Guide · Winelands

Food and wine pairing near Cape Town: a day in the Winelands

Food and wine pairing near Cape Town is a day trip, not an evening: cheese, chocolate and lunch among the vines of Stellenbosch, Franschhoek and Paarl, with the city's own wine valley closer still.

Check availabilityfrom $131 · free to cancel

Editorial team, foodtourcapetown.comUpdated October 26, 2026Reading time about 6 minutes35 sources

On this topic: the tour Cape Town: Full-Day Winelands Tour with Wine Tastings & Food 4.9 (1,414 reviews) 9 hours from$131per person Check availabilityFree cancellation up to 24 hrs before

Quick answer, for one day

01Most reviewed with lunch: A 9-hour day with wine, cheese and chocolate tastings and a winery lunch, 1,414 reviews.
02Pairings galore: Cheese, chocolate, lunch and an MCC tasting on an 8.5-hour day.
03Closest valley: Constantia, inside Cape Town, with nine farms on its official route.¹
04Adults only: Both pairing days take guests from 18 only.
05Rule of thumb: Book a guided day if you want to drink; nobody should drive after a pairing lunch.

Why the Winelands are a food day

The Cape Winelands are as much about the table as the glass. South African Tourism says most wine farms have top-class restaurants on their premises, and that many estates have award-winning restaurants or offer picnic baskets among the vines.² ³ A tasting here usually comes with something to eat beside it.

That is what makes food and wine pairing near Cape Town such an easy day out. Instead of a flight of wines on an empty stomach, you move from cheese to chocolate to a long lunch, and the wine follows the food rather than the other way round. It is also a gentler pace than a city food walk: long drives between valleys, time on a terrace, and a lunch that can easily stretch well into the afternoon.

The region also tells the story of the country. Wines of South Africa says Jan van Riebeeck planted a vineyard in 1655 and that the first wine was made from Cape grapes on 2 February 1659.⁴ Centuries of farms, families and recipes have shaped what lands on your plate today.

History in dates

How the Cape became wine country

1655

The first vineyard

Jan van Riebeeck plants vines at the Cape.⁴
2 February 1659

The first wine

Wine is made from Cape grapes for the first time.⁴
1678

Stellenbosch

The town is founded by Simon van der Stel.⁵
1685

Constantia

Some 10,000 vines are planted in the valley.⁶
1688

Franschhoek

Some 150 French Huguenots settle mainly in the valley.⁷
1925

Pinotage

Bred at Stellenbosch University.⁸

Stellenbosch, Franschhoek and Paarl

Stellenbosch, the City of Oaks, is a 45-minute drive from Cape Town and has more than 170 wine farms, South African Tourism says.⁹ Wines of South Africa records that the town was established by Governor Simon van der Stel in 1678.⁵ Its historic center, with cafes and oak-lined streets, is worth a stroll between tastings. Between tastings, a coffee in town resets the palate before the afternoon pours.

Franschhoek is hailed by many as the food and wine capital of South Africa, South African Tourism says, and its name means French quarter.¹⁰ ¹¹ Wines of South Africa records that some 150 French Huguenots came to the Cape in 1688 with their winemaking skills and settled mainly in this valley.⁷ On the 2026 Eat Out list, La Petite Colombe in Franschhoek holds three stars.¹²

Paarl rounds out the trio. South African Tourism recommends Fairview in Paarl for cheese and wine pairings, and Waterford in Stellenbosch for wine and chocolate.¹³ ¹⁴ Those two pairings, cheese and chocolate, are the backbone of most food and wine days in the region.

Reviews

Winelands days by number of reviews

reviews

Totals as each listing displays them; only the last two include lunch.

Side by side

Winelands days from Cape Town at a glance

Day	Hours	Food	Price
Day with lunch	9	Cheese, chocolate & lunch	from $131
Pairing day	8.5	Cheese, chocolate & lunch	from $121
Three estates	8.5	Local snacks only	from $55
Wine tram	8.5	Bought at the estates	from $50

Rows follow each listing's own details; a price shown is where per-guest fares start, not a final total.

Three towns

Where the pairings are

Most farms

Stellenbosch

The City of Oaks

From the city: 45 minutes
Wine farms: 170+
Founded: 1678

Plan the day

Food town

Franschhoek

The French quarter

Settled: 1688
Known for: Food and wine
Three stars: 1 restaurant

Plan the day

Closest

Constantia

Inside Cape Town

Farms on route: 9
Vines planted: 1685
Three stars: 1 restaurant

Plan the day

Decision helper

Which Winelands day suits you?

Find the line that fits your day among the vines.

The day with lunch

A winery lunch with vegetarian options, plus cheese and chocolate.

