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Simonsberg-Stellenbosch wine farms

On the lower slopes of the Simonsberg, north-east of Stellenbosch town.

Read the story: About Simonsberg-Stellenbosch

At a glance

Closest to Cape Town
Kanonkop, about 45 min by car
Highest rated
Kanonkop (4.1)
Open on Sundays
2 of 4
Serve lunch
2 of 4

4 wineries

Red-led

Kanonkop

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.

Mon – Sat
Tag
Stellenbosch classic
Wines
4.1
Visit
4.6

Bubbles on the list

Delheim

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.

DailyLunch
Tag
Star wine
Wines
3.8
Visit
4.6

Old estate

Morgenhof Estate

Tastings here range from a flight of estate whites to a premium line-up with Cap Classique and Port, and a signature tasting runs in the historic cellar. Veldt Restaurant cooks over open flames, and the estate, on the slopes of the Simonsberg, keeps a block of old-vine Chenin Blanc. Weddings, seasonal dinners and harvest celebrations are held here too.

Tue – SunLunch
Wines
3.8
Visit
4.2

Plan

A day in Simonsberg-Stellenbosch

Three estates close together, with lunch in the middle. Check opening days before you go, as they differ between the three.

  1. MorningKanonkopKnown for Pinotage and Cabernet Sauvignon.
  2. LunchDelheimKnown for Pinotage and Merlot, serves lunch, about 2.9 km from the last stop.
  3. AfternoonMarklewKnown for Chardonnay and Pinotage, about 3.4 km from the last stop.
Open this day

From there you can pick a date, see who is open, reorder stops, add more and open the route in Google Maps.

Bubbles on the list

Marklew

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.

Tours
Wines
3.8
Visit
few reviews yet

The story

About Simonsberg-Stellenbosch

When Simonsberg-Stellenbosch appears on a label, every grape in the bottle grew on these granite slopes.

Simonsberg-Stellenbosch is an official Wine of Origin ward on the lower slopes of the Simonsberg, a short drive north-east of Stellenbosch town. Its granite slopes are known for Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinotage, and when the ward's name is on a label, every grape came from here.

What the ward name tells you

A ward is the smallest area name in the Wine of Origin system after a single estate or vineyard. When Simonsberg-Stellenbosch appears on a label next to Wine of Origin, it certifies that all of the grapes were grown inside the ward. Blend in fruit from another ward and the wine has to drop to the district name, Stellenbosch.

Several estates on our list use it: Kanonkop, Remhoogte and Marklew, and Delheim on its Cabernet Sauvignon. Don't confuse the ward with Greater Simonsberg, one of the Stellenbosch Wine Routes' sub-routes. That is a wider touring area, reaching into Jonkershoek and Banghoek, and has nothing to do with labels.

About Simonsberg-Stellenbosch

Granite under the vines

The Simonsberg rises to almost 1,400 metres and fills the view north of town. Its foothills break into small valleys and spurs, so vineyards a few hundred metres apart can face different directions and ripen at different speeds. The Agricultural Research Council's soil survey found red and yellow soils derived from granite along these footslopes.

Kanonkop's Cabernet Sauvignon notes list exactly that: decomposed granite with Hutton and Clovelly soils, partly dry-farmed. Pinotage, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot run through our list here, with Chenin Blanc as the white that keeps turning up.

About Simonsberg-Stellenbosch

The estates on our list

Kanonkop hosts private tastings inside its maturation cellar on weekdays, by booking. Morgenhof has been on these slopes since 1692 and pours its Signature Tasting in the historic cellar.

At Remhoogte you can taste the Boustred Chenin Blanc on its own, and Marklew, out at Muldersvlei on the Klapmuts road, makes a Cape Flora Pinotage in a gravity-fed cellar you can visit by appointment.

About Simonsberg-Stellenbosch

Questions people ask

Is Simonsberg-Stellenbosch an official wine ward?
Yes. It is one of the eight wards in the Stellenbosch district under the Wine of Origin scheme. A wine labelled Simonsberg-Stellenbosch must be made entirely from grapes grown inside the ward.
Where is Simonsberg-Stellenbosch?
It covers the lower slopes of the Simonsberg mountain, just north-east of Stellenbosch town along the R44 and the roads that branch off it. Most estates are a short drive from the town centre.
What is Simonsberg-Stellenbosch known for?
Red wine from granite soils, particularly Cabernet Sauvignon, Bordeaux-style blends and Pinotage. Kanonkop's wines, Pinotage included, carry the ward name.
Is Greater Simonsberg the same as Simonsberg-Stellenbosch?
No. Greater Simonsberg is a touring sub-route drawn up by Stellenbosch Wine Routes and is larger, taking in Jonkershoek and Banghoek. Simonsberg-Stellenbosch is the legally defined ward that can appear on a label.

Updated October 2026.

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