South Africa is one of the top 10 wine-producing countries in the world, and most of it happens in the Winelands just outside of Cape Town. So why don’t you hop on board for a personal experience around the Franschhoek valley, surely the most beautiful village along the wine route. Stroll through the beautiful gardens at Babylonstoren, taste some of the finest award-winning Cape wines, see some local art including garden sculptures, fine and contemporary art, and dine at one the many exquisite restaurants of the region.

The tour departs at 08h30 from Cape Town’s V&A Waterfront, or your city hotel. We travel along the N1 towards Babylonstoren for close to an hour before we reach the tranquility of Babylonstoren, one of the oldest Cape Dutch farms with it’s diverse fruit and vegetable garden.

On arrival we’ll go to the Farm Shop to grab a cup of coffee or fresh juice, try some nuts, dip freshly baked bread in olive oil and dukkah, browse through all the interesting products on sale before the garden tour starts.

At 10h00 one of the experienced gardeners will meet us for a guided tour, during which they encourage guests to pick, taste, smell and touch while walking through their garden. Depending on the time of year, guests will be taken to see the succulent collection, the cycads next to the stream or for a walk through the Healing Garden. Every one of the more than 300 varieties of plants in the garden is edible or has medicinal value.

After completing the approximately 1.5hr garden tour you’ll step into the Scented Room and experience the fresh smells and fragrances on offer. By now it’s almost time for some wine and we travel into Franschhoek and visit one of the top wine estates in the valley for a tasting session of a few award-winning wines. During harvest season you may be lucky enough to get a behind the scenes view of how wine is made.