The Cape Winelands is a region of the Western Cape Province of South Africa. It is the largest wine producing region in South Africa and is divided into six main wine regions, each offering their own unique wine route. Constantia, Stellenbosch, Franschhoek, Paarl, Robertson and Wellington are the most popular. The geographic area is generally referred to locally as the Boland, meaning uplands in Afrikaans.
Constantia Valley wine region is situated in mountainous surroundings, and boasts some of the oldest wine estates and homesteads along with several award winning wines and restaurants. 90% of the farms offer wine tastings and cellar tours.
Stellenbosch Wine region is the best known in the Cape. In 1971 the first official wine route was founded by Frans Malan of Simonsig, Spatz Sperling of Delheim and Niel Joubert of Spier. It is home to a variety of cellars producing some of the country's most acclaimed wines. Simonsig, Boschendal, Neethlingshof, Delheim, Welmoed, Delair, Spier, Saxenburg, La Motte, Chamonix and Cabriere, to name a few.
Franschhoek valley Wine region was settled over 300-years ago by the French Huguenots. Set against the backdrop of the Franschhoek and Drakenstein mountains, this quaint village has over 30 wine farms: Akkerdal Estate, Allée Bleue Farms,Bellingham, Boekenhoutskloof, Boschendal Cabriere, Chamonix, Dieu Donné, Eikehof, Franschhoek Pass Winery, Franschhoek Vineyards, Freedom Hill wines, GlenWood, Graham Beck cellar, Grand Provence ,Grande Provence Wine Estate, Haut Espoir, La Bourgogne, La Bri, La Chataigne, La Chaumiere Wine Estate, La Couronne Wine Estate, La Motte, La Petite Ferme, La Roche Landau Du Val Wines, Le Manoir de Brendel, Lormarins, Lynx Wines, Mont Rochelle Mountain Vineyards, Moreson, Plaisirdemerle, Rickety Bridge Winery, Rupert & de Rothschild Vignerons, Solms, Stony Brook, Vrede en Lust.
A number of other excellent wine farms can be found slightly further a field in the Paarl and Wellington regions.
World Heritage Status
Due to their outstanding universal cultural significance, the Cape Winelands and their cultural landscape were added to the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List on June 24th, 2004 in the Cultural category.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Winelands
See also
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