Stellies is only just down the road from Cape Town, yet in the two years I have lived here, I have only visited it once. I’m guessing it’s because I grew up in the small university town of Grahamstown and had heard from fellow students that it was just another place where students get totally hammered on cheap alcohol- been there done that.
What I hadn’t been told is how unique the town actually is. The architecture is dominated by old white Cape Dutch styled buildings and the roads are lined with leafy trees. In the centre of Stellenbosch there are small lanes complete with quaint little cafés and bistros, wine and antique stores. You can’t help feel like you are in a small European village somewhere. After a reasonably long walk around the town, my partner and I were only too happy to settle down with some ice-cold water, and a platter of Lebanese food (complete with huge pita breads, hummus, olives, and interesting pates) at Manoushe- highly recommended. Another must visit in Stellies, is the Stellenbosch fresh goods market on the outskirts of town (open every Saturday 9am to 2pm). With our lack of knowledge of the general Stellies area, we couldn’t find it and had to push onto our appointment at Webersburg wine farm. However I have heard that the market is an absolute must – also a nice change if you have been to the Neighbourgoods Market at the Old Biscuit Mill and feel like a change. Fellow designer Marisa Steyn recommends the ‘Wow’ juice, which sounds just like I’m sure it tastes.
Onwards to Webersburg wine farm, about 5 km outside Stellenbosch. You can’t miss the turn off which is right next to that gigantic strawberry farmstall, Mooiberg which has a huge wine shop at the back, selling wines that date back to the early 1980’s and main brands at discount prices. And because of the time of the year, a HUGE amount of strawberry products (jams, spreads, yoghurts, ice creams, etc). Across the road, they allow strawberry picking (about R25 Per kg) on weekends, which looked like a lot of fun (especially for kids). As you drive away from the farmstall, you are confronted with about 50 different types of “scarecrows” which come in the form of animals, soccer players, and unidentified objects (certainly enough to scare away the birds, and maybe a few people too).
Webersburg Farm just down the road is a smallish wine farm, nestled in the lower valley of the Helderberg Mountains. Existing as both a guesthouse and a popular wedding venue, it is hard to believe you are only 45 minutes from Cape Town. Wine tasting is open to the public (try to call in advance in wedding season), and while tasting you overlook a dam, home to many ducks, geese and trout (who says you can’t go game viewing on a wine farm?!) It was so refreshing to not have to fight our way to the wine bar for tasting (like many other mainstream wine farms) and we enjoyed sipping the cool Sauvignon Blanc while enjoying the enormous amount of space we had to ourselves (we don’t even have a proper balcony at our flat in the CBD of CT). Later we met the winemaker and his fiancé, who spoiled us with an evening of food and wine pairing. He was a very generous pourer to say the least! Our favourites were the Sauvignon Blanc and the rich red blend are on sale at very reasonable prices.
The weekend ended with an amazing full-on breakfast (the guesthouse serves guests breakfast every morning on the patio overlooking the pool). This was followed by lots of water (red wine headache!) before we made our way to Uva Mira wine farm to taste the world famous Chardonnay (the same winemaker from Webersburg works there). The farm has one of the best views of the area and the Chardonnay was incredible. An excellent end to our “quick escape” and after a 45 min drive we were back home.
If you have a free Saturday before the holiday season starts, make the trip out there, it’s well worth it (you may even pick up a few Christmas presents for your family and of course yourself!).
