Family-owned estates

Only red wine is made here, mainly Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, on the lower slopes of the Helderberg. Staff guide the tastings and offer informal tours of the underground cellar, and the winemaker's lunch of steak or salmon with a glass of wine runs daily on a first come, first served basis. The Engelbrecht family has owned the estate since the late seventies, and its title deed dates from the seventeenth century.

Open from Monday to Saturday and on public holidays, this family-owned estate on the Helderberg slopes counts Cabernet Sauvignon among its wines. Hempies du Toit turned it back into a wine farm in the mid-nineties.

Tastings of the full range are held around the pool of the Manor House, and the eatery serves lunch from Wednesday to Sunday. The farm also raises grass-fed beef and pasture-raised eggs. The family name goes back to William Charles Winshaw, who founded Stellenbosch Farmers Winery, and the fourth generation now carries on the business.

Estate Pinotage and Paul Sauer, a Bordeaux-style blend, are made here on the lower slopes of the Simonsberg. In the tasting room you can taste and buy the wines and watch a video about the farm's vineyards and winemaking, and private tastings in the maturation cellar run on weekdays by booking. Brothers Johann and Paul Krige run the estate, which is named after a hill where a cannon was fired to announce ships entering Table Bay.

The full range is open to taste here, Rubicon included, a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. A seated tasting by reservation adds an older vintage of Rubicon, and the estate is closed on Sundays. The Myburgh family has owned the farm since the mid-eighteenth century, and Hannes Myburgh runs it today.

The wine and chocolate tasting pairs the estate's wines with chocolates made for it, and bookings are recommended. There's also a Wine Drive Safari and a walk along the Porcupine Trail. Cabernet Sauvignon is the core grape, with The Jem as the flagship blend, and the Ord family has owned Waterford since its founding.

Walk-ins are welcome on Saturdays and weekday tastings are by appointment, and you can book a walk up to the home vineyard on the Helderberg's eastern slopes. Architect David Trafford and his wife Rita, an artist, started this small family winery in the mountains above Stellenbosch. The reds include a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah and Cabernet Franc, and the range also takes in a Chenin Blanc and a Straw Wine.

Tastings are walk-in on Fridays and Saturdays and by appointment midweek, and every wine is grown, made and bottled on the farm. The Wraith family put the estate together from two neighbouring farms in an amphitheatre between the Helderberg and Stellenbosch mountains, and Alex Starey runs the vineyards and cellar. Alongside the annual Keermont range there is a Single Vineyard Series, which is not bottled every year.

Reds are the focus here, mainly Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinotage and Merlot, with a dry rosé alongside and The Gap, a blend named after the gap between the Helderberg and Lourensford mountains, as the flagship. The family winery sits on the Helderberg slopes, and Jeremy Walker made its first vintages in a converted squash court. Tastings run on weekdays, Saturdays are by appointment, and three self-catering cottages are let on the farm.

Tastings are held at the Tasting Shed in the Banghoek Valley, open into the evening on Fridays, and self-catering vineyard cottages on the estate are let to guests. The flagships are Skyfall, a Cabernet Sauvignon, and Hourglass, a Chardonnay, and the farm has been in the Jordaan family since the early nineteen-fifties.

Chenin Blanc from Stellenbosch, Paarl and the Swartland sits alongside a Cabernet Franc, all made with a handful of growers, one of whose vineyards was planted when the land was still turned by horse and plough. Tastings are by appointment at Leef op Hoop in the Jonkershoek Valley, on the stoep or in the cellar, with deliberately few tables. Viticulturist Etienne Terblanche and winemaker Stephanie Wiid run the label, which takes its names from weeds found among the vines.

Guided tastings run from Monday to Saturday on the Bottelary Road, or you can settle in with a few bottles and a cheese platter. Pinotage appears in several of the ranges, and one Chenin Blanc comes from bush vines planted by the great-grandfather of Danie Steytler Jnr, who now runs the farm with Carin as the fourth generation of the family.

Chenin Blanc and Cabernet Franc are the focus here, from the Old Vine Chenin Blanc to the Eden single-vineyard wines. Tastings take place in a private tasting room on Eden Farm in the Polkadraai Hills and cover the Raats Family, Bruwer Vintners and MR de Compostella ranges. Booking is essential because the tastings are kept small, and Bruwer Raats's sons now work in the family business.

Tastings come with the option of a chocolate pairing, and the restaurant serves breakfast and lunch. Pinot Noir, a Bordeaux-style blend called Ansela van de Caab and a Cape Vintage port-style wine are the ones to know. The Melck family owns the farm, on land near the Simonsberg first granted in the seventeenth century.

Pinotage, Shiraz and a Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot blend lead the range at this Devon Valley estate, which has a tasting room and lodges for overnight stays. Dutch couple Marianne and Fons Aaldering bought the farm with its vineyards already planted, and the family still runs it, with their daughter Jacqueline and her husband Gert-Jan Posthuma managing the winery.

Tastings run from Monday to Saturday, with Sundays by appointment, and the range centres on barrel-fermented Chenin Blanc and barrel-matured reds such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinotage and Shiraz. The Rangaka family bought the farm in Koelenhof and became the first Black family to own a wine farm in South Africa. The name comes from the Setswana word for harvester.

