A day trip can last the whole day, or just a morning or afternoon, with or without lunch. If you are really pressed for time, we can treat you to a short excursion in two or three hours - and your guide can drop you at the airport (if you wish). It's your call. Simply contact us with your schedule and preferences and leave the rest to us. We are one of the few tour companies who only use wine specialist guides to guide our wine tours. All our scheduled day tours are small group tours ie no more than 8 pax per tour. We visit a minimum of 4 or 5 wineries per day (depending on the tour) and taste a minimum of 25 wines per tour. For these reasons you may see that our tours are priced a little higher than other operators offering wine tours, but we are obviously in a different category, and worth every cent!
To make things a little easier, we have compiled 7 day trips - one for each day of the week - to introduce visitors to some of the Cape's best loved and well-known wineries, and some hidden gems off the beaten path. Just pick the day that suits you. Tours start from around 8 am and return by 6 pm. Collection and drop off at your hotel or our guide will meet you anywhere in the Cape Town city bowl (as far as Camps Bay) or Winelands and drop you off at your next stop-over in the city or Winelands. You are welcome to choose two (or more) days, or, if you'd like to sleep over in the Winelands, have a look at the accommodation listed on the self-drive page. Each of these establishments come with our personal recommendation.
MONDAY
STELLENBOSCH / CONSTANTIA
Cellar tour and tasting at Clos Malverne; Tasting at Somerbosch; Tasting and lunch stop at Groot Constantia; Tasting at Klein Constantia; Tasting at Steenberg
TUESDAY
PAARL / FRANSCHHOEK / STELLENBOSCH
Cellar tour and tasting at Dornier; Tasting at Uva Mira; Tasting and lunch stop at Delaire Graff; Tasting at La Motte; Tasting at KWV Emporium
WEDNESDAY
PAARL / FRANSCHHOEK
Cellar tour and tasting at Seidelberg; Tasting at Laborie; Tasting and lunch stop at Rickety Bridge; Tasting at La Motte; Tasting at L'Ormarins
THURSDAY
CONSTANTIA / STELLENBOSCH
Cellar tour and tasting at Groot Constantia; Tasting at Avontuur; Tasting and lunch stop at Clos Malverne; Tasting at Knorhoek; Tasting at Hazendal
FRIDAY
STELLENBOSCH
Cellar tour and tasting at Bilton; Tasting at Uva Mira; Tasting and lunch stop at Avontuur; Tasting at Knorhoek; Tasting at Hazendal
SATURDAY
FRANSCHHOEK / PAARL / STELLENBOSCH
Cellar tour and tasting at Delaire Graff; Tasting at L'Ormarins; Tasting and lunch stop at Backsberg; Tasting at Clos Malverne; Tasting at Peter Falke
SUNDAY
STELLENBOSCH / PAARL
Tasting at Laborie; Cellar tour and tasting at KWV Emporium; Tasting and lunch stop at Seidelberg; Tasting at Bilton; Tasting at Dornier
Full Day: R850 pp (currency converter) until end February 2011.
Included: collection and drop off at your hotel, a wine specialist guide with air-conditioned transport and all standard tastings.
Excluded: lunch
For those of you who wish to spend part of your day visiting wine farms and tasting, and part of your day exploring one of the more well-known historic wine villages/towns, these tours are for you. Visit a minimum of 3 wineries and spend 2 hours free time in one of the towns of Stellenbosch or Franschhoek.
LIFESTYLE STELLENBOSCH
Free time in Stellenbosch – Available Thursdays and Saturdays*
Chocolate and wine tasting at Bilton; Tasting at Peter Falke 2 hours free time in historic centre of Stellenbosch; Ice Cream and Wine Pairing at Somerbosch
LIFESTYLE FRANSCHHOEK
Free time in Franschhoek – Available Mondays and Wednesdays*
Tasting at L'Ormarins OR Optional visit to Franschhoek Motor Museum (for own account); Tasting and museum visit at Solms Delta OR Optional Cape Food and Wine Pairing (for own account); 2 hours free time in historic centre of Franschhoek; Bottled delicacy and wine tasting at Rickety Bridge
LIFESTYLE WINELANDS
PAARL / FRANSCHHOEK / STELLENBOSCH
Free time in Franschhoek – Available Tuesdays and Fridays*
Proudly South African Biltong, Nuts and Wine Experience at KWV Emporium; Tasting and visit to glass blowing studio at Seidelberg OR Optional Food and Wine Pairing (for own account); 2 hours free time in historic centre of Franschhoek; Chenin pairing at Dornier
Full Day: R850 pp (currency converter) until end February 2011.
Included: collection and drop off at your hotel, a wine specialist guide with air-conditioned transport and all standard tastings.
