There are many famous wineries outside of Cape Town in the Winelands. The history of the Winelands dates back to the late 1600s when the French Huguenot refugees arrived and settled in Franschhoek (‘French Corner’). They brought with them their wine making expertise.
We went to Franschhoek to experience the famous South African wines ourselves. I am not much of a wine enthusiast as I have a particularly low tolerance for wine. However, when in South Africa, winery hopping is a must, so we were excited to see what the buzz was all about. We rode the famous Franschhoek Wine Tram to visit four different wineries to sip and nibble all day long and had a grand old time! Here’s a summary of our visits.
Boschendal
Boschendal is one of the most popular wineries and this was our first stop. We drove to Boschendal on our way to Franschhoek instead of visiting on the Wine Tram. So as the first and only winery of the day, we had the most wine and food here. I ordered the white wine tasting and the bread sampler while Nate got the wine and cheese paring.
The winner: Suzanne. This white wine blend is one of the best we’ve ever had. I am terrible at describing wines, but it is so smooth with complex flavors that come together. The bread spread was also phenomenal. They had house made bread, butter, pesto, and garlic emulsion that was extraordinary.
Babylonstoren
We unfortunately woke up to pouring rain in the morning. However, we only had one day in Franschhoek. So in our rain jackets, we trudged through the rain to the tram station.
Bablysonstoren was our first stop on the Wine Tram. It is also one of the most popular wineries. This is an enormous estate with fruit and vegetable gardens and multiple restaurants. We knew that we (specifically I) would not be able to get through the day with each of us getting a wine tasting at each stop. So we shared a tasting of seven wines — a mix of reds and whites. We did not get any nibbles here as we were planning to go to the next winery for lunch. This was a mistake as Nate had not eaten breakfast and therefore started feeling the wine too early in the day… oops! We decided to lengthen our stay and got food at the Greenhouse Restaurant before moving on. Nate got a beef roll that was delicious!
The winners: Viognier and Shiraz. The Viognier was our favorite white with a darker and deeper taste and an apricot aftertaste. Both of us usually prefer white wines, but the Shiraz was incredible. It was incredibly smooth and flavorful but not sweet.
Anura
Anura was a surprise delight for us. We were not planning on going here but made an impromptu decision because of the advertised R40 (~$2) wine tasting. There was no one there when we went which made us sad since Anura was beautiful in a more laid back, less commercialized way, and we found the wines to be delicious. Anura is known for its red wines, so we shared a tasting of four red wines. They were so nice. They gave us two additional wines to try and even split the tasting into separate glasses for us without us even asking. And they were definitely giving each of us more than half the tasting amount as well!
The winners: Shiraz. I think we learned that we both like Shiraz – or at least high-quality Shiraz. The Anura Shiraz was also super smooth with a slight bitter aftertaste that enhanced the taste.
Vrede en Lust
Our last stop on the tram was Vrede en Lust. This was where we had originally wanted to eat lunch, but stuffed from our unplanned lunch, we sadly did not eat any food here. We also had our fill of wine at this point, and they did not let us share a tasting like the other wineries. So instead, we both got a glass of wine and enjoyed the scenery.
The winners: Lady J Syrah. Nate ordered this by accident confusing Syrah with Shiraz and thinking we would be trying his third Shiraz of the day. However, Nate really enjoyed his Syrah. So we will call this the surprise winner.
Overall, we both enjoyed a day of winery touring much more than we thought we would. We both learned more about wines and found out new wines that we liked. The Winelands are so beautiful that it’s also a great excuse to spend a day exploring the region. We highly recommend adding the Wine Tram to your itinerary if you plan to come to Cape Town!
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