In a nutshell
- A visit to a Stellenbosch winery means wine tastings, food pairings (think chocolate and mezze), beautiful gardens, artwork, farm shops, weekend markets, and more — there’s seriously a lot to choose from.
- We cover the 7 best wine estates in Stellenbosch and tell you exactly which ones we’d pick for which occasion — so you don’t waste a visit on the wrong place.
- We recommend spending at least two full days here and using Stellenbosch as your base for the Cape Winelands.
- Want to stay overnight on a wine estate? Check out the Spier Wine Farm or the more budget-friendly Ladybird Vineyards Guesthouse. All our accommodation advice is in our guide to staying in Stellenbosch.
- Reserve tastings and restaurant tables in advance using the Dineplan app (Android I iOS). If you want to hit as many estates as possible in one day, book a multi-winery hop-on/hop-off tour.
The most beautiful wineries in and around Stellenbosch
- Delaire Graff Estate: perfect for wine tastings
- Tokara Wine Estate: perfect for à la carte breakfast and lunch (great for kids too, thanks to the playground!)
- Blaauwklippen: perfect for families with children (large playground) and wine pairings
- Spier Wine Farm: perfect for picnics and staying overnight at the Spier Hotel
- Waterford Estate: perfect for combining wine tasting with a walk through the vineyards
- Babylonstoren: perfect if you want everything in one place
- Bartinney Private Cellar: for wine tastings with a snack board. Small but mighty. Our under-the-radar pick among the Stellenbosch wineries
Delaire Graff Estate
Why Delaire? We’d head to the Delaire Graff Estate for wine tastings. It’s widely considered to have the best tastings of all the Stellenbosch wine estates. On top of that, the tasting room stays open later than most — you can sit and enjoy until 8 PM.
Where is it? Ten minutes by car east of Stellenbosch – open in Google Maps.
Wine tastings: in the wine lounge and on the terrace. Three different tastings. Small menu with snack boards. No reservations needed. 10 AM – 8 PM.
Dining: lunch and dinner. Three restaurants. All require reservations.
Delaire Graff Restaurant: Lunch & Dinner. Creative bistro dishes with an African touch.
Hōseki: Lunch & Dinner. Contemporary Japanese cuisine.
Lorenzo’s: Lunch. Italian restaurant with wood-fired pizza and homemade pasta.
Accommodation: Yes, at around $2,000 per night – Delaire Graff Lodges.
Other info:
- Admission: free — you’re welcome to visit without eating or doing a tasting.
- Are there picnics? No.
- Garden: The garden is open to all visitors and you can view sculptures throughout. Pick up a map of the grounds at reception.
- Art: Paintings and sculptures are scattered all over the estate.
- Are there activities for children? No. Kids are welcome, but honestly it’s not really the right place for them.
Tokara Wine Estate
Why Tokara? We’d head to the Tokara Wine Estate for the delicious breakfast and lunch at Tokara Delicatessen. The winery is family-run and has a wonderfully relaxed atmosphere. It’s made up of two parts — 1. The wine lounge for tastings and Tokara Restaurant for fine dining, and 2. Tokara Delicatessen for breakfast and lunch, with a playground right next door.
Where is it? Ten minutes by car east of Stellenbosch – open in Google Maps.
Wine tastings: in the wine lounge at Tokara Restaurant. Small menu with cheese boards. Reservations required. 10 AM – 6 PM.
Dining: breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Two restaurants.
Tokara Delicatessen: Breakfast & Lunch. Family-friendly à la carte bistro. Reservations or waitlist.
Tokara Restaurant: Lunch & Dinner. Regionally inspired cuisine with stunning views. Reservations required.
Accommodation: No.
Other info:
- Admission: free — you’re welcome to visit without eating or doing a tasting.
- Are there picnics? No.
- Garden: The gardens are lush and green, full of sculptures, and open to all visitors.
- Art: Artworks are displayed throughout the entire estate. Tokara Restaurant features an art gallery, and the garden has some seriously impressive sculptures.
