The Harts Honeymoon in South Africa: Wine Flies

Our honeymoon was day after day of fun filled adventures and beautiful moments. But one day, one tour stands out. We knew that our time in the Winelands must include, well, wine. After researching all the options, we settled on the Wine Flies Stellenbosch Tour.

Although we were already in the Winelands, they only do hotel pick up in Cape Town, so we were met at the charming tourist office in downtown Stellenbosch, across from the university. From there we set off on a day long tour of 5 different family-owned vineyards that included a total of 25 different tastings. And each tasting was basically half a glass of wine. Hence the fun (I definitely did not drink it all, thank goodness for dump buckets). Moreover, our guide was interesting and informative. I’m sure I learned a lot that day about viticulture in South Africa, but for some reason it is a bit fuzzy.

Our first stop was Mitre’s Edge, where we were welcomed into the winemaker’s home for wine and cheese pairings. The wine was fantastic and the dogs were adorable. There were dogs at pretty much every vineyard we visited. I was okay with that.

Our second stop and the largest vineyard of the day, Villiera Wines, was highlighted because of their family friendly and eco friendly practices. For example, they use ducks to control the bugs rather than pesticides. They also have an onsite daycare and medical clinic to help care for their workers and their families. Oh, and no surprise, the wines were also great. They had several varieties of bubbly that we got to sample, along with red wines that were paired with biltong. The dog was very interested in the biltong.

It was here we bought our first bottle of wine. We knew that we could bring back up to three bottles for no extra customs fees and had come prepared with Wine Skin bags (which were inexpensive and worked perfectly) and extra space in our suitcase. We bought the pinotage for 2 reasons. First, it’s a classic South African wine. Second, it is a hybrid grape whose story is reminiscent of Brandon and me. Wine growers in the region initially attempted to grow pinot noir, but the finicky, high maintenance grape could not adapt to the South African climate. They crossbred it with the heartier, more down to earth hermitage to create the perfect blend of a varietal for the Cape Wineland climate. High maintenance, kind of finicky plus down to earth sounds familiar. Seriously, if you get a chance to try a quality pinotage from South Africa, you should.

About this time, we were in need of something heartier than cheese and biltong. Thankfully, our third stop was Middelvlei, a lovely vineyard with farm animals and, yes, dogs. We enjoyed a classic South African lunch paired with more wine, one of them a sweet white wine so pale it looked like water. After lunch, we had time to explore the farm, glass in hand, before getting a tour of the wine production and the cellar. We also had the opportunity to do a barrel tasting before setting of for the fourth vineyard.

Usana was the smallest of the vineyards we visited. We literally tasted their wines (and purchased another bottle) in the family’s backyard next to their pool. It was wonderful to hear about the family and the vineyard’s history as we enjoyed wine and biltong.

Our final stop was perhaps my favorite, probably because there was chocolate. Lovane works with a Cape Town chocolatier to create custom chocolates to pair with their wines. The chocolates can only be purchased with the accompanying bottle of wine. It was a sweet way to end a fun and informative wine tour. You know I had to buy a bottle here, if only for the amazing chocolate.

But we weren’t quite done yet. On the return trip, we were offered a bottle of bubbly to share in honor of our honeymoon. There was a moment when Africa by Toto came on the radio where everyone in the van started singing along. A moment where we sang and shared a bottle of sparkling wine. A moment of abandonment and genuine happiness.

I cannot recommend Wine Flies enough. If all you have is one day to see the Winelands, do it with them. You will laugh and drink and learn. It will be perfect.