Helderberg wine farms

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.

Italian varieties such as Sangiovese and Nebbiolo are the focus, poured at a tasting centre and restaurant on the upper slopes of the Helderberg near Sir Lowry's Pass. Alberto Bottega, born in Milan, founded Idiom with his wife Valerie as a family legacy, and the estate also keeps Vinotria, a library of Italian wines.

Chardonnay, including The Single Tree, and reds such as Syrah come from vineyards high on the Helderberg slopes, next to the Helderberg Nature Reserve. Tastings are held in a stone building in Swiss chalet style, with views over the bays and Table Mountain.

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 run at the Wine Tasting Centre, and there are two places to eat, the Stables bistro and Camphors restaurant. The estate has seventeen gardens, and the camphor trees by the homestead go back to Willem Adriaan van der Stel, the Cape governor granted the farm more than three centuries ago. Cabernet Sauvignon leads the GVB Red, a blend with Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Petit Verdot.

Red wines are the focus on the northern slopes of the Helderberg, where most of the vineyards are Cabernet Sauvignon and the range runs from Alto Rouge to Shiraz and the Estate Blend. While the estate is renovated, tastings and the restaurant are at Klein Alto, a short way down the road, and both can be booked online. There are hiking and mountain biking trails too. Hennie Malan named the farm Alto, from the Latin for high, more than a century ago.

The tasting room offers three tastings, and bookings are only taken for groups of more than eight. There's a restaurant pouring the wines by the glass or bottle, and the cellar sits on the Helderberg slopes with Table Mountain in view to the west. It began as a joint venture between Ernie Els and Jean Engelbrecht to make a Bordeaux-style red.

Tastings run Monday to Saturday, cellar tours are by appointment, and Rykaart's, a family-run restaurant, serves a set three-course meal built around produce from the farm. The estate on the Helderberg is farmed organically and biodynamically, and its Chenin Blanc and Chardonnay come from old vines and a block planted by John and Erica Platter.

Tastings with outdoor seating on Groenvlei, a farm at the foot of the Helderberg, where the range runs from Chardonnay and Pinot Noir to Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz and a Blanc de Noir. Peter Falke, born in Germany, bought the farm in the mid-nineties, and his family has traded in South Africa since the late sixties.

Tastings run on a terrace looking over the vineyards towards the Helderberg mountains, and the restaurant changes its chef's menu weekly with the seasons. The estate also has an art gallery, a boutique and an indoor equestrian arena with paddocks, set among indigenous gardens.

Every tasting here comes with a food pairing, whether in the barrel room, the vinoteque or, weather permitting, out in the vineyard. The estate sits on the slopes of the Helderberg around a Cape Dutch homestead and historic cellar, with a restaurant open daily and several houses and cottages to stay in. Children can make and bake their own pizzas while the adults taste.

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.

Olive oil and wine can be tasted separately or together here, with the wines split between Bordeaux varieties and the Giulio Range, an Italian line named after operas. Giulio Bertrand, a businessman from Piedmont, bought the Somerset West estate in the early nineties, planted olive trees and brought Sangiovese vines from Italy.

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.

Chenin Blanc is the focus, tasted in the Wine Lounge on the slopes of the Helderberg, with food pairings on offer. Ken and Teresa Forrester bought the farm at auction in the early nineties along with two old Chenin vineyards, and the FMC, made with Martin Meinert, is the flagship.