- Are there activities for children? Yes. Tokara Delicatessen has an outdoor playground and a box of toys inside.
- Special features: Olive oil tasting
Blaauwklippen
Why Blaauwklippen? We’d choose Blaauwklippen when we’re traveling with the kids, want to do a wine pairing, and to check out the IS Art Gallery. On weekends there’s even a family market from 10 AM to 4 PM. Most of the action here happens in the morning and afternoon.
Where is it? Ten minutes by car south of Stellenbosch – open in Google Maps.
Wine tastings: in the tasting house. Three different tastings. Small menu with snack boards. Reservations required. 10 AM – 6 PM.
Wine pairings: pizza (for kids with grape juice), mezze, arancini, cheesecake, macaron, chocolate
Dining: breakfast and lunch. One restaurant. Reservations required.
De Blaauwe Kitchen: Breakfast & Lunch. Family-friendly restaurant with Mediterranean dishes.
Accommodation: Yes, at around $300–400 per night – Blaauwklippen Manor.
Other info:
- Admission: free — you’re welcome to visit without eating or doing a tasting. Children pay R85 (about $4.50) for the bike park and playground.
- Are there picnics? No.
- Art: You absolutely have to check out the IS Art Gallery in the tasting house. It really wowed us.
- Are there activities for children? Yes! There’s the weekend family market, a bike park, and a really cool playground at the restaurant. Pack sturdy shoes and helmets! Kids can also join in on the pizza pairing.
- Special features: Events take place on the estate regularly. Check what’s on on the website.
Spier Wine Farm
Why Spier? We’d choose Spier Wine Farm for a pre-ordered picnic basket and when we want to spend the night on a wine estate. There’s plenty more to love here too: Segway tours, an audio tour of the estate, a craft market, and a vegetable garden.
Where is it? 15 minutes by car southwest of Stellenbosch – open in Google Maps.
Wine tastings: in the building by the lake. Three different tastings and a grape juice tasting. Small menu with snack boards. Reservations required. 9 AM – 5 PM.
Wine pairing: chocolate
Dining: breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Four restaurants.
Vadas Smokehouse & Bakery: Breakfast & Lunch. House-made baked goods and American BBQ. Reservations required.
Garden Room: Breakfast & Lunch. Traditional Cape cuisine with local ingredients. Open from May 2025. Reservations required.
Bubbles & Braai Snack Bar: Lunch. Burger pop-up on sunny weekends. No reservations.
Veld Restaurant: Dinner. Seasonal South African cuisine. Open from May 2025. Reservations required.
Accommodation: Yes, at around $250–350 per night – Spier Hotel.
Other info:
- Admission: free — you’re welcome to visit without eating or doing a tasting.
- Are there picnics? Yes, you can choose from a variety of baskets, including vegetarian and vegan options. Reserve your basket up to 24 hours in advance on the website.
- Garden: There’s a free play garden for children and a vegetable garden.
- Art: You can explore the Spier Art Collection, with sculptures and other artworks scattered across the estate.
- Are there activities for children? Oh yes. The highlight is the Elemental Garden with a water playground, suspension bridge, and tunnels. There’s also a grape juice tasting and picnic baskets made just for kids.
- Special features: You can book Segway tours and harvest vegetables in the garden if you reserve in advance.
Waterford Estate
Why Waterford? In addition to classic wine tastings, Waterford Estate offers a Wine Drive Safari and a Wine Walk. So instead of tasting wines in a tasting room, you sample them right where they come from — in the middle of the vineyards. It’s a really special experience.
Where is it? 15 minutes by car south of Stellenbosch – open in Google Maps.
Wine tastings: in the tasting room. Small menu with snack boards. Reservations required. 10 AM – 5 PM. Or as part of a Wine Drive Safari (three hours) or the Porcupine Trail Wine Walk (1.5 hours), offered twice a day — at 10 AM and 2 PM. Reserve at least one week in advance.
