For years I’ve heard colleagues and friends speak of the beauty of South Africa’s Winelands. Comments such as “the Western Cape is the world’s most beautiful wine country” and “you can’t imagine how beautiful Stellenbosch and the surrounding Winelands are”, have made me want to see for myself.
I have always dreamed of coming to South Africa. However, if truth be known, I had often wondered if some of the talk about the Cape’s beauty might be a bit of hyperbole. After all, I have been fortunate to have visited most of the world’s wine regions, and I have found each to exude a distinctive charm and give me pause to wonder. Burgundy, Germany’s Rheingau, Napa Valley, Provence, Tuscany, and Chile’s Colchagua Valley whose vineyards soar skyward on the majestic slopes of the towering Cordillera of the Andes, to name just a few special wine regions are all quite special and offer excellent photo ops. However, after visiting South Africa’s Western Cape to sample the wines of Stellenbosch, Franschhoek, Paarl, and Swartland, I must confess there is no more dramatic and stunningly beautiful wine region on earth than South Africa’s Western Cape.
A Votre Santé!
Don
