How do you convince your fiance who can barely sit in a car for 2 hours to travel all the way to Africa?
You promise him wine. Lots of it.
One of my major selling points for our trip to South Africa was that we would spend some time in the wine region, Stellenbosch. In no way was this any kind of compromise on my part because long days in the vineyard followed by drawn out delicious meals, who wouldn’t love that! Deep in the throes of studying for his next level of WSET, this quickly piqued Matt’s interest and he started sending me links to all of the places he wanted to visit. The thing is, there are SO many lovely places we could have spent weeks here and not been able to visit them all so we really had to pick and choose.
The first thing we decided was that we were not going to rent a car for this portion of the trip. We both wanted to fully enjoy the experience and be able to indulge in all of the wonderful wine this region had to offer without worrying about who was going to get us back to our hotel safely afterwards. With Matt already having a clear idea of the places he wanted to visit, a pre-designed tour of the area wasn’t going to be a good fit for us so we hired a personal driver for two full days. If you aren’t really sure where you want to go there are a lot of great options with tour groups that will pick you up and show you to some of their favorite vineyards. We used Go Cape Tours and our driver was very punctual, friendly, and extremely knowledgeable of the area. It was a great choice for us and they also offer some group tours if that is the route you wish to take.
As for accomodations, we were absolutely in love with the hotel we decided to stay at. Since we were going to be here for Matt’s birthday, I wanted to make sure we stayed somewhere nice. I think I hit the jackpot. The property was rather small and no detail was left unattended to. The staff at Majeka House greeted us with kindness and that continued throughout our stay. They also had one of the best breakfast spreads we’ve ever tasted. Cured salmon served in mason jars makes for one happy birthday boy. Below is a pic where breakfast is served but at that point in the day I was too hangry to take photos. And yes, there WERE mimosas!
Matt waiting on the Majeka grounds for our ride to pick us up.
One of the vineyards on my must-visit list was Vergenoegd Wine Estate, not for their wine (which was excellent by the way) but for the duck parade. The ducks kept on this estate are used to keep the vines free of bugs which is great for the wine but even better for giddy visitors like myself who revert to small children as an army of ducks come waddling through in unison several times a day. My heart can’t take it!
Aside from the ducks, we also joined in on their wine blending experience. We really enjoyed ourselves and when we were finished we each brought home a bottle of the blend we created, complete with our label printed on the spot.
We had a few more stops that day, we sampled allllllll the wines, and then as our final stop on our tour we ended up at the local brandy distillery. Van Ryn has won several awards for their brandy and is a popular destination, so if this sounds like your kind of thing it is wise to book your tour in advance. What’s not wise is to schedule this as your last stop of the day. After allllll that wine, we ended up bringing home their most expensive bottle. Oops, well I guess I don’t regret that decision too much 🙂 They offer a brandy and chocolate pairing and that is what we opted for. When chocolate is an option, you choose chocolate.
Feeling nice and toasty in our insides, I was grateful I had built in time for us to take a nap at this point in the day. Our driver dropped us at our hotel so we could relax for awhile before we headed out again for dinner nearby.
I set up a reservation for us at Spek & Bone and the food was incredible! Their dishes are small plates meant for sharing. The gnocchi we ordered was my favorite. My only complaint with our service is that our courses were not spaced very well so what was intended to be a relaxing dinner felt rather rushed. A little communication with our server up front probably would have solved that issue, but alas we left with full, happy bellies. I was all about the hand crafted gin!
We finished our night at the hotel bar where we met a wonderful couple traveling from Germany. One of our favorite parts about traveling is the people we meet along the way. You never know what you might learn from someone if you just take the time to listen to their stories.
The next morning we woke up to celebrate Matt’s birthday! Another full day of vineyards, but first a spa treatment! The spa at Majeka House is first class. We left feeling completely refreshed and with the smoothest skin.
Here are a few photos from our day. We ordered a cheese board at our first stop, Haute Cabriere. This is what birthday dreams are made of.
If you’re like us and can’t resist the urge to bring home a bottle from every vineyard you visit, make sure you purchase a shipping box or two from one of the bigger vineyards. We ended up bringing two full cases of wine home with us.
Hey look, I made my way into a couple photos this day. I jokingly named this trip, “Matt goes to Africa” because when I hand him the camera I usually get out of focus shots in return.
We were sad to say goodbye the next day, but at least we will have our Stellenbosch wine at home to drink and reminisce of our time in this beautiful corner of South Africa. Go and get yourselves a nice glass of Chenin Blanc – and don’t forget the cheese!
Do you have a favorite vineyard in this area or maybe a favorite label we can get back home in the states? Let us know in the comments!
