Stellenbosch, South Africa Days 20 and 21

Stellenbosch

Days 20, 21: Stellenbosch:

We decided to devote our last two days in South Africa to exploring in greater depth the wine country north of Cape Town. This area is definitely worthy of a leisurely re-visit. After driving through a number of wine towns along the recommended wine route (including the charming little French town of Franshoek which we felt was too busy and far too touristic for our taste) we decided to stay in Stellenbosch, a beautiful university town full of small businesses, a wonderful museum, shops, restaurants, inns and historic buildings. We picked up a free brochure called Stellenbosch and its Wine Routes at the local tourist bureau and plotted our course. First, after perusing our guide books, we selected an Inn called the Lanzerac, 1 Lanzerac Road, which on short notice had availability. Although a bit pricey, the description of this historic wine estate located outside of the town was tantalizing. The estate is one of the finest examples of Dutch Cape architecture in all of South Africa and it has a fascinating history. Although it had an old world elegance in many ways and was located in a beautiful working vineyard setting, we found it to be a bit “shabby chic”, somewhat tired and frayed around the edges. In retrospect we would have chosen a more up to date hotel of equal rating (5 star) within the town, there are a number of worthy candidates listed in the guide book but the Coopmanhuijs Boutique Hotel and Spa looked to be one of the nicest options.

Two stand outs in our wine tasting excursion were: Grande Provence Heritage Wine Estate, est. 1694, Main Road Franschhoek. We had a delightful tasting and four course gourmet lunch there on the grounds, outside under massive chestnut trees. Hidden Valley Wine Estate, Stellenbsosch, great wine tasting and lunch to follow, most decadent dessert of the trip, a melt in your mouth chocolate soufflĂ© with vanilla ice cream and hot dark chocolate sauce, yum. 

Lyell Franke 2012