camera battery died and my spare was flat #epicfail – so I had to make do with my Iphone and a few funky edits in phone. This was actually quite fun to do too, so maybe something I need to do more of. 

 

 

 

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