Wine pairing: chocolate
Dining: lunch. One restaurant. Reservations required.
Salt at Waterford Estate: Lunch. Upscale South African cuisine.
Accommodation: No.
Other info:
- Admission: free — you’re welcome to visit without eating or doing a tasting.
- Are there picnics? Yes. The picnic here is a bit different from other Stellenbosch wine farms — it comes as part of a guided Wine Walk or Wine Drive.
- Art: No.
- Are there activities for children? In our opinion, Waterford Estate is only somewhat suitable for kids. There are no special offerings and no playground.
- Special features: Wine Walks and Wine Drives (ages ten and up)
Babylonstoren
Why Babylonstoren? We’d choose Babylonstoren when we want everything in one place. This winery near Stellenbosch has sooooo much going on. You can do an olive oil tasting, join various workshops, or stop by the farm shop — which we think is really, really cool.
Where is it? 30 minutes by car north of Stellenbosch, near Paarl – open in Google Maps.
Wine tastings: in the tasting room. Seven different tastings. Small menu with snack boards. No reservations needed. 10 AM – 5 PM.
Dining: breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Three restaurants.
Babel: Breakfast, Lunch (Wednesday through Sunday) & Dinner. Farm-to-table dishes in a former cowshed. Reservations required.
The Greenhouse: Breakfast & Lunch. Café in a stylish greenhouse. First come, first served.
Old Bakery. Dinner. Italian and South African themed evenings. Reservations required.
Accommodation: Yes, at around $1,000 per night – Babylonstoren Hotel.
Other info:
- Admission: Day visitors pay R150 (about $8) entry. Admission is free for hotel guests.
- Are there picnics? No.
- Garden: The garden is so vast that the estate even offers guided tours of it. It’s divided into different sections, including a vegetable garden, a maze, and a huge swing.
- Art: There’s no gallery at Babylonstoren. But the estate itself is a work of art — everything is styled to perfection.
- Are there activities for children? Yes. Children don’t pay admission, are welcome to help with food preparations, and can take part in scavenger hunts. There are also lots of animals like donkeys and chickens.
- Special features: Olive oil tasting
Bartinney Private Cellar
Why Bartinney? We’d choose Bartinney Private Cellar when we want peace and quiet with fewer tourists. It’s not one of the most well-known Stellenbosch wineries — it’s simply a wine farm with a wine bar for tastings and accommodation. We love it for the great terrace and its laid-back vibe. For us, it’s a little local favorite among the Stellenbosch wine estates.
Where is it? 15 minutes by car east of Stellenbosch – open in Google Maps.
Wine tasting: on the terrace at the tasting shed. Small menu with snack boards. Reservations required. 10 AM – 5 PM.
Wine pairing: Fynbos (small bites with herbs from South Africa)
Dining: There are no restaurants, but there is a wine bar where you can order snacks alongside your tasting.
Accommodation: Yes, at around $100–200 per night – Bartinney Cellar Banhoek. That said, we didn’t have a great experience there — it had an unpleasant smell, wasn’t very clean, and several things were broken. Friends stayed in a different house on the property and were happy with it.
Other info:
- Admission: free — you’re welcome to visit without eating or doing a tasting.
- Are there picnics? No.
- Art: No.
- Are there activities for children? No. There are no real offerings for kids. It’s more of a peaceful spot for wine lovers.
- Special features: Gin tasting
General tips for visiting the wineries near Stellenbosch
Each of our seven top Stellenbosch wineries has its own special character. That said, there are a few pointers that apply to all of them.
Think ahead, for example, about how you want to get around. You have several options:
- Your own car: Just keep in mind that the driver has to stay sober!
- Uber: Not super reliable in the Cape Winelands, though.
- Private driver: Book one in advance through your accommodation.
- Private tour: You visit multiple wineries in one go. We’ll share our tour recommendations in just a moment.
