Wine Safari at Waterford Estate, Stellenbosch, South Africa with Travelbiz.ie

Declan Mescall (Features Editor Travelbiz) continues his Taste of Beautiful South Africa with South African Tourism.

A trip to South Africa is never complete without a visit to a winery. Our hosts, South Africa Tourism, went one better and brought us on a Wine Safari on the fabulous Waterford Estate in the world renowned Stellenbosch region where our guide Richard educated and entertained us with his knowledge and stories. Although we might expect there is an association with Ireland because of its Waterford name there is none. The name Waterford is a combination of the waterfalls from the mountains that surround the estate and the surname of the owner Ord (WATERF + ORD).

We spent the morning leisurely sipping and tasting the fine wines produced here, we visited the cellars and we observed the behind the scenes workings of the winery before being brought on guided four-wheel drive tour of this extensive estate.

The highlight of our wine safari was a picnic at the lakeside where we sampled a selection of the estate’s wines, including its flagship wine called The Jem, combined with tasty bites. A beautiful way to spend a Sunday morning.

Our accommodation in Stellenbosch was the 5-star Lanzarac Hotel where we enjoyed another wine tasting experience and some of our group enjoyed a spa treatment before we sat down to a sumptuous dinner at the Manor Kitchen. Unfortunately, our time here was too short to explore all the facilities this fine estate has to offer guests. We will be back for sure.