Pinot Noir 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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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 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.

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.

A tasting room with cellar door sales on Paradyskloof Road in Stellenbosch. Pinot Noir and Pinotage both feature in the range, with one Pinotage bottled under the Paradyskloof name.