South African Wine Country Tour

South Africa has always been a noted destination for it's scenic views and safaris, but it's wine region is quickly rising in the ranks in terms of popularity. With some vineyards only 45 minutes away from Cape Town and with more and more wineries making an effort to have beautiful spaces for visitors to taste their wines, it's an easy day trip or overnight destination.

In the video above we take a daylong roadtrip and stop in at some of the best wineries both for tasting and scenery.

We start in Stellenbosch at one of the closest and most well-regarded in the region, Kanonkop. Kanonkop is a fourth-generation winery that is known for being one of the earliest vineyards to grow pinotage, South Africa's signature grape. The winery has a tasting room where you can sample a half-dozen different Kanonkop wines, and they also have a small art gallery for perusing.

Nearby you can take a peak into Glenelly, which is a vineyard owned by a French winemaker putting her own spin on South African wines. You can have a full cellar tour at Glenelly, and it is certainly one of the most picturesque you can go on, with expansive window views of the vineyard. You can also enjoy the view outdoors while drinking a sampling of their wines

Close by you can enjoy the wines of Neil Ellis. They have four vineyards across the South African wine region, but their tasting room was built with visitors in mind — it's close to the previous vineyards and it is set up with stunning indoor and outdoor settings to enjoy their wines as well as local cheeses and meats.

Heading up the winding roads to Franschhoek, you can stop at the picturesque L'Ormarins vineyard, home to Anthonij Rupert Wines. The grounds also feature a car museum and horse farm, but you can drive via golf cart to the tasting room where you will sample varities from the company's four different brands.

The last stop on the tour is Mont Rochelle, the perfect place to watch the sunset. Not only is Mont Rochelle one of the few vineyards open past 5 p.m. but its patio has a stunning view of the vineyards and mountains. Mont Rochelle is also notable for having been the first black-African-owned farm in all of South Africa. Their most notable varietal, Miko, is named for that owner.

Stay for the evening and have dinner at renowned restaurants such as The Tasting Room or Reuben's, but don't stop drinking the wine!