Stellenbosch: Wineries, Wine Bars & More
Stellenbosch is surrounded by flowing vineyards that produce many of South Africa’s best wines. Despite the town’s scenic and tranquil nature, the large student population also means there’s no shortage of bars, restaurants and cultural activities to keep you occupied well into the evening.
We’d recommend either staying in town or on one of the countless vineyards in the area. As Stellenbosch is a forty-five minute drive from Cape Town, you could potentially do this as a day-trip, but why rush? Stay for a night or five and really enjoy the slower pace of life on offer in the Cape Winelands.
Best Wineries & Vineyards in Stellenbosch
You can’t visit Stellenbosch without visiting some of the wine estates that surround it. Despite the grand name, the “wine estates” we visited were all refreshingly casual and almost all of them provide wine tasting sets from 70-120 ZAR, with no booking needed.
Check opening hours in advance as some places do close early, even on a weekend. You should also check ahead if you plan to eat. Most places do some form of food, such as a cheese platter, but not everywhere will do a cooked dinner and some of those that do can get fully booked up.
Remhoogte Wine Estate
If you ask me, it doesn’t get much better than sitting on a terrace in the sunshine, with a glass of wine in hand and zebras, wildebeest and antelope on the horizon. Though the animals appear to be fenced in and therefore not completely wild, Remhoogte is still a special place to enjoy a glass of wine (or several) amongst the rolling green hills.
The reserve tasting set (ZAR 120) came with four tasting glasses of white and four tasting glasses of red. The wine tasting fee is waived upon the purchase of a bottle of wine, which makes it almost impossible not to buy a bottle, seeing as you can get a decent red for ZAR 135!
After our drinks, we wandered the grounds to get a better view of the animals. Remhoogte is only around 20 minutes from the centre of Stellenbosch and an Uber costs around 110 ZAR.
Neethlingshof Wine Estate
Neethingshof is a beautiful wine estate with tranquil gardens and views of the surrounding mountains. This is the place to get an excellent glass of chenin blanc and enjoy it in a gorgeous location. The restaurant serves gourmet food and is able to produce an exceptional range of vegan options. The wine estate is a 10-minute drive from the centre of Stellenbosch.
Blaauwklippen Wine Estate
Blaauwklippen Wine Estate is one of the closest to Stellenbosch, which makes it a tempting option if you’d like to try a few glasses of wine without going too far from town. However, it’s proximity to town does mean it’s close to a large main road and therefore not as tranquil as some other wine estates in the area.
The estate is a large one, including several grand buildings (and an awesome play area for kids). Unlike some of the other wine estates that close at 4PM, Blaauklippen stays open until 6PM seven days a week.
We enjoyed a ridiculously large glass of the local malbec. Blaauklippen also produces craft gins and an array of produce at their farm shop. They run a family market on Saturdays and Sundays from 10AM until 3PM. Getting an Uber to the venue was no problem, but we did have to wait around a bit to find someone willing to take us home!
Stellenbosch’s Best Wine Bars
No trip to Stellenbosch would be complete without a visit to one of the town’s excellent wine bars. The wine bars are often paired with a specific nearby vineyard, so you can expect a fantastic array of locally grown wines no matter where you go. Here are the three wine bars we visited in Stellenbosch:
Qbar — an upmarket wine bar in a courtyard
Qbar is a fancy but welcoming wine bar tucked away in the beautiful courtyard of the De Wet Centre. It’s off the main road, calmer and more relaxing than some of the other wine bars on our list. I had an excellent shiraz cabernet sauvignon blend, plus olives. Prices are a little higher here than other places, but so is the quality.
Brampton Wine Studio — popular wine bar on Church Street
Brampton Wine Studio is popular with students and has a more relaxed atmosphere than the name implies. The seating spills out into the street and the friendly staff will help you pick a wine to your taste. The prices are excellent (with bottles being dangerously affordable) and you can also get homemade flatbreads to soak up the alcohol. It can be tricky to get a good seat on Friday and Saturday nights. We loved the fun and lively vibe here.