At most of the best wineries in Stellenbosch, you’ll need to reserve in advance for wine tastings, restaurants, and picnic baskets. A few wine estates do operate on a first-come, first-served basis, though — we’ve noted this for each one above.
In general, we recommend booking everything ahead of time — it just makes the whole experience more relaxed. The easiest way to do this is with the Dineplan App (Android I iOS). You can use it to make reservations at almost every winery.
Tours to the wineries around Stellenbosch
If you want to visit as many Stellenbosch wine farms as possible in a single day, a tour is the way to go. You can join one from Cape Town or directly from Stellenbosch.
A guided tour from Cape Town to the wineries is perfect if you don’t want to drive in South Africa and just want a day trip into the wine region.
If you’re staying overnight in Stellenbosch and want to tour from there, you have several options. We recommend the Vine Hopper — a hop-on/hop-off bus that runs three routes, each stopping at around five wineries. You can book the routes through GetYourGuide:
Book the Southern Route incl. Blaauwklippen Our top pick
A great alternative is a guided tour with a local guide. We recommend a tour of four wineries that includes lunch and wine tastings.
Book a guided tour to the wineries around Stellenbosch
Stellenbosch in the Cape Winelands
OK, we’ve covered a lot about the best wineries in and around Stellenbosch. To give you an even better picture of the town itself, here are the most important things to know.
Stellenbosch sits in the southern part of the Cape Winelands. But the wine region is much larger than just one town — it stretches across several villages nestled among the vineyards, including Franschhoek, Tulbagh, and Paarl.
For a classic road trip through South Africa, we still recommend Stellenbosch as your base for the Cape Winelands. For us, it’s the coolest town in the wine region. This university town has a young, lively energy, fantastic restaurants, great wine estates, and a handful of lovely sights.
Read all our tips for Stellenbosch
From Stellenbosch, you can easily take day trips to nearby towns like Paarl or Franschhoek. Both are about 30 minutes away by car. There you can spend a day visiting their wineries or hop on the Wine Tram, which departs from Franschhoek and stops at several wineries along the way.
Frequently asked questions about wineries in and around Stellenbosch
What's the best way to visit the wineries in and around Stellenbosch?
We recommend planning a few days in the Cape Winelands as part of your road trip along the Route 62. Book accommodation in Stellenbosch and use it as your base for exploring the surrounding wine estates.
Alternatively, you can do a day trip from Cape Town — either with your own car or on a guided tour from Cape Town to the wineries of Stellenbosch, Paarl, and Franschhoek.
Which wineries in Stellenbosch are worth visiting?
There are over 150 wineries in and around Stellenbosch, so you’ll be spoiled for choice.
Don’t stress yourself out trying to cram in as many as possible. Your time is limited. Just pick one winery for breakfast, one for lunch and a wander, and one for a proper wine tasting.
Our specific recommendations for each occasion are all listed above.
Can you do wine tastings and still drive?
No! Don’t drink and drive.
Aside from the obvious reasons, there are also occasional alcohol checkpoints on the roads. Luckily, you have plenty of other options.
Either one of you skips the wine and drives home, you ask your accommodation in advance about a private drop-off and pick-up service, you grab an Uber, or you book a tour. The Vine Hopper Tour runs three different routes, each stopping at around five wineries in and around Stellenbosch.
Which wineries can you visit with kids?
If you’re on a vacation with kids, we think Blaauwklippen is the best choice.
The winery hosts a family market on weekends, there’s a bike park and a really cool playground, and the kids even get to join in on the pizza pairing — with grape juice instead of wine, of course.
Which winery is best for staying overnight near Stellenbosch?
Many of the places to stay in and around Stellenbosch are on wine estates.
You can spend the night at most of the estates we feature here, though they’re often booked up far in advance and can be really expensive. If you want to stay at one of the well-known wine farms without breaking the bank, we recommend the Spier Wine Farm.
There are also plenty of smaller, lesser-known wine estates with accommodation. For those, we’d suggest the Ladybird Vineyard Guesthouse, right on a lake.
