I'm Kait Buckland, a born-and-bred Capetonian who has lived abroad for over a decade. During that time I travelled the world, visiting landmarks and tasting wines from one side of the antipode (Hunter Valley, Australia) to the other (Lavaux Vineyard Terraces, Switzerland) and when I moved back to the Cape 8 years ago, I knew first hand that we have something very special here in the South African Winelands. I have made it my mission to visit each and every South African wine farm to see for myself exactly what each of them has to offer.
I've dragged my husband from cellar to cellar (he's not complaining) tasting wine, picking a wine pairing, or having lunch. Currently I've visited over 300 wine producers in the Western Cape. I share my reviews on Instagram (@wine.farm.fun) so that others can also be inspired to explore more.
I get asked all the time what my favourite wine farm is, and I simply don't have... one. It all depends: what area I'm in, how much time I have, whether my kids or friends are with me, what the weather is up to, or how hungry I am.
Obviously they all have wonderful wines but here are my favourite farms in the following categories.
Best for winter-warming wine and food
When the Cape of Storms has me shivering, nothing warms me up quite like a hearty meal or piping hot pairing. So, my top picks for winter-warming wine and food are:
Delheim Wine Estate offers a hot Glühwein on arrival and has a cheese fondue (served with bread and meat or veggies) that is a true Alpine delight. Not only that, but during winter, they offer live jazz music so melodic you'll be dancing your way to warmth.
Cheese fondue at Delheim Wine Estate, Stellenbosch.
Yonder Hill has mighty horned Ankole cattle, fantastic views of the Helderberg, tasty pizza, and now they also have a seasonal soup and wine pairing to keep the chills at bay.
Neethlingshof Estate has classic Cape gabled buildings and offers a seasonal flash food and wine pairing that starts with hearty soup and moves on to three other savoury morsels before ending off with a traditional malva pudding.
Bellevue Estate is a family-friendly spot with a winter pairing combining three homemade soups with their reserve wines that is sure to please.
D'Aria Winery in Durbanville offers a restaurant, a kids area, and a tasting room with a winter waffles and wine pairings which are calling out to all the sweet toothed.
Best kid friendly wine farms
Being cooped up inside with rainy day blues brings out the worst in high-energy children, so getting out the house to a kid-friendly wine farm is a must on drizzly days.
Blaauwklippen Vineyards in Stellenbosch has a restaurant plus plenty of wine pairings to keep parents content, but they also have a pet-friendly weekend market (with jumping castle and pony rides) plus an enclosed tyke bike track (open Monday - Sunday, 10h00 - 17h00) as well as a massive jungle gym to chase the blues away.
Lourensford offers a wide selection of options for the whole family to enjoy. Millhouse Kitchen has a large enclosed garden with kids climbing frames a plenty. Then there's Art Jamming, The Padel Hub (a tennis/squash hybrid), weekend family market, clay pigeon shooting, Acrobranch, MTB tracks among the vineyards, and more.
Boschendal Estate is perennially popular with a (pet-friendly) Friday night market during summer, an enclosed bike track and huge tree fort, an art gallery, and gorgeous gardens and grounds to explore.
Hazendal in the Bottelary Hills offers the Babushka deli with a play area, the car museum, and the interactive Wonderdal experience which combines science and fun for ages 5-13 years and they supervise your kids for 2 hours!
Babylonstoren has a fascinating wine museum perfect for rainy days, but this botanic wonder is best explored when the rain lets up so kids can delight in their whimsical frog and fish water fountains, discover unusual flora and farm animals, peek inside insect homes, or manipulate the manual irrigation sluice gates.
Whimsical frog and fish water fountains at Babylonstoren, Simondium.
Best for wow factor
Does anyone else have overseas visitors during August? Really, these folks should know better than to visit the Cape during this month, but so many have to take advantage of the long European school holidays to travel and end up here at the "wrong" time of the year. So where best to impress the hard to impress?