Bush-vine Chenin Blanc from the Bottelary Hills goes into the Secrets & Lies bottling, and the range also includes Pinotage, Shiraz and a Cap Classique. The family-owned estate farms vineyards in the Golden Triangle too. Tastings can come as pairings, one with biltong, dry wors and cheese and another with cake.

Tastings run daily here in the Bottelary Hills, with lunch from Wednesday to Sunday and a Vintner's Platter on Mondays and Tuesdays. Shiraz has been bottled here every vintage for more than half a century, and The Stork Shiraz is named after the wartime nickname of the late Ken Mackenzie, whose family still owns the farm.

Tastings run daily, and the Postcard Cafe serves breakfast and lunch out in the open air. The wines come from organically farmed, high-altitude vineyards in the Jonkershoek Valley, on the Oude Nektar farm the family bought after years in Tokyo. Cellarmaster Jose Conde is self-taught, and the name joins two family names, Stark and Conde.

Tastings here include a single-wine pour of the Boustred Chenin Blanc and a masterclass hosted by brothers Chris and Rob Boustred, with flatbreads made to go with the wines. VUUR cooks every dish over open flames in the former horse stables, and guests can stay on the estate. Murray and Juliet Boustred bought the farm on the Simonsberg foothills to make wine, and their sons now work alongside Murray.

Syrah in the Northern Rhône style is the focus here, sold under the Tamboerskloof label. Tastings are by booking only, and there's also a private Syrah tasting in the cellar and a guided farm walk that ends with a seated meal. Gerard and Libby de Villiers run this family farm in the Upper Blaauwklippen Valley, which also grows olives for its own oil.

Walk in for a tasting from Monday to Saturday, with premium wines poured on request and cheese and charcuterie platters on offer. The Malan family farm high slopes against the Jonkershoek mountains above the Banghoek basin, and the range includes Cabernet Franc and the Family Reserve, a Bordeaux-style blend.

Tastings run from Monday to Saturday, with a classic flight of whites and reds or a premium flight of reds. Piet Steenkamp is the fourth generation of his family to farm and make wine here in the Bottelary area. At the top of the range, the Steenkamp label includes a Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot blend and an old-vine Chenin Blanc, the Ou Bosstok Steen.

Barrel-matured reds from noble varieties are the focus, with Merlot, Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon and a Cabernet Franc Reserve in the range. Tastings are by appointment only, in a cellar at Bosman's Crossing that was once part of a brandy production house. The family-owned winery was started by Dave Lello, and Jane Lello now runs the whole operation from vine to consumer.

Tastings at Weltevreden run every day, from a guided flight to a premium option that adds a walk past sculptures by Ruhan Janse van Rensburg. The short range of Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, Rosé and Shiraz is named after Bertha, the mother of the Bezuidenhout family who bought the estate. The homestead is a National Heritage Monument, with the Jonkershuis Restaurant and guest accommodation on site.

Tastings run in Cuvée, the estate's tasting room, and the options include a sparkling flight. Simonsig makes Kaapse Vonkel, the Cap Classique that Frans Malan first produced here, and the estate is still run by the second and third generations of the Malan family.

Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon lead at this estate at the end of the Stellenbosch Kloof Road, with Nine Yards Chardonnay and Cobblers Hill, a Bordeaux-style blend, as the flagships. Tastings and tours run every day, and there are two restaurants, the casual Cellar Door and the fine-dining Jordan Restaurant, plus suites on the estate for staying over. Gary and Kathy Jordan run it on land Gary's parents bought in the early eighties.

Guided cellar tours end with a tasting in the basement cellar, and there's a garden restaurant on the estate where booking is advised. The farm sits on the Simonsberg and makes Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinotage, including a dry Pinotage rosé and the Vera Cruz Pinotage. Its name comes from the German for Deli's home, after the founder's wife, and the Sperling family still owns it.

Tastings are by appointment only, with flights drawn from the Precision Series, the V-Series and the Tales range. The vineyards sit among the Schapenberg hills near Sir Lowry's Pass, on a farm restored by the Gabb family, originally from Shropshire. The estate is Fairtrade certified and a WWF Conservation Champion.

Tastings are held in a former horse stable, and there's a hiking trail on the farm, with guided hikes in the flowering season that finish with a tasting. Brothers Tielman and Louis Roos run the Bottelary Hills estate, which their family bought in the sixties, and part of it is a private nature reserve set aside for fynbos.

Pinotage and Cape blends lead here, with the flagship Auret blending Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinotage. The Devon Valley farm has a restaurant serving comfort food and wood-fired pizzas, plus accommodation. The Pritchard family still own it and still use traditional basket presses.

Tastings are held in the original cellar, and the wines include a Chardonnay and a Sauvignon Blanc-Sémillon blend. On the food side there's the Avant-Garde restaurant, which draws on South African and Russian recipes, a Russian tea garden, the Babushka deli and Pivnushka, a family-friendly spot for flame-grilled food and craft beer. Dr Mark Voloshin bought the Bottelary Hills estate in the mid-nineties, and it's run as a family business.

Wines here include the Y range of Sauvignon Blanc and Merlot, and Danilo, a blend of Merlot and Grenache. The farm sits against the Helderberg and belongs to the Naude family.

Tastings are private and by appointment, and they can include a tour of the boutique gravitational cellar. The vineyards on De Goede Sukses, in the Simonsberg ward, are planted to Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinotage, Shiraz, Cabernet Franc, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. Lyn and Dudley Marklew bought the farm, and their children Bill and Haidee run it today, with Haidee making the wine.