Wine farms open on Mondays

Walk-in tastings are offered, while the underground tasting room and the longer guided tours need booking. The flagship is Fusion V, a Bordeaux-style blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Petit Verdot, from vineyards in the Polkadraai Hills that Emil and Sonette den Dulk planted after moving from Johannesburg.

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.

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.

Tastings run here in the Banhoek Valley, just off the Helshoogte Road out of Stellenbosch towards Franschhoek. The vineyards are planted to French varieties, and the flagship is Rhodium, a red blend. Adrian Vanderspuy set the winery up in its present form in the early two-thousands.

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.

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 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.

Alongside the wine tastings on the crest of the Helshoogte Pass, you can try the estate's potstill brandy or take a tutored olive oil tasting. The Director's Reserve pair covers a Cabernet-led red blend and a white blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon. There's a restaurant at the winery, and a separate deli with a shop, café and children's play area.

Tastings run every day, with food platters served alongside the tutored ones, and the range includes a Banghoek Chardonnay and The Laurence Reserve red. The estate on the Helshoogte Pass also has two restaurants, one of them the Asian-inspired Indochine, along with lodges and a spa. Laurence Graff of Graff Diamonds has owned it since the early two-thousands.

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.

Tastings run in the Tasting Room and Deli, with options that include a wine and chocolate truffle pairing, and a complimentary cellar tour goes out daily. Lanzerac describes itself as the birthplace of the first commercially bottled Pinotage, and its Cape Dutch Manor House and werf are a Provincial Heritage Site. The estate in the Jonkershoek Valley is also a hotel with a spa and several places to eat.

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.

Sommeliers guide tastings of Quoin Rock and Knorhoek wines, seated inside or out with the Simonsberg vineyards in view, and oysters or a cheese and charcuterie platter can be added. Quartz Restaurant serves lunch, and guests can stay in the Manor House. Tastings are booked online, and younger children come by prior arrangement.

Red wines are the focus at this small winery on the Helshoogte Pass, with tastings in a room inside the owner's home on weekdays and by appointment at weekends. Prohibition is a straight Cabernet Sauvignon, and the Shiraz carries a new artist's portrait on its label each vintage. The farm also has self-catering cottages.

Tastings start with a walk through the underground maturation cellar before a flight of the estate's wines, and there's a chocolate pairing too. Isikhati, a Bordeaux-style blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, heads a range that also takes in Pinotage and Chenin Blanc. It's a small estate with a guesthouse on site.

Two ranges come from this Stellenbosch Kloof farm: Pella, the coastal range, and Mount Sutherland, including a Syrah, from vines Daniël de Waal planted at the foot of the Sneeuberg in the Karoo. The farm, Canettevallei, also grows lavender for his wife Ingrid's business.

Tastings are held in the old horse stables, and the restored Schoongezicht Garden is open to the public every day. The range includes John X Merriman, a Bordeaux-style blend named after a Cape statesman who once owned the land, and Peter Barlow, a single-vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon. The Barlow family has owned the estate at the foot of the Simonsberg since the nineteen-forties.

Pinotage is the focus here, and Red Leaf, the restaurant beside the tasting centre, works it into the menu, down to a Pinotage burger. Beyers Truter, previously winemaker at Kanonkop, started Beyerskloof in the late eighties, and his son Anri now runs the cellar and the bistro.

The range here includes Trilogy, the flagship blend, alongside a Cabernet Franc and the First Lady Cabernet Sauvignon. The estate sits at the western foot of the Simonsberg and takes its name from the Warwickshire Regiment, in which a former owner, Colonel Alexander Gordon, served.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

P.K. Morkel planted Pinotage on a commercial scale here in the fifties, and the Bottelary Hills estate still makes it, alongside old-vine Cinsault, Malbec and Cabernet Franc. The restaurant is set up for families, with a children's menu and a play area on the lawn, and children get their own tasting of juices and treats.

Weekday tastings run in the Polkadraai Road cellar that was once home to Amani. Catherine Marshall started out with Pinot Noir and still makes it from cool Elgin and Hemel-en-Aarde fruit, alongside Chenin Blanc Fermented in Clay and the Ode to Arges Semillon.

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 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.

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.