Bartinney Wine & Champagne Bar — quaint and cosy bar with terrace
This quaint and cosy Bartinney wine bar wouldn’t look out of place in a Parisian suburb. The wooden terrace is slightly raised above street level, which creates a nice outdoorsy feel. The wine is excellent, with glasses starting at 55 ZAR. You can also get tapas, including falafel and olives.
Best Things To Do in Stellenbosch (other than drink wine)
Wander Down Stellenbosch’s Dorp Street
Wander down this historic, oak-lined street in Stellenbosch to get a glimpse of South Africa’s past. Stellenbosch is the second oldest colonial settlement in South Africa and Dorp Street is the oldest street in town. The beautiful old buildings have been well maintained and now house trendy coffee shops and places to get bike gear.
If you’re looking for lunch, I recommend Juvenate Conscious Eatery. This place serves up clean, eye-catching and simply delicious vegetarian breakfasts and lunches. I had the excellent spicy breakfast burrito and Charlie had a pesto-based green salad on quinoa that tasted sublime. It takes a while for the food to be prepared, but it’s 100% worth the wait. The flapjacks (what South African’s call pancakes) were also great.
On Sundays, there’s a casual Dorp Street Sunday Market where you can pick up second-hand clothes, arts and crafts and other nicknacks.
Unwind in Stellenbosch University Botanical Garden
This small but soothing botanical garden feels like a green bubble in the middle of Stellenbosch. Once you’ve paid your 15 ZAR entry fee and stepped inside the garden, you are surrounded by beautiful plants and forget you’re actually in the middle of town. Highlights include a lily pond and an impressive collection of bonsai trees. When we visited (November 2022) they were in the process of renovating the student shop.
If you have time to spare, I’d recommend having a look at some of the nearby University of Stellenbosch buildings.
Appreciate African art at the Rupert Museum
The Rupert Museum in Stellenbosch is a free art gallery by the Eerste river. The small but significant gallery features sculptures, paintings, mixed media and print works from artists from all over the country, as well as from some international artists. I particularly enjoyed the Pierneef Station Panels, a selection of tranquil landscapes by an acclaimed South African artist.
The gallery is open Tuesday to Sunday and has a small cafe and outdoor space. You can walk to the Rupert Museum from the centre of town along a newly built path on the south side of the Eerste River.
Go hiking (or mountain biking) in Jonkershoek Nature Reserve
The peace and tranquillity of Jonkershoek is the perfect antidote to the hustle and bustle of Cape Town or a long-distance flight. This large nature reserve, which boasts scenic views of the mountains, is criss-crossed with hiking paths and mountain biking trails. Entrance is 50 ZAR per adult and the person at the gate helped us choose a trail.
We decided to hike the Swartboskloof-Sosykloof route. The route, which is 6.9km if you take the slightly longer version, starts at the bottom of the valley, ascends part of the way up the valley and follows the land’s natural contours, before looping back to the start point. The highlight was a secluded waterfall surrounded by vibrant plants growing at the water’s edge. If you don’t have a car, you’ll also need to walk the 2km from the park entrance to the start of the trail (and back) which makes the hike substantially longer.
We did the hike without a guide, but the trail was hard to follow at times and sometimes close to substantial drops, so I wouldn’t recommend it to beginners. We used the AllTrails app, which was very accurate. An Uber is around 100-120 ZAR from the centre of Stellenbosch, but it did take a while for us to find an Uber willing to come and pick us up for the drive back!
Coffee lovers shouldn’t miss the excellent Balance Coffee Roastery which is located in a historic building by the park’s main entrance.
Is Stellenbosch Safe?
For those concerns about safety in South Africa, we found Stellenbosch to be safer than Cape Town. Whilst you should still take the usual precautions, walking on the streets during daylight was much more pleasant in Stellenbosch and we had no unpleasant encounters.
Have you visited Stellenbosch? Let us know what you got up to on your trip in the comments below!
