Best views:
For panoramic vistas of Table Mountain head straight for De Grendel wine estate. The tasting room is designed to make the most of the view and they, arguably, make some of the best wines in the region. Order a cheese platter to complement your tasting and take in the last of the good weather sipping on their stoep (patio).
The restaurant at Durbanville Hills is located above the tasting room and enjoys incredible views of Cape Town and the mountain. Pop in for breakfast or lunch and include a visit to the tasting room and cellar or arrive for dinner and enjoy a glorious Cape sunset. It is by no means a coincidence that the adjacent suburb is called Panorama
Best meals:
The Durbanville winelands have an abundant choice of attractive restaurants like Poplars at D’Aria, the Eatery at Diemersdal, the Crown at Meerendal and many more. For a special occasion try the food and wine pairing at the De Grendel Restaurant, for sushi head to Bon Amis at Bloemendahl, and for just a simple platter to accompany your tasting try Signal Gun or Klein Roosboom.
Best atmosphere:
Altydegedacht is a wonderful rustic, family run, farm with loads of charm. The tasting room has no fancy decor or adornments but rather sports a few historical remnants like a copy of the original title deeds to the property granted by Simon van der Stel in 1698 . Outside families sit around at the Eat Restaurant and enjoy casual meals under the trees, for an authentic unassuming experience look no further.
Klein Roosboom has one of the most creative tasting rooms in all the winelands and is an absolute must visit. The building houses several little alcoves carved into the walls each decorated by a theme. This is the perfect venue for a party or wedding and the outside area is an equally charming place to enjoy your tasting. This is another family run farm, with a family anecdote attributed to each of their wines.
Best for families:
Meerendal farmers market is held every 2nd Saturday of the month at Meerendal wine farm and is an ideal outing for the whole family. Delicious foods and arts and crafts will keep you busy between 9am -2pm
Ntida offers two restaurants Cassia and Tables, this estate is always busy and extremely popular with local families over the weekends, so make sure to book.
Best for variety:
Hillcrest has so much to offer; great wines, craft beer, olives, a restaurant not to mention ongoing events and festivals that are held at the quarry venue, so for the whole package head to this boutique Durbanville estate.
Best wines:
Durbanville is known for its’ Sauvignon Blanc, hell they even have an annual festival called Season of Sauvignon to celebrate the start of spring. Diemersdal and De Grendel have long been producing excellent Sauvignon’ s but it was actually Bloemendal and Ntida that took top honors at South Africa’s wine Oscars, being awarded the prestigious 5* by the Platters wine guide for their Sauvignon –Semillion blends.
For those wine drinkers who love to exclaim at every given opportunity “I simply cannot drink South African Sauvignon” there is fortunately much much more to the area. Head to De Grendel for Methode Cap Classique, to Hillcrest for Merlot, D’Aria for Shiraz, Altydgedacht for Barberra, Diemersdal for Cabernet Sauvignon and Meerendal for Pinotage and the list goes on.
To find out more on the latest and greatest wine farms check out Kim’s blog: www.boutiquewinerytours.com
Photography courtesy Kim Rabe