The pairing day

Six cheeses with six wines, then chocolate and lunch.

The three-estate day

15 wines at 3 estates, snacks but no lunch.

Constantia

Cape Town's own wine valley, inside the city.¹

A Bo-Kaap food walk

10+ tastings with wine at the drink stops.

Jan van Riebeeck, the first governor of the Cape, planted a vineyard in 1655, and on 2 February 1659, the first wine was made from Cape grapes.

Wines of South AfricaSource 4

Constantia: wine country inside the city

If you have only half a day, stay in town. South African Tourism says Constantia, Cape Town's own wine region, has nine farms on its official route and can claim to be the oldest wine region in the Southern Hemisphere.¹ It calls Groot Constantia the first wine farm in South Africa.¹⁵

Wines of South Africa records that Simon van der Stel planted some 10,000 vines in the Constantia valley in 1685, and says he made good wine from the outset.⁶ ¹⁶ For food, South African Tourism names Jonkershuis on the Groot Constantia estate, an eatery whose cooking reflects the Cape Malay heritage of its home.¹⁷

Constantia also holds starred dining: La Colombe holds three Eat Out stars, and Beyond and Chefs Warehouse at Beau Constantia hold two each.¹² ¹⁸ Our page on the best restaurants in the city covers them in more detail.

Map

Where to eat: the Bo-Kaap, the city, the coast and the vines

First the streets around the Bo-Kaap where the food walks begin, then the markets and neighbourhoods around the city, then the wine towns inland.

Map of the Bo-Kaap and Cape Town city centre with the Bo-Kaap Museum, the Auwal Mosque, Greenmarket Square, Church Square and De Waterkant — Bo-Kaap and city centre

Map of Cape Town with the V&A Waterfront, the Old Biscuit Mill, Camps Bay, Hout Bay, Gugulethu and Groot Constantia — Around the city

Map of Cape Town and the wine towns of Stellenbosch, Franschhoek and Paarl — The Winelands

1
Bo-Kaap Museum
A 1768 house at 71 Wale Street, open 09:00 to 17:00 from Monday to Saturday.¹⁹ ²⁰ ²¹
In Google Maps ↗
2
Auwal Mosque
South African Tourism calls it the oldest mosque in the country; dress modestly to go in.²² ²³
In Google Maps ↗
3
Greenmarket Square
Several of the city food walks compared on this site pass through this square.
In Google Maps ↗
4
Church Square
The African food and storytelling walk meets at the statue on this square.
In Google Maps ↗
5
De Waterkant
The booked food tour spends its third hour here, and the 12 pm and 1 pm tours from Tuesday to Saturday end at a pub in the area.
In Google Maps ↗
6
V&A Waterfront
Time Out Market, 13 kitchens, and the Oranjezicht City Farm Market at weekends.²⁴ ²⁵
In Google Maps ↗
7
Old Biscuit Mill
Neighbourgoods Market every Saturday and Sunday from 9am, at 373-375 Albert Road in Woodstock.²⁶ ²⁷
In Google Maps ↗
8
Camps Bay
Sidewalk restaurants and cafes line Victoria Road across from the beach.²⁸ ²⁹
In Google Maps ↗
9
Bay Harbour Market
Hout Bay's weekend market at 31 Harbour Road, open on Friday evenings too.³⁰
In Google Maps ↗
10
Gugulethu
Mzoli's, where you choose your meat at the butcher before it is grilled.³¹
In Google Maps ↗
11
Groot Constantia
Called the first wine farm in South Africa by South African Tourism.¹⁵
In Google Maps ↗
12
Cape Town
Both full food and wine days compared here collect you in the city.
In Google Maps ↗
13
Stellenbosch
A 45-minute drive from Cape Town, with more than 170 wine farms.⁹
In Google Maps ↗
14
Franschhoek
French Huguenots settled mainly in this valley from 1688; its name means French quarter.⁷ ¹¹
In Google Maps ↗
15
Paarl
Fairview here is recommended for cheese and wine pairings.¹³
In Google Maps ↗

Open the map in Google Maps

Checklist

Before a Winelands day

Bring

ID showing you are 18 or over
A hat and sunscreen in summer
A water bottle between tastings

Plan

A guided day, so nobody drives
Tell the operator about dietary needs
Spring or summer for dry days
Budget for bottles you will want to buy

Price check

What a Winelands day costs your group

Choose a day and the number of guests.

Day with lunch9 hoursfrom $131 Pairing day8.5 hoursfrom $121 Three estates8.5 hoursfrom $55 Wine tram8.5 hoursfrom $50

People 2

Total from$261

from, per person $131

Check availabilityfree cancellation

Every line takes the cheapest fare per guest that Viator or GetYourGuide shows for that trip, times your number of guests, converted with the European Central Bank's reference rate. The seller's own checkout shows the exact total.

