Capetonians already know that our Winelands are among the best in the world.

The popular winemaking towns of Franschhoek, Stellenbosch, and Paarl all lie within easy reach of each other and many scheduled Wineland day tours include a taste of all three.

Over the course of this year, we’ve seen a few pieces indicating how revered this region is right around the world.

In June, Fortune wrote a superb feature on the Cape Winelands. They couldn’t get enough of the scenery, the atmosphere at some of our top vineyards, and of course, the wine.

The latest glowing review comes to us from Canada. Jim Byers visited the Cape recently and spent part of his visit in wine country. Here’s what he had to say in his feature for Travel Pulse.

The Winelands are a stunning part of South Africa, with rolling hills dotted with pale green vines in spring (we visited last month, which was early spring in the southern hemisphere) and spiky, jagged mountains all around that I hadn’t expected.

It’s like someone took the lush vines of the Napa Valley and surrounded them with the towering, craggy peaks of Palm Springs.

Byers visited a number of wine tasting spots, but he was particularly taken with Franschhoek. There he visited Moreson Wine Farm, which makes “some very nice whites and reds”, the Lynx Wine Estate, a ” very low-key, quiet place overlooking a valley lined with pretty hills”, and most impressive, the Anthonij Rupert Wine Estate.

“The Anthonij Rupert Wine Estate a huge estate that I was told reaches some 700 hectares and includes vineyards, an olive grove, a vintage automobile showcase, a rose garden and a beautiful home with posh furnishings and a lovely outdoor patio.

We sat outside on the patio and tasted a half-dozen wines, gazing out at a lawn that was roughly the size of several football fields, and with a view of the Franschhoek mountains all around.

Byers notes that it’s the type of place “one could spend an entire afternoon”. I’ll second that – the 2OV team spent a great afternoon there a couple of months ago, sampling wine and exploring the estate.

Back to Byers, who had very good things to say about the wine he encountered there.

The Cabernet Franc was rich and delicious, with a solid nod towards the great blends of Bordeaux. Their Sauvignon Blanc was fruity and crisp at the same time and felt like something halfway between a California Sauv Blanc and one from New Zealand.

That’s the Sauvignon Blanc from their famous Protea range, by the way.

One last word about our excellent Winelands:

Great wines. Fabulous food…If you’re headed to South Africa and you enjoy wine, this is a place you don’t want to miss.

As Byers notes, the exchange rate means that Canadian dollars go a long way. If we keep getting write-ups like this one, the whole world will be flooding to the Cape to drink our wine.

Fortunately for us, a trip to wine country is a short drive away.

If you haven’t spent some time exploring what the region has to offer, you’re doing it all wrong.

Why not book the famous Anthonij Rupert Wyne experience? Food, wine, vintage cars, and gorgeous scenery all packed into one very well-spent day.

You can read the rest of Byer’s gushing praise for our Winelands here.

[source:travelpulse]