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The beauty of the winelands delights all who visit the Cape; it’s a beauty distinctive to each area, making it unnecessarily difficult to pick a favourite.

One region remarkable for its isolated beauty is the dramatic and spectacular Cederberg. Covering 66811 ha of mountainous terrain on the West coast, the fynbos-rich Cederberg was proclaimed a Wilderness in 1973. It is a haven for campers, mountain climbers, hikers, rock art and wildlife enthusiasts and anyone who likes to get away from it all.

Discover the finest restaurants within sprawling wine farms in Cape Town and surrounds. 

In this exploration of foodie delights, we will unveil the top restaurants where exquisite cuisine harmonizes with the beauty of vineyard landscapes. 

Embrace the fusion of culinary mastery and viticultural splendour as we navigate through the flavours, and hospitality that define the experience of dining at the best restaurants on wine farms.

The Cape Wine Academy introduces the 14 students who have successfully completed the challenging third-level Diploma Wine Course.

“This is a significant achievement that requires asserted theory study hours as well as diverse wine tasting practice to gain an in-depth appreciation of global wines in the context of South Africa,” says Cape Wine Academy principal, Heidi Duminy. “We are very proud of this diverse group of graduates who are poised to use this valuable education to contribute to many spheres inside and outside the wine industry as well as the people within their circle of influence.”

Harvest 2024 kicked off some 10 days earlier than the average for Diemersdal, the result of a dry summer and a warm, sunny start for the new year’s vineyard conditions.

Despite the more than 900mm of rain Diemersdal saw last year, and along with a harsh, cold winter, the lack of surface moisture led to grapes reaching ripening levels earlier than which is normally the case. Currently Diemersdal is harvesting its primary cultivar, Sauvignon Blanc, at a rate of knots with some 100t of grapes hitting the winery each day and the harvesters running from 02.00 to capture the fruit’s cool pre-dawn zest.

You don’t have to leave the Mother City to experience world-class wine farms…

South Africa’s first wine was created in Cape Town over three-and-a-half centuries ago, and the Mother City is still proudly producing wine. From heritage estates in Constantia (where the country’s first wine farm was established in 1685) to modern wineries in Durbanville, the Wine of Origin Cape Town district includes 30 wine farms, scattered north and south of Table Mountain. 

Bound together by great similarities in terroir, and cool coastal winds, the furthest is a mere 36km from the centre of Cape Town. 

South African wine grape producers expect a good and somewhat larger 2024 wine grape crop compared to the relatively small harvest of 2023. This is according to the first of four wine crop estimates issued annually by viticulturists and producer cellars. This estimate, however, is still lower than the average harvests of the past 10 years.

Cool and wet conditions characterised the post-harvest period and provided welcome relief during the recovery of vines after the harvest. The lower crop load of 2023, the early completion of the harvest and sufficient water availability positively contributed to vineyard reserves to start the winter on a good footing.

Durbanville family-owned wine estate Diemersdal kept the flag flying for Pinotage at this year's Global Fine Wine Challenge between Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa and the USA by securing a Double Gold accolade for the Diemersdal Pinotage Reserve 2022.

Held annually in Sydney, Australia, the Global Fine Wine Challenge sees 120 wines from each of these participating New World countries being scrutinised by a panel of judges aimed at selecting the best of what this segment of the wine world has to offer.

Paul Clüver Family Wines in Elgin once again underscored its status as a pre-eminent Chardonnay winery in securing one Master accolade and two Gold medals at the annual Global Masters tasting for Chardonnay, an international showcase for wines made from the noble Burgundian variety.

At this year's Global Chardonnay Masters tasting, a top-achiever Masters award was presented to Paul Clüver Seven Flags Chardonnay 2022, with the Golds going to two of the Elgin winery's Estate Chardonnays, namely those from vintages 2020 and 2021.

Tokara Director’s Reserve White 2020 was crowned Best New World White Blend, bringing home the trophy as the highest scoring wine in its class from the 2023 Global Fine Wine Challenge.

The flagship white of this acclaimed family-owned Stellenbosch wine estate, Tokara Director’s Reserve White triumphed over blends from six New World wine growing nations in this international wine competition hosted annually in Australia. Tokara’s flagship red blend, the Director’s Reserve Red 2020, also excelled with a Gold medal in this illustrious line-up.