Romantic wine farm stays

Waking up among the vines, walking to the tasting room after breakfast and finishing with a long lunch that turns into sunset: a wine farm stay is the Cape's most classic romantic weekend. These are our favourite places to do it.

The Cape Winelands are the heart of it. Stellenbosch and Franschhoek are the best known, with world-class restaurants and dozens of estates within a short drive. Wellington and Tulbagh are quieter and a little further out, with mountain views and a more relaxed, rural feel. Further east, the Breede Valley around Robertson, Montagu and Rawsonville is wide, sunny and less busy, and the Overberg around Stanford and the Hemel-en-Aarde valley produces some of the country's best cool-climate wines.

Many of the stays here are cottages or cabins on working farms rather than hotels, which gives you privacy and a real sense of place. Several have hot tubs or fireplaces for winter, and olive and fruit farms appear alongside the vineyards.

A practical tip: if you are planning a day of tastings, pick somewhere you can walk or cycle to a few estates, or book a driver. Most tasting rooms close in the late afternoon, and many are closed on certain days, so it pays to check ahead.