Stellenbosch Wine Route

Today, the last day of the year, the last day of our vacation (besides the next two days of flying home), we ended on a high note - we did the Stellenbosch wine route and just hit a few favorite wine farms and maybe a brandy distillery too.

The drive out to Stellenbosch is very beautiful.  At Clodagh's suggestion we also went through Kalk Bay and St. James so as to add to the quaintness of the route.

Our first stop (at 9am!!) was at Fairview, home of the Goatfather.  I love Fairview for their goats, and the fact that they offer a cheese tasting along with their wine tasting.  Fantastic start to the day.  The ram we saw today had such large horns, I wasn't convinced he would make it out his little doorway.  But he did!  One horn at a time.

Mandela's face on a scarecrow

There was no time to dilly-dally at Fairview.  We hit the wine and cheese hard, made some purchases, and then were off to Delheim for the 10:30 tour.  Delheim, the home of Spatzendreck, is in such a lovely setting, we just had to have lunch here too.

After all that Delheim touring, tasting, lunching and shopping, we had just enough time for a quick peek in the original trading post store, Oom Samie se Winkel, before heading to our next stop...

... Van Ryn's Brandy Distillery.  This is not only a stunning place and an interesting tour, but definitely a tasting experience that we would all highly recommend.

A welcome cocktail of brandy and apricot juice

How to make a brandy barrel

We managed to hit the road in time to reach Rust en Vrede winery before closing time, much to TJ's delight.  It's one of his favorites.  It's a serene setting and the wine is, in general, very bold and definitely memorable.

Rook - we put a bird on it!

Last, but not least, a quick stop at the strawberry farm known for their abundant and increasingly ridiculous scarecrow collection.

Guess what, Rook, there's no knowing what this group will put a bird on next...

Credit for images: Damon O'Reilly