[IMAGE1] Lush green vines drape the hills and concertinaed mountains swirl against the sky. Farm dams glint in the summer sun and whitewashed walls flicker behind homestead-planted trees. Every couple of metres, distinctive brown signs with wine barrels indicate yet another wine farm open for tastings - 84 to be precise, on the Stellenbosch Wine Route, the heart of South Africa's wine industry. This is but one of a number of wine routes that extend from Cape Town through the many valleys of fruit and flowers that carpet the mountainous Western Cape. Although Cape Town is a mere 45 minutes away, an extended stay is required in order to explore the fine food and wine, the scenery and the history of the Cape Winelands. Sleepover options include 19th century manor houses, working wine estates evocative of the past and the oldest inn in the country.

Today South Africa is the world's 10th largest wine producer and, according to Maureen Thomson, spokesperson for another of the Cape's major attractions, the V&A Waterfront, "Wine is considered the third most commanding reason that international tourists visit South Africa, after Cape Town itself and the country's wildlife." For the past five years, the wine industry has been growing in South Africa at an annual rate of 20%. Tourism is keeping up the pace and the combination is proving enticing, especially to visitors from the UK, who surveys show are Cape Town's biggest fans. The harvest begins, by hand, at the end of January after the winemaker has decided that the grapes are at their optimum. Harvest season runs from February to April and is the best time to see the wineries in action. Along the ox-wagon-wide streets of Stellenbosch, tractors are a common sight at harvest time, pulling open trailers heaped with grapes. The wineries offer cellar and vineyard tours in addition to their wine tastings and al fresco fine dining in surroundings far removed from the modern urban frenzy.

The vineyards wear a look of summer sleekness, their elegant farmhouses reminiscent of an earlier, more gracious age. Whitewashed and often thatched, low-slung homesteads with gabled façades are ubiquitous throughout the Western Cape.

They have been restored to a glory that was absent in their first incarnations as the modest, hand-hewn homes of the early settlers. As grapes replaced grain and the farms prospered, so the original structures were added to and separate dwellings were built to house the eldest sons. The farmers' cosmopolitan origins informed their architecture and medieval Holland, Huguenot France and later the islands of Indonesia contributed to a style of building that has become known as Cape Dutch.

With the gable came the grape. Wine was introduced to the southern tip of Africa through the enthusiastic exertions of a Dutchman by the name of Jan van Riebeeck. He was charged by the Dutch East India Company with setting up a way station at Table Bay for the provisioning of its trading ships. On his arrival at the Cape of Good Hope in 1652, van Riebeeck soon realised that the wet winters and dry summers of his new home were akin to the Mediterranean grape-growing regions of Europe. He asked the Dutch East India Company to send him vine cuttings and with them he began a now 300-year-old wine industry. Tapping into the first Cape wine barrel seven years after landfall, a triumphant van Riebeeck recorded in his diary: "Praise the Lord, today the first wine was pressed from Cape grapes, 2 February 1659." By 1679, Simon van der Stel was the Company's representative at the Cape. An unassuming man who bequeathed his name to several urban and geographical landmarks in the region, van der Stel had been looking for a place to settle wheat and wine farmers. He determined that the fertile land that bounded the Eerste (First) River would be the site of the second settlement at the Cape. Free burghers were ceded land on the understanding that 10% of their crop went back to the Company. He named the fledgling town Stellenbosch in 1687.

The following year, van der Stel invited French Protestants fleeing Catholic persecution to the Cape, where he settled them in the outlying areas of Franschhoek and Paarl. The French influence is today apparent in the names of the estates and the fine wines they produce. Initially eight families were settled; in 1692 a large grant of land was distributed to forty families. Many of the wine farms on the Stellenbosch Wine Route today are these early bequests to pioneering farmers. Neetlingshof Estate was one such farm, although its first vintage was produced over a century later, in 1804. The elegant gabled manor house which today houses the Lord Neetling Restaurant was built a decade later by the French Huguenot, Charles Marais. The farm lies in the valley between the Helderberg mountains and the sea, and was one of several that I visited on a five-day trip to sample the region's bountiful character. Winds from False Bay cool the vines, "making it the little blue chip in viticulture that it is," as Chief Public Relations Officer Katinka van Niekerk puts it. The Estate was named Wine Producer of the year for 2002-3 at the International Wine and Spirit Competition, because of its high-scoring Pinotage and Cabernet Franc. My favourite, however, was the 1998 Shiraz, with its firm wood and smoky smoothness.

Situated close to Cape Town, another original van der Stel concession, Spier, is more than just a wine farm. Aptly describing itself as a "Lifestyle Experience", this luxury hotel boasts five restaurants, an open-air amphitheatre for theatrical performances, a wine centre with over 200 of the region's wines on sale, an equestrian centre, an 18-hole golf course, wildlife encounters and a vintage train (with renovated carriages dating back to the 1950s) that transports visitors from Cape Town to Spier's many unexpected pleasures. There is yet more to Spier, however. The farm was bought by a South African businessman in 1993. Dick Enthoven had left the country because of apartheid and returned determined to make a contribution to the new South Africa. As Spier's marketing manager, Stephen Lailvaux, explained: "It's important for the country that a business like this has a positive impact on the people that live around it." Thus the farm labourers have been ceded land on which they practise organic farming methods, a new school has been built for the farm children and skills development is actively encouraged.

