South Africa

Klein Constantia

South Africa

South Africa Wine Tour

13 - 20 February 2010, 20 - 27 November 2010

The Cape is one of the most spectacular vineyard areas in the world, and this tour is a great excuse to escape the depths of our winter.

On our South Africa Wine Tour we'll discover the latest developments in the wine scene, as well as exploring some of the most beautiful and famous sites: the Waterfront at Cape Town, the Cape of Good Hope, the Huguenot town of Franschhoek and the University town of Stellenbosch, the sea-side town of Hermanus and much more...

The Cape has a long tradition of wine production dating back to the Dutch settlers of 1652. When the British took over a new wealth was brought to the country and many of the gracious Cape-Dutch homesteads seen today were built as a result of the success of that era. It was hoped initially that the Cape would become "the vineyard of the Empire". This happened partially, quality table wine production didn't catch on but Cape "Port" and "Sherry" did become quite popular and Constantia Muscat established a superb reputation.

In 1861 the Liberal "free traders" under Prime Minister Gladstone removed the "empire preference" tariffs and then in 1886 the pest phylloxera struck, devastating the vineyards. The vineyards were rapidly replanted, but largely with high yielding low quality varieties. It was not until the foundation of the KWV (Ko-operatieve Wijnbouwers Vereniging van Zuid-Afrika Beperkt) in 1918 that any real structure was reestablished. Again the success was largely with fortifieds, Cape Sherry in particular proving very popular until the 1970s.

Today KWV represents and controls the production of 5000 of the Cape's wine growers cultivating some 100,000 hectares. Following the opening up of trade, exports are increasing and quality improving to very high levels. South African wines are getting the international acclaim they deserve - this year over 1,200,000 cases were imported into the UK.

The Cape is one of the most spectacular wine regions in the world, and this tour covers the top wine producers and as well as some of the most beautiful and famous sites. This tour we will largely be concentrating on the smaller single estate owner-managed wineries, which, as in so many wine-producing regions worldwide, are now leading the field.

Our tour starts in Cape Town where we stay on the lively waterfront. From Cape Town we explore the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve and Boulders Coastal Park to see its' resident colony of African penguins. On the first evening we have a comprehensive seated tasting followed by a gourmet dinner at the Buitenverwachting estate.

Our next base is the Huguenot town of Franschhoek. This is the most colourful and exciting time to visit as it will quite possibly be during harvest, the best time to see first hand the viticulture and wine-making styles of each individual producer. These will include Thelema, Tokara, Fairview and Warwick. This superb itinerary also covers the Du Toitskloof Pass, the University town of Stellenbosch and seaside Hermanus where we visit Hamilton Russell, another of the serious stars where we taste excellent Pinot.

Fantastic scenery, great wines, food and glorious weather, combined with a simple direct eleven-hour flight and just a two hour time difference from the UK make this a tour not to be missed.

There will be another date for February 2011 - details & dates to be confirmed by April 2010. 7 nights 4* hotels, with a very similar itinerary to above; Price: £2275 Sole Occupancy: £700 Deposit: £550 Upgrade: £195