by Debbie Ross
Womens Travel Network founder

While South Africa’s fertile valleys are world famous for their wines, the area is also a treasury of rustic beauty and sprawling estates shaded by giant oak trees.  Our drive today will took us along the wine route, starting with the rolling vineyards of Paarl. Wel continued to the beautiful village of Franschhoek, near the Drakenstein Mountains and onward to Stellenbosch, the historic heart of the country’s wine region. Along the way, we enjoyed wine tastings at local vineyards and a fabulous lunch at Lord Neethling Restaurant in Stellebosch. The restaurant is located on the Neelthlingshof Wine Estate which dates back to the 1705 .
The weather is cool and damp again on the cape so we are happy to head inland where it is armer. Our first stop was at the statue of Nelson Mandela, located in front of the minimum security prison where he spent the lat 5 years of his incarceration and in front of the long road where he walked to his freedom.

Next stop, the charming town of Franschoek to browsethe shops and as tour guide John Mason says, for a little retail therarpy. The scenery is stunning with many vineyards and the dramatic back drop of the mountains, some with the clouds covering the tips. The sun is shining and it’s so nice to feel the warmth. A pleasant change from the cool dampness of Capetown.

It’s almost noon, time for our firstwine tasting at Grand Provence Winery. The gardens are fabulous with many beautiful statues. Our favourite is the massive elephant at the front gate. The wines are fabulous, Our tating was set in the garden where we tasted a chenin blanc, a rose, a pinot noir and a shiraz. The wines are so inexpensive, a nice bottle of shiraz is only $8.00. Inbelievable

Our next stop was the university town of Stellenbosch. Here we had some free time to take a stroll through the lovely streets and browse the shops. Then back on the bus to head for Neethlingshof, a private wine estate. The long drieway I sopped to watch a lady spinning raw silk for the scarfs she was making. was lined with spectacular trees and the hillsides were lined with vines. We enjoyed a fabulous lunch in the charming cape dutch style home. I had a very tasty kingklip fish.  After lunch we headed into the tasting room to enjoy 5 fabulous wines. Sauvignon blanc, chardonnay, shiraz, caraal and my favourite a pinotage. This is a south african creation and absolutely declisious.

After a fantastic lunch and wine tasting we board the bus and head to Anuran winery for our final wine tasting of the day. Each winery we visited is very different and charming in their own way. This tasting room was very inviting and the wines delectble. We tasted 5 wines and a port.  They have agreed not to call it port, they refer to it as cape ruby. Our tastings were a sauvignon blanc, chardonnay, rose, pinotage, melbec and cape ruby.  We’ve had more than our share of fine South African wines today. It’s time to take a scenic ride back to theCommodore hotel to freshen up for dinner.. Some chose to have a quiet evening at the hotel and 11 of us tookthe 10 minute walkto the lively waterfront. Here we had a fantastic seafood meal at the well known Baia restaurant. What a great way to end a fabulous day!