SOUTH AFRICA WINE TOURS
A private tour just for you to discover South Africa’s fine wines
TAKE A PRIVATE LUXURY WINE TOUR TO SOUTH AFRICA ON YOUR OWN SCHEDULE.
Fine Vintage offers a spectacular 3-day tour of South Africa to visit a selection of the most famous wineries. You can book this as a private tour, just for your group, which can be as small as 2 people or a maximum of 6. You will be chauffeured in a luxury vehicle and guided by Cathy van Zyl, a Cape resident and Master of Wine. It’s a bucket-list trip…
Every morning you will be picked up by your chauffeur between 9 and 10 a.m., depending on the itinerary that day. Pick-up is at a hotel of your choice but must be in the town of Stellenbosch. Every evening you will be dropped off at your accommodation in Stellenbosch by 7 p.m. except for the last evening when you will be dropped off in Cape Town or at the airport if you prefer.
On the first day your driver will transport you around Stellenbosch for visits to two iconic estates where you will taste and learn about the two varieties most associated with modern South African wines – Chenin Blanc at Ken Forrester wines and Pinotage at Kanonkop. Lunch will be at another famous winery with a spectacular 3-course gourmet meal with premium wine pairings.
On the second day your chauffeur takes you to discover the picturesque Hemel-en-Aarde valley, ‘Heaven and Earth’. We typically visit Hamilton Russell Vineyards, Creation, Newton Johnson Family Wines or Bouchard Findlayson, all top quality producers from this spectacular valley with its views of the ocean.
The third and final day is a further exploration of Stellenbosch before you journey to the historic wine region of Constantia, a suburb of Cape Town. We usually start the day at le Riche or Glenelly, learning about why Stellenbosch’s terroir is ideally suited to fine Cabernet Sauvignon from one of the family members. After a sumptuous meal paired with excellent wines at the spectacular winery estate Vergelegen, we cap off the tour with a visit to the iconic Klein Constantia where you will taste the legendary Vin de Constance.
The price is approximately $2,995 USD per person for the three-day tour for groups of 3-6 people, and approximately $3,500 USD per person for groups of 2. This includes your chauffeur-driven luxury transport during the tour, all winery visits and tastings, a gourmet lunch every day with excellent wines, and all taxes and gratuities. 30% is due once you confirm you want us to organize the tour for you. The balance is due once we give you the final itinerary.
When you go on a Fine Vintage wine tour you get VIP treatment at wineries, and access to people and places that others typically don’t. It’s a luxurious experience, and certainly the memories will last a lifetime.
I invite you to join us.
JAMES CLUER, MASTER OF WINE
YOU BOOK YOUR OWN ACCOMMODATION
When we send you the proposed itinerary for your tour, we include recommendations on where to stay. We suggest different hotels at varying budgets, along with links to their websites and advice on how to book directly at the best rates. However, you are free to stay anywhere you wish (including Airbnb) so long as it is in the town of Stellenbosch.
You must inform us of the name and address of your accommodation on your final booking form so we can inform the chauffeur.
WHAT’S INCLUDED
Included in the price is your local transport in a luxurious chauffeur-driven vehicle. All winery visits and tastings are included, as well as a gourmet lunch every day. All taxes and gratuities are included.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
Once you have paid for the tour it is 100% non-refundable. We are unable to modify the dates. It is possible to request to increase the number of guests in your group, but not to decrease the numbers. We can change the names of the guests.
PLANNING TIPS
Before the tour we will send you some useful pre-trip information to help you with your planning.
Here you’ll find advice on how to get there, tips on what to wear, other things to do in and around Stellenbosch and Cape Town, and what you might like to read in advance.
TIMING
We run private tours 10 months of the year (we exclude August and September). The tours must take place on weekdays. Our 3-day tour must start on either a Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday. Bookings with winemakers are harder to secure, but not impossible, from mid-January to mid-March/early-April because of harvest.
Anytime is a great time to visit South Africa, including the winter months. The weather is ideal in October – December, can be very warm in January and February, and excellent for game viewing if you intend to safari in May – October. Generally, we would recommend avoiding December as many of the South Africans take summer holidays, but we still run private tours in December if that is what works for your schedule.