Lady’s Guide to Wine Tasting in Stellenbosch

Today I want to bring you my guide to wine tasting in Stellenbosch. The South Africa tourism board has brought me here to experience the best of the Cape Winelands, from festivals to wineries and more.

Wine Tasting in Stellenbosch

I’ve never eaten dinner with a hammer before. Nor have I walked past a blazing fire pit with two ostriches grilling inside. But this is South Africa, and they take their food seriously here.

As a guest at a special dinner in Stellenbosch, I want to fit in. I pick up a hammer and decide to see where the evening takes me.

Spier Secret Festival in Stellenbosch

Stellenbosch is a famous town in the heart of South Africa’s winelands. The tourism board has brought me here to experience the annual Spier Secret Festival, a celebration of food and wine with a number of creative twists.

Tonight’s dinner is no exception. Created by eating designer Marije Vogelzang, the dinner starts with a shellfish free-for-all at a giant metal trough.

It progresses into the Spier Wine Cellar for a meal where we hammer open clay parcels containing cooked root vegetables.

Ostrich follows, and the night ends with cheese and pudding around the barrels. This being a winery, red and white flow throughout. It’s a great introduction to wine tasting in Stellenbosch.

The meal is not only delicious, but also so well styled I can’t stop photographing it.

Spier Wine Farm in Stellenbosch

And it’s not just the dinner, either. The entire Spier Wine Farm, where I’m staying for the next two nights, is packed full of art.

It’s home to one of the largest collections of South African art in the world, and everywhere I walk on the enormous property, I find paintings, sculptures, and other styled surprises.

But there’s more food art and wine tasting in Stellenbosch involved, too. The next day I meet my group for a visit to the Spier Secret Market.

Set outdoors by the river, the sunny market is home to stalls selling everything from fresh pastries to global foods and local South African specialties like biltong (it’s like beef jerky, but better).

We sample ice cream from The Creamery and drool over delicious cupcakes flavored with Amarula, the country’s famous liqueur.

Eventually we sit down to eat at the hotel restaurant, a farm-to-table establishment right next to the market.

The beautiful pay-by-plate-weight buffet has us piling on everything from green beans to sweet potatoes, and we each order a healthy side of steak to go with it. This is South Africa, after all. Meat is required.

De Volkskombuis Restaurant, Stellenbosch

In the evening we continue our carnivorous streak with a dinner at a traditional South African restaurant in Stellenbosch.

De Volkskombuis offers a sampling platter of all kinds of special local dishes, from Boland Bobotie (curried beef mince with Cape Malay spices topped with egg and milk custard) to chicken pie.

The food isn’t quite up to par with that at Spier, but it is nice to be able to sample local fare.

Wine Tasting in Stellenbosch

And speaking of local, we pry ourselves off the farm for a tour and wine tasting in Stellenbosch.

Our guide, Owen, is from Roots Africa, and he takes us for a drive around town, showing us everything from the historic Cape Dutch architecture to the famous university.

At the end of the tour we stop at Lanzerac Estate for wine tasting in Stellenbosch and a chocolate pairing. The beautiful 5-star hotel in Stellenbosch is set against the backdrop of a mountain range.

We sit outside in the sunshine sampling everything from Sauvignon Blanc with white chocolate to Pinotage with chocolate-covered cherries.

Stellenbosch Sightseeing

Afterwards we walk off the calories with a trip down Church Street. The historic road is home to restaurants, cafes, art galleries, and boutique hotels, a few of which we duck our heads into.

We love the style and design of the Oude Werf Hotel, which we learn is the oldest inn in South Africa. It even has some secret excavated ruins of the town’s former foundations underneath the ground floor.

Stellenbosch Wine Tasting

Back at Spier, we do some more wine tasting in Stellenbosch, sampling a range of wines while surrounded by the spectacular art collection.

Afterwards we tour the historic manor house before returning to our rooms for one last night of sleep before leaving Stellenbosch for the sunny shores of coastal Cape Town. To be continued…

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