Quoin Rock is simply spectacular with acres of mirrored glass reflecting the stunning Stellenbosch mountains, while the elevated food and wine offering will inspire.
Idiom offers glorious views across False Bay from the stylish glass, stone and wooden beamed structure and their impeccable food and upmarket wine pairings arouse all the senses.
Bosjes provides an array of architectural treats from the restaurant, to deli, guest house & incredible interactive (and educational) kids area but the highlight has to be the jaw droppingly beautiful Chapel wedding venue that just begs to be seen from all of its very photogenic angles.
The jaw droppingly beautiful Chapel wedding venue at Bosjes in the Breedekloof Valley.
Waterkloof Wines has a dramatic glass-and-steel marvel perched high up on a hill that houses Chorus Restaurant and provides phenomenal sea and mountain views.
Louisvale in Stellenbosch is a sleek, ergonomic creation of glass and light with panoramic views attached to a traditional thatched Cape Dutch building offering friendly service and delicious culinary delights.
Best cosy by the fire wine farms for rainy days
We all long to snuggle down next to a roaring fire to savour some robust red wine when the torrential rain is driving down, so here's where best to find this fix:
Muratie Wine Estate is a living piece of history. The tasting room is located inside the old concrete tanks previously used for wine production and not even the dust has changed for hundreds of years, creating ghostly (and truly atmospheric) cobwebs that shroud everything from picture and window frames, to books, ancient piano and rusting farm equipment. The toasty fireplace and dusty setting create a unique & intimate tasting experience.
Waterford Estate is reminiscent of a Tuscan villa and not only is the courtyard gorgeous in the sunshine but the tasting rooms are classy and cosy with a crackling fire.
Stellenzicht's tasting room is a contemporary wooden eco-pod with amazing mountain views, delicious pizza and platters, and a snug fireplace that warms up the entire pod.
The Winepod at Stellenzicht Wines, Stellenbosch.
Klein Roosboom provides relaxed contemporary elegance inside their restaurant Jean but the real gem is their shabby chic tasting room which is located inside the old concrete tanks previously used for wine production. Each tank has been named and individually decorated with rusting kitchen equipment, gilt framed mirrors, plush velvet cushions, hammock chairs or dainty fairy lights to provide a quirky and eclectic setting sure to impress your friends and keep you cosy on a chilly day.
Vrede en Lust offers a tasting room decked out in dark wood and leather ideal for frosty weather while the Lust Bistro has exposed brickwork, flickering fire and a selection of warming pastries that will have you salivating.
Best for art lovers
When the heavens open and you need a hide out from the hail, head indoor and give your eyeballs a holiday at the following:
Delaire Graff provides gourmet meals, epic views and an array of indoor and outdoor art sure to intrigue and entice.
Grande Provence offers mighty sculptures in their gardens plus a gallery of indoor pieces to reflect on while their restaurant and pairing options impress.
Cavalli has an elegant concrete and glass building with a high-end restaurant overlooking their paddocks (of beautiful Arab horses) beneath which is housed their tasting room and private art gallery.
Steenberg is so much more than a golfers' paradise, with several restaurant offerings, an upmarket tasting room, and gardens filled with interesting modern sculptures.
South Hill in the Elgin Valley welcomes you and your pets, offers boules on the lawn, meals among the vines (or inside near their toasty fire), and has an eclectic collection of art all around their tasting room.
Tasting room at South Hill Vineyards in the Elgin Valley.
And if you don't mind driving further, then head on over to Ataraxia (Hermanus), Creation (Hermanus), or Saronsberg (Tulbagh) to experience their incredible art, too.
Despite visiting so many fascinating farms, my bucket list of "vineyards still to visit" just keeps growing. So if you think I left one of YOUR favourites off my favourites list, please do let me know as I would love to experience them for myself.
Wishing you all a warm, wine-filled winter!
Kait from @wine.farm.fun