Wine tastings at Annandale, Waterford and Dornier and lunch at Spier. More tastings at Middelvlei and Rustenberg. Cross the Helshoogte Pass and overnight in Franschhoek.
Waterfront to Annandale, Dornier and Waterford
From the Cape Town V&A Waterfront turn left to N1 Paarl, then follow N2 Somerset West signs. At about 43 km, take Exit 43 Broadway Boulevard, Somerset West, and turn left to R44 Stellenbosch at the stop. At about 52 km, turn right into Annandale Road. Turn left into Annandale after 400m - signed Klein Akkerdraai and a small sign for Annandale. For Waterford and Dornier, turn right back onto the R44 to Stellenbosch. After 4.5km, turn right into Blaauwklippen Road (not the estate). Road becomes gravel.
Personal and delightfully informal tastings at Annandale happen in the ancient cellar - the farm's title deeds go back to 1688 - which, like the wine, is being left to age gracefully. It's hard to imagine a greater contrast at Dornier, which some may remember as Stellenrust, home to the original La Masseria Restaurant.
The Dornier estate has been remodelled along clean, stark lines, with an undulating silver roof designed by Dornier himself 'to enhance the landscape'. The modern cellar and tasting area has a distinctly hi-tech, industrial feel, all raw brick, concrete and steel, with huge windows letting in natural light and the spectacular view of the Stellenberg Mountains. You don't need a cellar tour - more large windows allow you to look in on the enormous steel tanks.
A few kilometres further is Waterford, a fairly new winery created by well-known winemaker Kevin Arnold and the Ord family. The citrus orchard followed by a bank of lavender should give you a clue: Waterford is a little Italy, a winery built of dry stone walls around a square with the trademark fountain in the middle.
The U-shaped winery flows around a square - the cellar tour takes you from the bottling and labelling machinery in one wing, past the tanks to the barrel room dimly lit by chandeliers in the other. And if it's chilly on your South African holiday, settle into one of the deep couches and enjoy tastings in front of the roaring fire.
R44 to Spier
From Waterford and Dornier, turn left onto the R44 heading back to Somerset West. After about 4.5 km, turn right into Annandale Road. At the T-junction turn right on R310 Stellenbosch. Spier is on the right after 1.5 km.
Spier Estate is firmly entrenched on the tour bus circuit, but it's an important stop simply because it's grown far beyond a historic wine estate into a destination that can keep you entertained for an entire weekend. Before the wine gets overlooked in all the activities on offer, head for the Wine Centre, an original Dutch gabled barn dating to 1750, where over 220 local and 10 international wine estates are showcased. Spier holds tastings of various local wines, not just their own - seven wines are selected for tastings on the hour, of which two will be Spier or one of its labels.
Then, lunch: choose from a create-your-own picnic around the dam or at the river, a riverside pub and grill, or the Jonkershuis offering a traditional Cape Malay buffet. But you'll probably be seduced by Moyo (which means soul in Swahili), a fabulous barbecue experience which sprawls through the gardens, up onto platforms in the trees and into gorgeous Bedouin-style tents with decadently comfortable loungers on the lawn.
After lunch, visit the cheetah outreach program and the raptor rehab centre for injured or confiscated birds, or take your pick from a museum of African art in the original manor house, weavers, jewellers, golf, tennis and horse riding, with a special program to entertain the kids.
Spier to Middelvlei
Turn right out of Spier. At about 3.5 km turn right at T-junction onto R310 Stellenbosch. At 6.5 km (opposite Distell) turn left into Oude Libertas Road and left into Middelvlei. Although you drive through a suburb to get there, the Middelvlei gates deliver you right into the middle of the perfect country farmyard, complete with a charming manor house, roses and green lawns, old barns, woolly donkeys in a meadow, ducks, geese, turkeys and goats with a couple of wallabies thrown in.
The kids can go wild in this welcoming atmosphere while you sip wines made by the Mombergs (the fourth generation is waiting in the wings to continue the family farm tradition), with happy photos of the family decorating the walls of the tasting room, a converted stable.
Middelvlei Pinotage is the flagship red among merlot and cabernet sauvignon, but do try the divine, lightly wooded chardonnay. It is possible to tour the traditional cellar by appointment during harvest season.
Middelvlei to Rustenberg
Leave Middelvlei and turn left at the T-junction onto the R310. Enter Stellenbosch and stay left after you cross Dorp Street. Cross Bird Street at the traffic lights, following N1 Paarl, then turn right at next lights to R310 Franschhoek, Helshoogte Road (about 4.5 km). Turn left into Lelie Road. Rustenberg is on the left at about 8.5km. Leave Stellenbosch behind on the drive that winds between vineyards, orchards and paddocks to reach Rustenberg, and you're transported into a picture of what the region must have looked like 100 years ago.
Rustenberg is, quite simply, breathtakingly beautiful. From the historic gabled manor house, where even the brick steps are worn from hundreds of years of footsteps, you can see very little other than vineyards, tall green trees and cultivated fields stretching all the way to the Simonsberg mountains rising majestically above the estate.
Spend time in the beautiful formal gardens created by Rozanne Barlow, Simon's wife, and walk the soul-inspiring labyrinth, which follows the design found in the Chartres Cathedral in France.
Rustenberg to Franschhoek via Helshoogte Pass
Drive back down Lelie Road to the stop. Turn left onto Helshoogte Road and follow signs for Franschhoek through Pniel and past Boschendal. At T-junction turn right onto the R45 Franschhoek. Enter Franschhoek at 28km; the tourism bureau is on the right at 30km.
End the day in Franschhoek so you can make an early start in the morning, with the wine estates right on your doorstep. There are several guesthouses in Franschhoek itself, and even more on the surrounding farms.
Self drive routes from Cape Town invite visitors to the Mother City to experience the natural splendour, fun activities and scenic attractio...