Ecological best practice goes hand in hand with the concept of "responsible spending" at Spier. The farm workers enjoy ecologically-designed housing developments. Guests bathe in water heated by solar power and stroll through indigenous gardens which attract an abundance of birds, including Fish eagles which hadn't been seen on the farm for years.

Moving on, I arrive in Stellenbosch's Jonkershoek Valley to find the sun's last rays glinting off the vines, highlighting the surrounding peaks. A cool wind rustles the oak leaves and the mountains turn russet, magenta then plum as the sun dips lower. At the far end of emerald lawns a long white facade with an impressive gable and two leopard statues guards the entrance to the five-star Lanzerac Manor. The effect is marred only somewhat by the signs warning visitors not to walk on the grass. Guests' rooms with private patios are set across from the vineyards, which lie beyond a border of blue agapanthus. There are vines outside my door.

Much in evidence on the popular cellar tours are the 300-litre barrels of French oak which traditionally house South Africa's annual harvest of 900 million litres. Simon van der Stel had the prescience to bring with him some European acorns, as it is only oak from which wine barrels can be made. The oaks that line the historic streets of Stellenbosch are van der Stel's leafy legacy to the town that bears his name.

Unfortunately, in the South African climate, northern hemisphere oaks grow too fast and thus are not dense enough for use in the wine industry. So the oak staves are imported from France, where they are harvested from trees at least a hundred years old. They are assembled in South Africa by coopers who use traditional tools and who can be seen in action at the Van Rijn brandy cellar. Here the rhythmic beat of hammers echoes through the cellar as coopers coerce the steel rings around the staves.

No stay in the Winelands is complete without a visit to the large tasting room at Nederberg in the Paarl Valley, which boasts a long curved bar of oak staves salvaged from old wine barrels. Few tipplers would suspect just how old these are. One of the foremost wine farms in South Africa, with a 22% market share of the premium wines in the country, Nederberg's annual auction is one of the five main wine events in the world. The Cape Dutch manor house was built for a German immigrant family, Wolvaart, and was completed in 1800. I was treated to lunch outside on one of its patios, overlooking lawns with islands of sunburst-orange Day lilies and the vineyards beyond. Roses picked fresh from the garden accentuated a crisp white linen tablecloth. We ate a delectable interpretation of traditional Cape Malay cuisine, courtesy of Nederberg chef Norma Kann. A mixed green salad, replete with slivers of pinkish roast lamb and onion, marinated mushrooms, pine nuts and dried fruit, was washed down with a crisp Sauvignon Blanc and followed by a platter of fresh berries, mango and nectarine. The Winelands are truly idyllic, but before embarking on a sojourn, I suggest a strict diet so that neither guilt nor girth will prevent you from enjoying the year-round bounty of the Cape.

Winelands: FactFile

When to go The best months are September to April. 
Getting There The Winelands are just a 45-minute drive from Cape Town. All the major car rental firms can be found in Cape Town, including Hertz (www.hertz.co.za) and Budget (www.budget.co.za). For a standard Group C vehicle, expect to pay £20-35 per day, including collision and theft waiver and unlimited mileage. Alternatively, Cape Metro runs trains to Stellenbosch and Paarl, while Greyhound, Translux and Intercape Mainliner operate buses along the N2 and Garden Route via Paarl and Stellenbosch.
Getting Around The Winelands are perfect for independent touring - vineyards, wine routes and other attractions are well signposted and distances are small. There are also numerous companies throughout the region (including Cape Town) that can arrange guided tours. A typical day trip from Cape Town, including a visit to Stellenbosch, the Paarl Valley, wine tasting and a cellar tour, costs around £25 per person (based on four travelling), lunch not included.
Where To Stay From hostels and guest houses to working wine farms and luxury hotels, the Winelands boast a wide range of accommodation. The Portfolio (www.portfoliocollection.com) has an extensive list of excellent value bed & breakfasts, ranging from £15-40 per person per night sharing. If you feel like splashing out, consider one of the properties offered by many of the UK's South African travel specialists. A Royal Pool Suite at the Lanzerac Manor & Winery near Stellenbosch costs from £134-226 per person per night, B&B. For links to other places to stay, visit one of the websites below.
Where To Eat The region has numerous fine restaurants, many located in wine farms or historic town buildings. There are also plenty of pavement cafés, while some estates offer picnics on their lawns. As well as wine, local produce includes cheese, olives and herbs. There is even a small factory making Belgian-style chocolates.
Things To Do Top of everyone's list is a visit to a wine farm for a tasting and cellar tour. You could easily spend a day (or five) following one of several wine routes in the region. As a guide to price, a stop at a wine estate like Boschendal might involve a light lunch of roasted butternut and aubergine salad for £2, followed by a wine tasting session ( £0.75 per person) and vineyard/cellar tour ( £1 per person). The beautifully restored historic town centres are also worth exploring. Stellenbosch has particularly fine examples of Cape Dutch, Georgian and Victorian buildings. Be sure to visit the historic monument of Dorp Street, the Stellenbosch Village Museum and The Braak - an old parade ground. Shoppers will find abundant craft shops and galleries, while outdoor enthusiasts can enjoy hiking, mountain biking and horse riding in nearby nature reserves and forest areas.
Find out More www.capetourism.org
www.capewinelands.org
www.winediary.co.za