The Western Cape Features

The Western Cape Features

• Top Reasons to Go to The Western Cape
  

  Land of Divine Wine. Few places in the world can match the drama of the Winelands, where mountains rise above vine-covered valleys and 300-year-old... Read more

• South African Wine
  

  The South African wine industry is booming. Buried by sanctions during apartheid, South African wines were largely unknown internationally. But... Read more

• Cape Dutch Architecture
  

  As you travel around the region, the most visible emblems of settler culture you'll encounter are the Cape Dutch-style houses. Here 18th- and... Read more

• From Soil to Oil
  

  South Africans are beginning to produce extra-virgin olive oils that are as excellent as their wines. One place to learn about this fruit of... Read more

• Sip and Spoeg Like an Expert
  

  South Africa currently has more growing areas than ever that yield a huge selection of very different wines. One of the best ways to find your... Read more

• Wine Goes Green
  

  As romantic as vineyards seem, wine farming is a monoculture and generally not that eco-friendly. The Biodiversity & Wine Initiative (BWI)... Read more

• Franschhoek Wine Route
  

  The drive out of Stellenbosch up the Helshoogte Pass is spectacular. In winter you'll more than likely find snow on the mountain peaks; in summer... Read more

• Paarl Wine Route
  

  Wineries here are spread far apart, so you might want to select only a couple or take a whole day to taste at leisure. Start in Paarl, home to... Read more

• Pieter-Dirk Uys: Everyone's Darling
  

  It's fitting that Pieter-Dirk Uys (www.pdu.co.za) and his alter ego, Evita Bezuidenhout, live in a village called Darling. He's the darling of... Read more

• San Rock Art
  

  The Cederberg has astonishing examples of San rock art and there is a concerted effort to find ways of managing these sites. On your explorations... Read more

• Leopard (and Sheep) Conservation
  

  Sheep farming in the Cederberg is a precarious business. Not only are the winters harsh, but valuable sheep may be killed by the leopards that... Read more

• Rooibos Tea
  

  Chances are you will either love or hate rooibos (red bush) tea, which South Africans drink in vast quantities. It has an unusual, earthy taste... Read more

• A Note on the Term "Coloured"
  

  South Africa has come a long way since the first democratic elections in 1994. Parts of the country are, in fact, just about unrecognizable... Read more

• Stellenbosch Wine Route
  

  West of Stellenbosch, the R310 (also known locally as Baden Powell Drive) forks to the left, but go straight on the M12 (also known as Polkadraai... Read more