Tag Archives: wine estate

The wheat fields of Meerendal

The wheat fields of Meerendal
For some reason when I think of the Meerendal Wine Estate I only think of vineyards, delicious glasses of wine, and summer afternoon's at Crown Restaurant. I don't think of large wheat fields. Imagine my surprise when stumbling upon this sight.

If you ever do visit Meerendal for a wine tasting or meal, take a short walk North of the restaurant, behind the farm buildings. The views are exquisite.

The mountains of Stellenbosch

The mountains of Stellenbosch
Those are the beautiful mountains that our little wine-loving town of Stellenbosch backs onto. Wouldn't you love to live in these surroundings?

We really do seem to have the best of both worlds here in Cape Town: We're almost surrounded by the ocean (as peninsulas tend to be), we have a great big mountain towering over our city, and we have big open winelands with beautiful blue mountain ranges. This truely is a remarkable part of Africa!

This photo was taken from the delightful Asara wine estate. The location on Google Maps has been wrong for some time now - here's a map I created to show you the way.

Peeking goat

Peeking goat
Peeking goat may sound like a lovely (or rather, not-so-lovely) dish, but in reality it has no similarity whatsoever to Peking Duck. This little critter is housed at Fairview Cheese and Wine Farm (map), outside Stellenbosch. I won't rehash my review here, but you can read it here, in a previous post about the wine and cheese farm.

Open gardens: Beautiful buildings

Open gardens: Beautiful buildings
The farm dates back to 1682, a mere 30 years after Jan van Riebeeck of the Dutch East India Company landed to establish the first European settlement in the Cape [1], making it one of the oldest farms in South Africa.

If you have a spare moment, click though to the their website to read the Rustenberg story - surprisingly, it's somewhat interesting. :)

See this post for more about this photo and Rustenberg Wine's open gardens.

The civilised picnic

The civilised picnic
If you like the idea of visiting wine farms and enjoying exquisitely-prepared picnic food, yet you're no so much into sitting on the lawn, then visit Warwick Wine Estate (map) on the R44 near Stellenbosh.

Imagine sitting at a secluded shady table with friends, enjoying Warwick's award-winning wines while delving into a picnic basket that I can pretty much guarantee you won't regret having ordered.

Helipads and wine estates

Helipads and wine estates
Every self-respecting wine estate has their own helipad, right? Well, Zevenwacht does, so if you're flapping around in your helicopter and need a spot of lunch, they have a lovely brick helipad ready for you to tough down on. :)

The beauty of Zevenwacht

The beauty of Zevenwacht
I remember attending a friend's wedding on the lawn in front of that old Cape Dutch building several years ago. Zevenwacht Estate in Kuilsriver is still just as beautiful as it was then, and while I haven't yet tried the estate's restaurant, I'm fairly confident that you'd enjoy a walk under the trees and among the vines, followed by a breakfast or lunch on the lawn. Give it a try. :)