The third leg of our honeymoon brought us to Africa’s amazing wine country. Franschhoek, or the French quarter, is like Napa Valley but so much more beautiful if that’s even believable. We loved sampling amazing wines and eating delicious French cuisine and while exploring all that Africa’s Wine Valley has to offer.
Everywhere we looked at was just so stunning but it’s rolling green hills and vineyards as well as farm life. Some things to note: we did three full days and nights in wine country, because we LOVE wine country. This is on the longer side, and most people spend either two days and nights or do a day trip from Cape Town, which is totally doable. Also, this was a pretty easy Uber ride from Hermanus/Cape Town, so no need to rent a car.
Read on for our Franschhoek and Stellenbosch Travel Guide including our favorite vineyards and restaurants.
Day One:
Tasting at La Motte: We started our time in wine country at La Motte, a beautiful estate with a cozy tasting room with blazing fireplaces and grand leather couches overlooking their cellar. Our host was super knowledgeable about the vineyard’s production and greatest hits, which we were super excited to try.
We were lucky to go on a wine-tasting journey, sampling everything from their Sauvignon blanc to their super rich reds, like their Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon. Our tasting was paired with beautiful cheeses and bread and we were fortunate enough to sample some off-menu wines and award winners from their Pierneef collection. Sitting by the fire and learning about La Motte’s collection was a wonderful way to start a beautiful three days in wine country. We thoroughly enjoyed it.
Tasting at Le Lude: It was our honeymoon, after all, so it seemed very fitting that we did a champagne tasting at one of South Africa’s best champagne producers, Le Lude. In South Africa, they refer to champagne as MCC, which is a bit helpful to know when you are looking at menus.
First off, like the restaurant there, can we please talk about how beautiful their tasting room is? The decadent green bar with crystal chandeliers makes you feel like you are stepping back into time. We had several tastings of their MCC, which went right to my head producing a very nice mid-day buzz. We sampled Le Lude’s delicious cuvees, rose MCC and Brut, which were light and effervescent and the perfect celebratory drink.
Lunch at Orangerie: We immediately fell in love with Orangerie at Le Lude winery. The entire ambiance is just fantastic and I fell in love with the green hanging plants, black and white tiled floors, white rattan furniture and large windows with light just flooding in. It was so effortlessly chic and beautiful and I actually took loads of pictures of the restaurant as decor inspiration for when we buy our house!
Enough about the decor, because the food was totally the star here. Chef Nicolene Barrow is an absolute genius in the kitchen and she created the most indulgent meal and wine pairing for us which we still talk about to this day. To start, I had a warm cup of French Onion soup with melty cheese across the top in a beautiful white ceramic cup.
For my main, I had a super tasty chicken supreme, with corn puree, pea salad and a just that was just perfection. This was possibly the best chicken I’ve ever had, and that’s saying a lot. We finished lunch with a soufflé, which Chef Nicolene surprised us with, that was fully and light and something I could really go for right now, if I’m being honest. This gruyere soufflé was prepared in a light cream sauce and had so much savory goodness.
We paired the meal with delicious wines from their expansive wine list, which had a lot of the region’s best vineyards on it. We skipped dinner this night because we were so satisfied by lunch, even though we had a very hard to get tasting menu reservation at Delaire Graf!
Day Two:
Wine Tasting at Mont Rochelle: We woke up bright and early and made our way to Richard Branson’s hotel and winery: Mont Rochelle. The estate there is stunning with views for days, and looked like a wonderful place to stay while in town. (For those curious, we stayed at Boshendal). After a tour of the property, we headed to Mont Rochelle’s tasting room and opted to do our wine and cheese tasting outside on the terrace.
We sampled six of their wines and also had tons of local cheese — which, newsflash: is delicious. We adored their red wines, especially their Miko variety. We also really enjoyed the Chardonnay. It was great to take in the sites while sipping on the delicious wines and consuming 2,000 calories of cheese, especially after all of that wedding dieting!
Lunch at La Petite Ferme: We had lunch at La Petite Ferme and three months later, I haven’t stopped talking about this transcendental experience. The grounds are beyond beautiful (the lead image of this blog post was our lunch view) and it may have been my favorite view in all of wine country.