Video

Eating and drinking in Stellenbosch

Until you tap play, the video stays unloaded.

The guided food and wine tour from Cape Town

The easiest way to do it all without driving is a guided food and wine tour from Cape Town. The day this page books runs 9 hours with pickup included, for up to 11 participants with a guide in English, from $131.

It covers Paarl, Franschhoek and Stellenbosch, with tastings of wine, cheese and chocolate and an a la carte lunch at a winery that has vegetarian options. The wines run from Cap Classique sparkling wine to port-style and dessert wines, reds and whites. With 1,414 reviews and a rating of 4.89, it has more reviews than any other day with lunch compared here.

Participants must be 18 or over, and free cancellation applies up to 24 hours before. If you are staying outside the center, the listing asks you to arrange a meeting point with the local partner after booking. Pack a light layer: cellars are cool even on a hot day, and the drive home in the late afternoon can be breezy.

Other days, and what each leaves out

A Viator day of 8.5 hours goes further on pairings: a six cheese and six wine pairing, a restaurant lunch with wine, a chocolate and wine pairing with a cellar tour, an MCC sparkling wine tasting, and time in Franschhoek and Stellenbosch, from $121. It picks you up from your accommodation in central Cape Town or Stellenbosch, for adults from 18 to 75.

Some of the most reviewed wine days include no lunch. A coach day to 3 estates with 15 wines serves local snacks at its tastings, from $55, and the Franschhoek wine tram hop-on hop-off day leaves lunch and food to be bought at the estates, with tasting fees charged separately.

Those are good days for wine lovers on a budget, but they are not food days. If the meal matters to you, choose a tour whose listing names the lunch, and check whether vegetarian options are mentioned. A budget day can still be a good one if you plan a proper lunch yourself at one of the estate restaurants, and leave enough time to enjoy it.

What you will taste

The red to know is pinotage, a cross bred by Professor Abraham Perold at Stellenbosch University in 1925 from pinot noir and cinsaut.⁸ South African Tourism calls it the country's signature red, and the Winelands are the place to try it.³² Ask at the cellar door about older vintages, which some estates pour only when asked.

Sparkling wine made the traditional way is labelled Méthode Cap Classique, or MCC, in South Africa.³³ It is not Champagne, which comes only from France, and South African producers use their own name for it.

Cheese and chocolate pairings are the usual foods at the tasting tables, and a farm lunch brings the local cooking of the estate's own kitchen. Ask your guide which estate on the day pours the wines you liked most, and buy a bottle there.

Seasons, and a plan for the day

South African Tourism says winter in the Winelands can be wet, so spring and summer are the best times to visit.³⁴ At the Cape Town airport station, June is the wettest month with 88 mm of rain, while February averages a high of 28.2 °C.³⁵

Start early, eat a proper breakfast, and pace the tastings: a pour at each stop adds up over a long day. Drink water between estates, and leave space for lunch, because that is the meal the day is built around. Spit if you want to taste more, and nobody at a cellar door will mind: it is how professionals get through a long day.

If you also want a food day in the city, the walking food tour this site books takes 4 hours in the Bo-Kaap, Bree Street, De Waterkant and a sports bar, with 10+ tastings and wine included at its drink stops, from $141. Put the city first and the vines second, so you arrive in the Winelands already knowing what you like.

Book your afternoon

Four neighborhoods, one long tasting lunch.

Up to 12 guests, 10+ tastings with drinks, and a full refund up to 24 hours ahead.

Check datesfrom $141 · free to cancel 4.9 · 510 verified ratings

You ask,we answer.

How far are the Winelands from Cape Town?

Stellenbosch is about 45 minutes away. South African Tourism gives a 45-minute drive from Cape Town to Stellenbosch; Constantia is inside the city.⁹ ¹

Is lunch included on a Winelands tour?

On some. The 9-hour day this page books includes a winery lunch; the wine tram day and the 3-estate coach day do not include lunch.

Can children come on a food and wine day?

Usually not. The 9-hour day takes participants from 18 only, and the Viator pairing day takes adults from 18 to 75.

What is pinotage?

South Africa's own red grape cross. It was bred at Stellenbosch University in 1925 from pinot noir and cinsaut.⁸

Is South African sparkling wine called Champagne?

No, it is called MCC. Sparkling wine made the traditional way is labelled Méthode Cap Classique in South Africa.³³

When is the best time to visit the Winelands?

Spring and summer. South African Tourism says winter can be wet, so spring and summer suit a visit best.³⁴

Which wine region is closest to the city?

Constantia. It is Cape Town's own wine region, with nine farms on its official route.¹