Only 45 minutes outside of Cape Town, the Wellington wine route is one of the youngest wine routes in the Cape, although the viticulture heritage dates back to the French Huguenots of the late 1600s. Officially launched in the mid-1990s, the predominantly working but charming farms produce some top quality red and white wines.
The town of Wellington lies at the foot of the Groenberg Mountain with the majestic Hawequa Mountains to the east. This truly beautiful valley is home of the vines, quite literally - almost 90% of the country’s vines are grown in the nurseries (called ‘stokkieskwekerve’) here, before being transported for planting. The soils here are excellent as is the climate - hot, dry summers with a winter rainfall. The farms lie on the banks of the Kromme River in the heart of the valley.
The Wellington Wine Walk is a 3-day hike through vineyards, orchards and indigenous fynbos, which includes wine tasting and samplings of cheeses and olives with stay-overs at one of the four historic Huguenot farms.
The Wellington Wine Route, consisting of 26 wineries including five pot still brandy producers, is small and compact, with the cellars within easy driving distance from each other.
Make personal acquaintance with the winemakers on these working wine farms, and learn more about their wines, and the many medals they've achieved both nationally and internationally.
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