The food and wine were just exquisite, and I don’t say that lightly. We paired our courses with wine from their very own estate. Among our many highlights was their delicious duck, prepared several ways, a pate and the most sinful piece of chocolate cake bigger than my head. This was such a delightful, leisurely lunch punctuated by vibrant flavors and unbelievable atmosphere.
Tasting at Babylonstoren: Next, we headed to Babylonstoren’s tasting room, which is a glass room with loads of light which makes you feel like you’re sitting outside. We did a wine flight before buying our favorite bottle to take on a nature walk through their expansive grounds.
We walked through their amazon cactus garden and different forests on their premises with a bottle of red and some glasses, taking in the scenery for hours on end. We walked on over to their restaurant for dinner.
Dinner at Babel: We did a very extravagant wine and food tasting menu at Babylonstoren’s restaurant, Babel. This is more of a formal dinner and you must book a bit in advance of your trip to secure a table, so if you’re looking for a fancy tasting menu in wine country, you should consider this. (Delaire Graff’s restaurant is also quite formal and fancy. We had a reservation there as well for dinner but ended up canceling it because we had consumed so much rich food on our trip).
We had three excellent courses each, paired with their wine. Some of the standouts to me were their grilled halloumi and char grilled beef filet with a red wine sauce. The presentation of each item was impressive as is the beautiful barn the restaurant is. We’d recommend if you’re looking for an over-the-top splurge of a dinner, although given the exchange rate, the meal wasn’t all too expensive.
Day Three:
Waterford Wine Estate Wine Safari: On our last day in wine country, we did something so unique and fun and unforgettable. We cannot recommend Waterford Estate’s wine drive safari enough and is a memory that will always stick with us.
Over the course of three hours, we traversed Waterford’s massive wine estate in a safari-grade jeep, off roading and stopping at beautiful vistas to samples different wines and snacks and learn about Waterford’s wine production and commitment to excellence.
We had so much wine on this tour and fell in love with Waterford’s grounds and beautiful wines. We tried everything from Cabrnet Sauvingon to Chardonnay and everything in between. One wine that I really adored was their Jem, which had berry notes and a bit of spice. Their Rose-Mary, a light rose named after the now-deceased matriarch of the family behind Waterford, was absolutely delightful. But really, everything we tried and the entire day was. If you go to South Africa’s wine region without booking this experience, you are truly missing out. We can’t recommend it more highly!
Wine Tasting at Delaire Graff: Delaire Graff in Stellenbosch is a bit Miami meets Montauk South Africa in execution. Let me explain. Delaire Graff is n incredibly chic hotel on a wine farm overlooking mountains and producing some top notch wines. But, the space is decidedly less rustic and African as it is high-end, slick, polished hotel, complete with an excellently curated boutique and outdoor patio perfect for sipping wine. It was a big departure from every other place we visited, although it wasn’t unwelcome.
We sat on their patio and ordered a giant cheese board to go along with our wine tasting. We had their reds and whites and were stunned by the surrounding mountains and views. The plan was to pace ourselves and hang out until our tasting dinner there that night, but the idea of another multi-course meal was overwhelming after all we’d consumed.
Dinner at Protege: We wanted to have dinner in the absolutely adorable little Main Street of Franschhoek, so our last night in the region we left to chance. After our last tasting, we had our Uber driver drop us off in the middle of town to stumble upon whatever restaurant struck our fancy. That’s how we discovered Protege, an adorable restaurant with casual fare and a great vibe that wasn’t too precious or stuffy.
We had heard amazing things about La Petite Colombe, a fancy restaurant with a tasting menu in the area, but we were all tasting menu’d out, so we were happy to find this more approachable restaurant run by the same team that does La Petite Colombe. We saddled up at the bar and ate cheese, bread and drank wine blissfully.
Read More Of Our Africa Travel Guides:
The Ultimate Cape Town Travel Guide
Where To Eat & Drink in Cape Town
Where To Say In Cape Town: The Twelve Apostles Hotel
Safari Fashion: How To Look Chic on Safari
Where To Stay In Hermanus: One Marine Drive Hotel
Hermanus, South Africa Travel Guide
Our Safari In Sabi Sands