Drizzle and Dip A weekend stay at Casa Simelia in Wellington

A few weekends ago, we enjoyed a delightful stay at Casa Simelia in Wellington, just an easy one-hour drive from Cape Town. The scenic route passes through beautiful wheatfields and vineyards, always closer than expected.

Casa Simelia, self-catering cottage in Wellington, Western Cape, South Africa

Navigating rural farm roads led us to Simelia Wine Farm. Passing through a couple of gates, where wild boar and chickens roam freely, we ascended an old brick driveway up the mountain. At the top awaits a charming 150 m2 cottage with two bedrooms, offering sweeping views of Wellington, Paarl, and Franschhoek. On the left are views of the historic Bainskloof Pass, built by my great-great-grandfather in 1854. Wellington as a result has always had a special place in my heart.

The fully self-catering house sleeps a maximum of 4 people (2 bedrooms & 2 bathrooms) and is perfect for those preferring privacy & independence for countryside holidays, romantic getaways, luxury weekend accommodation, enjoying winelands tours, or just a break away from city life.

A spacious lounge and dining room lead onto a large veranda with the most amazing views. Hiking and walking trails have been set out on the property for you to enjoy the mountain air and views. It’s all-round an easy location to explore Wellington from.

We enjoyed a casual dinner at Osteria, in a beautiful old townhouse on Bain Street. They specialise in Portuguese food. Candles, dim lights, amazing music, and amazing smells emanated from the house. The restaurant is full of quirky décor and very friendly local staff.

There are only 6 or 7 tables and we ate burgers and fillet Prego’s (the house specialty). The dishes were delicious, full of flavour, and memorable. Pasteis de nata and churros rounded off an evening with good cheerful local wines.

Back at Simelia, the beds were super comfortable and the bathrooms luxurious with underfloor heating.

On Saturday we had breakfast, built a big fire, and prepared an oxtail meal for dinner in a very well-equipped kitchen.

Simelia is owned by Simon and Celia who are 100% hands-on and are making wines that are world class. The Merlot was awarded the best merlot in South Africa, and the wine geeks in our party did not think we were capable of producing a wine with such complexity and flavour from Merlot. The first vintage was in 2013. The 2016 release (Fluvius) consisted of only 997 bottles. It is arguably the best Merlot ever made in SA.

Wine tasting at Simelia Wine Farm, Wellington

They have a range of wines, all of them punching well above their weight. The old vine Syrah (Senectus) only had 834 bottles made for the 2016 release and is exceptional.

There is a Delucius affordable range, followed by the Simelia range, and then the big hitters above. They are all incredible wines.

We were lucky to taste two of the ranges with Simon and Celia, which was educational and entertaining. We sat on the veranda and were treated to a double rainbow making a perfect 180-degree arc, spanning the whole length of the Wellington and Paarl Valley. It lasted for ages.

Simon the wine maker at Simelia Wine Farm

Our evening consisted of the most delicious oxtail which had been simmering for five hours with loads of reduced red wine, star anise, caramelized onions, carrots, stock, and bay leaf. The recipe is from my eBook Comfort and the best oxtail I know. We served this with broccoli and creamy mash – cozy food in front of the blazing fire with the icy weather kept at bay.

It was a wonderful stay, allowing us to experience the best of the town, stay on a beautiful farm in total comfort, meet its owners, and first-hand taste some of South Africa’s finest small-batch wines.