SA Sunday: Wine Tasting in Stellenbosch

South Africa produces some amazing wine. Like, really, really good. So good, in fact, that it’s turned two staunch beer lovers into wine enthusiasts. We drank wine occasionally before moving here, but now it’s our drink of choice.

Hey, hey. I’m not saying we prefer it to beer. We love them both equally. Beer, it’s not your fault. Wine is just really affordable here (I’m talking $5 for a totally solid bottle) and we never knew just how good it could be. Pinotage has changed my adult beverage world. But the craft beer market in South Africa is coming along and we still love a good pint.

While our friends from the US were visiting, we made a trip out to Stellenbosch, where a lot of South Africa’s vineyards reside. The views on the drive out there are absolutely stunning. The view out your window looks more like it has to be a painting- there’s no way something so beautiful could be real life.

We didn’t quite go with a plan, you can see most signs for most of the wineries from the highway that goes through Stellenbosch. Our first stop was a winery called Meerlust.

There were some cute doggies that followed us around the winery, a few South African breeds included!

I really liked the decor of the area we did our tasting in. It was both eclectic and rustic, and I hadn’t seen much us like it!

The wine, of course, was also really great. We bought a 2011 bottle of Meerlust Red and our friends got a Pinot Noir. The tasting is free when when you buy a bottle, so it was a great deal.

And it was all just really pretty. Stellenbosch is a very quaint town.

We stopped at a winery that has a few zebras, ostriches, and antelopes!

We made one last great stop at a winery called Rustenberg. Unfortunately by this point my empty stomach and far too many tastings had me feeling less than great, so I didn’t tout my camera inside. We did have a great time chatting with our wine tasting guide and she was able to answer our many questions about wine (What does unwooded wine mean? Why is it called “straw wine”? What exactly does the year on a bottle refer to?) and we took a stroll through their gorgeous garden when we were done.

If you’re ever lucky enough to get to take a trip out to South Africa, a stop in Stellenbosch is absolutely necessary! It’s absolutely stunning and there’s so much incredible wine to be had.