It is as if Simonsberg forced itself up through the Earth’s crust to provide wonder and enjoyment, and the Greater Simonsberg Wine Route is one of the best examples of the exciting and tangible diversity of our wine industry, writes EMILE JOUBERT.*
The presence is formidable, this mountain named after Simon van der Stel who founded Stellenbosch in 1679. It touches the sky at 1 399m, and driving the loop around this magnificent piece of mountain – from Klapmuts through Stellenbosch, over the Banghoek/Banhoek Pass and through Simondium back to Klapmuts – will have one rolling rubber on 44km of tarred road.
Exposed to the afternoon sun and the constant airflow from the ocean on both sides of the Cape Peninsula, Simonsberg is arguably one of South Africa’s finest wine addresses. The decomposed granite soils in which the vines of the famous wine estates are rooted formed some 500‐600 million years ago.
A feature of South Africa’s wine industry is its exciting and tangible diversity, and here the offerings of Stellenbosch’s Simonsberg count as one of the best examples.
Wine lovers, the gourmand, outdoor adventurers, naturalists … Simonsberg seemingly forced itself up through the Earth’s crust to provide wonder and enjoyment, and a lot of things to do.
The wineries on the Greater Simonsberg Wine Routes are a veritable list of South African Who’s Who, brands that have – three decades after the country’s re‐acceptance into the international wine world – garnered blue‐blooded reputations capable of standing alongside the best of France, Spain, Italy and definitely the wines of the New World.
And unlike most of the world’s acclaimed cellars, the cellars of Stellenbosch are as accessible to the public as they are welcoming. Thus, a visit to Kanonkop Estate – recognised as the country’s most acclaimed wine producer – will see you greeted by the farm’s variously sized and equally polite dogs before the tasting room is entered. Without fanfare and in the hands of welcoming staff, the wine lover can experience the tasting of Kanonkop’s legendary red wine offerings, including Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinotage and a Bordeaux blend, the formidable quality of which has helped drive the Cape’s international reputation for wine excellence.
Kanonkop aside, the visitor seeking fine wine is spoilt for choice on the Simonsberg. At Delheim Estate, the wine experience includes the realisation that this region is also blessed with magnificent white wines, Delheim’s Chardonnay being a case in point.
Down the slope and across the R44 road lies Simonsig, a legendary wine address for reasons diverse and profound. It was here that the country’s first bottle‐fermented sparkling wine, Cap Classique (then called Kaapse Vonkel), was made in 1971.
Simonsig’s wine tastings are curated for each visitor, with the imbibing of a bracing glass of Cap Classique fizz non‐negotiable for freshening the palate and lifting the soul.
Nearby L’Avenir Estate focuses on Chenin Blanc on the white side and Pinotage on the red. These two cultivars are garnering a reputation as South African calling cards on the international scene thanks to the country’s history of and commitment to crafting excellence from them.
Heading towards Stellenbosch, the Simonsberg Mountain running to your left and the lower, open country lying to your right and extending towards Table Mountain and Cape Town some 50km off, the eastern slope of the mountain draws you over what used to be known as the Banghoek Pass, now Banhoek.
Banghoek, translated to ‘feared corner’, has a spooky ring to it, and rightly so. In the days of yore, travellers on horseback or horse‐drawn coach had to fear gangs of beady‐eyed bandits. Not to mention the wild mountain animals, including the Cape leopard, that still roam the hills and valleys, although far more timid today than their bloodthirsty forebears three centuries ago.
Stellenbosch is blessed with many achingly gorgeous vistas, but the one atop of the Banhoek Pass is accepted as one of the most glorious. Ahead lies a perennially green valley of vines hugging 600m‐high slopes, wild fynbos and fruit orchards, with low‐level forests of trees, indigenous and alien. At sunset, the soft light turns the mountains lavender and pink, rapturous moments created by nature.
Here on the crest, the wineries show a formidable appearance. Delaire Graff Estate is a modern structure, the stylish aesthetics of which have been inspired by the magical surroundings. Wining and dining, at Michelin star standards, are taken to levels of supreme excellence of which the forefathers of this Stellenbosch Wine Route can only be proud.
In Simonsberg, the talk of its nature wonderland calls for the walking thereof. The past decade, especially, has seen the region using its unique indigenous fauna and flora as invitations to get visitors out and about. Thelema Estate, just over the Banhoek Pass, is not only a maker of fine wines but is one of the farms that has opened its property to hikers wishing to explore the environment from closer quarters.
Feeling the wine farm’s red gravel soil under your feet and with the scent of natural fynbos, comprising hundreds of indigenous shrubs and flowers, the experience of this magical part of the world is visceral and raw. A glass of chilled Thelema Sauvignon Blanc at the end of an 8km mountain hike underscores the life‐affirming joy good wine offers.
Simonsberg is largely, still, wilderness. Aided by the conservation efforts of wine farmers that have seen the unique natural floral kingdom protected, as well as ensuring a presence of wild animals including honey badgers, otters, antelope and – as the night‐time cameras show – the Cape leopard.
There is a firm belief that this harmonious balance between the pristine natural surroundings and the cultivation of vineyards is an integral part of the region’s continued legacy of making wines that express a marvellous sense of place.
The place is about history, too, and Stellenbosch’s early settlers realised the wine‐growing potential shortly after Van der Stel’s settlement took hold. And it doesn’t get more historical than at the charming Muratie Estate in the heart of Simonsberg. The culture of Cape wine and the hospitality of the people who grow, make and live it, run through Muratie’s veins. The old cellar and legendary ramshackle tasting room with its tapestry of cobwebs covering the windows. The stately old houses, prime examples of Cape Dutch architecture beneath centuries‐old oak trees. The restored cottage next to the garden where Muratie’s first owner, Laurens Campher, lived with his wife Ansela, a former Cape slave.
Today, Muratie continues to enchant visitors from all over the world. Allowing a sense that on the Simonsberg, wine and people were always simply meant to be.
*This is an edited version of Emile Joubert’s article in Stellenbosch. The Wine. The People. The Stories (2022), published by Tip Africa Publishing. Get your copy of the book at the Visitor Information Centre at 47 Church Street, Stellenbosch or send an email to 50book@wineroute.co.za.