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 daily at the Cellar Door, with chocolate, cheese and charcuterie pairings, and at the Manor House with seasonal platters; booking is advised, and walk-ins are taken when there's availability. The Deli serves breakfast, lunch and dinner, and there's also Retreat Restaurant, Arum and pre-booked picnics on the lawns. The estate describes itself as a regenerative farm, with walking and mountain bike trails, horse rides and cottages to stay in.

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.

Tastings run every day, with flights from the Estate Range and the Short Story Collection and pairings with chocolate, cheese or small plates. There's a pairing for children too, cellar tours can be booked ahead, and the old manor house holds The Restaurant. The estate is a WWF Conservation Champion, and visitors can drive or walk its avenue of stone pines.

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.

The tasting room on Stellenbosch Kloof Road is open every day, and booking ahead is advised. The flagship is a Reserve Chenin Blanc, with a DMZ Chenin Blanc alongside it, and Baroque music is played to both the vines and the wines. The name means the morning sun, since the farm is the first part of the Stellenboschkloof valley to catch it.

Tastings here centre on site-selected and single-vineyard wines, in a tasting room at the foot of the Helshoogte Pass. Neil Ellis started out as a négociant buying in grapes, and the fruit still comes from vineyards in Stellenbosch, Elgin and Darling. His son Warren now makes the wines.

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.

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.

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.

Chorus, the restaurant on the estate, serves seasonal four- and six-course menus. The vineyards on the Schapenberg above Somerset West are certified biodynamic, and the Circle of Life range covers a white made mostly from Sauvignon Blanc and a Bordeaux-style red.

Tastings and cellar tours run here, and the estate has its own hotel and restaurants. Most of the vineyard is planted to red varieties, and the flagship Bell Tower is a Bordeaux-style blend named after the bell tower on the property. The farm dates back more than three centuries, and its old manor house now serves as the cellar.

Tastings are held in the restored manor house, where the Helshoogte Pass begins its climb out of the Banghoek Valley towards Franschhoek. The estate also has restaurants and a country lodge. The wines are made from Bordeaux varieties, with single-vineyard bottlings, sparkling wine and the Simone and Richelle blends.

Tastings run every day, and the Bodega restaurant, set in a Cape Dutch-style barn, serves lunch and tapas from Wednesday to Sunday. The estate is on Blaauwklippen Road in Stellenbosch, and the Blaauwklippen Wine Trails begin with a tasting here.

Visits are by appointment only at this small Devon Valley winery, where Merlot leads the range. The flagship Synchronicity blends Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Pinotage, and is only made in selected vintages. Martin Meinert bought the land in the late eighties.

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.

Tastings run every day on the Helshoogte Pass, and the range takes in a Malbec, a Cabernet Franc and a Chardonnay alongside a rosé and a dessert wine. The restaurant serves Banhoek country cuisine with tables under the trees and a play area for younger children, and there are suites and country rooms for anyone staying over. The name recalls the farm's past as an apple orchard.

There's a tasting room, the Terroir restaurant and a lodge on the property, which sits beside the De Zalze golf course. The Chenin Blanc runs from a bush vine bottling to a Family Reserve made from unirrigated vines more than forty years old. The Basson family bought the farm in the nineties and still owns the vineyards, while AdVini now holds a majority of the wine business.

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.

Wine tastings and a guesthouse share the estate, which sits between Stellenbosch and Somerset West with views of the Helderberg. The wines come in three ranges, Collection, Reserve and Platinum, and the Platinum line includes an Old Bush Vine Chenin Blanc, a Pinotage and Latitude, a Cape blend. Baarsma's Holding, a wine company from the Netherlands, owns the estate.

Tastings at the tasting room on Old Polkadraai Road are by appointment only, and large groups and children are welcome. The farm is run on biodynamic lines, and the range includes an organic Sauvignon Blanc, an organic Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon blend and a Reserve Red.

This Simonsberg estate concentrates on Pinotage and Chenin Blanc, with the Single Block Pinotage as its flagship. There's a country lodge on the working farm, and the owner is AdVini, a French wine group.

Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc are poured in the tasting lounge, with an MCC Rosé among the premium options and a food and wine pairing on offer. The Banhoek Valley estate also has a bistro-style restaurant, a spa and rooms to stay in, and guests can swim in the pool, fish the dam or ride the bike paths.