Whether or not you are an oenophile (wine connoisseur), semi-knowledgable about what you are drinking or classify wine as red, white or rose (like ex-Marine and myself), Stellenbosch and Constantia are the great wine routes in South Africa. Stellenbosch was founded in 1679 and it wasn’t long before the perfect climate helped Stellenbosch become synonymous with high quality award wines.

The Stellenbosch Wine Route is made up of 200 wineries which produce a large variety of red and white wines. Daily wine tasting, cellar tours and sales are offered at most cellars and many of these have restaurant and picnic facilities. Besides wine tasting. there are also many walks in the area ranging from an easy 5.3 km/3 miles to the 17.1 km/10-1/2 mile Panorama Trail. Visit some of the pubs, and cute general stores. One of these is Oom Samie se Winkel (Uncle Samie’s Shop) dating from 1904 that sells antiques, confectionary, sweets, jams, furniture and curios to take home. Our big purchase was a wooden, carved wart hog (tusks and all) that we promptly named “Pumba.”

Stellenbosch Wine Route map, South Africa
Constantia is the birthplace of the wine farming industry and consists of five vineyards that produce award-winning wines. Steenberg Estate, Constantia Uitsig, Buitenverwachting, Klein Constantia Estate and Groot Constantia Estate, the oldest wine producing farm in South Africa. Pat DeWil and Wilderness Travel had selected Groot Constantia for the group’s wine tasting experience. An enjoyable few hours touring the production and maturation cellars, and tasting different dry white wines. Smelling, sloshing, spitting and eventually downing the glasses.

inside Groot Constantia wine tasting room, South Africa 

a slightly sloshed Wilderness Travel group outside Groot Constantia in South Africa
We happy campers continued on to our final destination of this South African Adventuring journey, Cape Town…

Western Cape Route, South Africa