Welcome to the Stellenbosch Wine Routes, one of the biggest tourist attractions in the Cape Winelands, South Africa.
47 Church Street
Stellenbosch
7600
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Stellenbosch is South Africa’s wine and gourmet capital and it is South Africa’s second oldest town. There is nothing old about Stellenbosch, it has a vibrant, youthful culture thanks to the University, some of the world’s top wines, delicious local food and lots for the whole family to experience.
After its discovery, around 1678, Stellenbosch was quickly identified as an area in which to settle, with great potential for agriculture. The surrounding areas proved rich in soil and correct climate for producing vegetables to sustain the ships passing by the Cape of Good Hope en route to the other Dutch colonies in the East. Add to this the thirst of the Dutch and other settlers that necessitated the making good wine, Stellenbosch soon saw its hills and valleys also planted to vines along with other agricultural crops. Besides its rapid growth in becoming a centre for the flourishing wine industry, the foundations for Stellenbosch’s heritage as an educational centre were laid in 1859 when a theological seminary was established. In 1918 a university was founded, and to this day the University of Stellenbosch remains an internationally recognized education centre and one of the leading universities on the African continent. It is also one of two learning centres in South Africa that trains fledgling wine makers – the other being the Elsenburg Educational College outside Stellenbosch. Although Stellenbosch has seen rapid residential and commercial growth over the past few decades, the heart of the town still resonates with an historical atmosphere and cultural allure. The buildings reflect over three centuries of occupation, including Dutch, Georgian and Victorian architecture. A myriad of museums and places of interest are found along the oak-lined streets. And the crests of the dramatically rising mountains that encircle the town – namely the Stellenbosch, Jonkershoek and Simonsberg mountains – are always visible. Besides its status as a leading cultural, education and leisure destination, it is wine that has made – and continues to make – Stellenbosch famous. A variety of soils and locations ideally suited to flourishing of a wide variety of grape cultivars, has seen Stellenbosch continue to dominate the South African wine scene in terms of quality. With the growing acceptance of South African wines globally, Stellenbosch remains at the forefront of growth in the wine industry. The region’s potential for producing quality of the wines and as a tourism hub has seen investors from as far a field as France, Germany, Switzerland, Italy and America staking their claim in the Stellenbosch winelands. In 1971 Stellenbosch became the first wine region in South Africa to establish a wine route as an organised network of wineries at which the tourist could experience the product of the vine and tune into the soul of the region’s winelands. The Stellenbosch Wine Route turned a new leaf in 2002 with the founding of the Stellenbosch American Express® Wine Routes. The Stellenbosch Wine Routes include 5 sub-routes which each have their own characteristics in terms of prominent wine styles, climates and geographical location. As part of the Cape Winelands, the Stellenbosch Wine Routes are part of the six most popular tourist attractions in South Africa and are also connected to the global Great Wine Capitals Network.