Excluded: lunch - you have time during your free 2 hours in the town and optional tastings
(Not available Saturday afternoons and Sundays)
CONSTANTIA
Tastings at Groot Constantia; Klein Constantia and Steenberg
STELLENBOSCH
Tastings at Dornier; Uva Mira and Peter Falke
FRANSCHHOEK
Tastings at L'Ormarins; Rickety Bridge and La Motte
Half Day: R590 pp (Franschhoek Tour only R650pp) (currency converter) until end February 2011.
Included: collection and drop off at your hotel, a wine specialist guide with air-conditioned transport and all standard tastings.
There is no time allowance for lunch on half day tours.
Please note that itineraries may be changed in circumstances beyond our control.
2 wine tastings/penguins/Cape Point/Chapman's Peak/Signal Hill
Tasting at Steenberg Vineyards; Drive through to Simon's Town; visit penguins at Boulders Beach; visit Cape Point and Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve; Tasting at Cape Point Vineyards; scenic drive over Chapman's Peak with stop at lookout point; scenic drive via Hout Bay and Camps Bay over Kloof Nek; stop at Signal Hill. (Tour may also be conducted in reverse order).
Price: R950 pp (currency converter) until end February 2011.
Included: collection and drop off at your hotel, a wine specialist guide with air-conditioned transport, all standard tastings and entrance fees.
Excluded: lunch and funicular fees at Cape Point (optional)
Camps Bay; Clifton; Twelve Apostles; Hout Bay; Chapman's Peak; Cape of Good Hope; Cape Point; Boulder's Beach (penguins); Simon's Town; Muizenberg; Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens
Price: R850 pp (currency converter) until end February 2011.
Please feel free to use our pre-designed day trips as a basis for compiling your own itinerary. Or forget about them completely and tell us what you'd like to experience. You may have been recommended a whole list of wineries from fellow travellers, or be drinking some superb South African wines at home and would like to visit those wineries? Perhaps the historic Cape wine farms where the local industry was born, or some of the latest award winners? Perhaps you are a restaurateur looking to add some South African flavour to your wine list? You also have the option of staying on in the Winelands after your tour to enjoy dinner at one of the award-winning restaurants. And it does not have to be all wine. We will gladly include interesting sites such at Robben Island, Table Mountain and Cape Point or a township tour. Contact us and let's talk about it.
Price: Full day: R1700 for the first person and R800 for each additional person per day; Half day: R1200 for the first person and R500 for each additional person per day; Single full day: R1900; Single half day: R1500; extra mileage to eg. Hermanus R500; extra time allowance for dinner R400 until 9pm, thereafter R100 per hour until drop off (currency converter) until end February 2011.
Included: collection and drop off at your hotel, a wine specialist guide with air-conditioned transport and all standard tastings.
Excluded: lunch and all special tastings (check on enquiry)
All aboard for our exciting guided market tour visiting some of Cape Town's popular markets. Fill up on delicious offerings along the way. A selection from the following markets: Triangle Square Market; Green Market Square; Old Biscuit Mill Neighbourgoods Market; Earth Fair Food Market; Porter Estate Produce Market (Tokai Forest).
Price: R590 pp (currency converter) until end February 2011.
Included: collection and drop off at your hotel, a wine specialist guide with air-conditioned transport and all standard tastings.
Excluded: lunch
A full day tour for the compassionate wine tourist who wants to experience more than just the fabulous wines of South Africa.
This tour introduces you to The Pebbles Project, a registered non-profit organisation that supports children living in the Winelands. Visit three wine farms and taste their delicious wines, but also spend quality time visiting the crèches and after-school clubs on each farm, and get involved with a range of fun activities with the children.
The Pebbles Project works with farm owners to develop their farm worker communities, focusing particularly on the education of the children. Services include: training for crèche and after-school club staff, supplying of all the educational resources and equipment, and taking the children out every month on an educational trip to local places of interest. Pebbles also offers workshops and support for parents living and working on the farms.
The Wine Desk actively supports The Pebbles Project and as with their other specialised wine tours, endeavours to offer the wine tourist the 'off-the-beaten-track' experience. Apart from tasting wines at the tasting rooms, the Wine Desk introduces visitors to the people behind the scenes - the winemaker, the cellar and vineyard workers, their families and children. Every attempt is also made to make the tour as personalised for each wine tourist as possible, taking into account 'who they are'. On the Pebbles Wine Tour, experience life on the farm, interact with the children, and of course, taste the magnificent wines produced.
Tours start at 09h00 from Cape Town and return to Cape Town by 17h00.
Tours are Monday to Thursday only.
Lunch is for your own account and will be at a restaurant on one of the wine farms.
Price: R850 pp (currency converter) until end February 2011.
If you wish to bring along any gifts or donations for the children, please feel free, and thank you.
Included: collection and drop off at your hotel, a wine specialist guide with air-conditioned transport and all standard tastings.
Excluded: lunch