Worcester Winelands, South Africa - Johan. Date of travel: Nov 2009
Brandy: The Worcester region is South Africa’s most important brandy producing area. KWV Brandy Cellar, situated in the heart of town, is the largest cellar of its kind in the world. It houses about 120 pot stills for the distillation of their world famous brandies. Guided tours offer you the chance to view the enormous maturation cellar and taste their selection of brandies (5, 10, 15 & 20 year old brandy). Olof Bergh Solera Brandy Cellar uses 22 Woudberg copper pot stills, similar to those used in the Cognac region of France, for the distillation of high-quality Colombard wines. The cellar’s brandy is distilled exclusively from grapes grown in the surrounding region. Interestingly, it is the only brandy cellar in South Africa to use the Solera method of maturation and blending. Initially developed by the sherry-makers in Spain, the brandy flows through layers of maturation barrels, depending on the degree of maturation desired. Take a tour of the cellar and a guided tasting of the different stages of brandy maturation. Moonshine: Witblits as it is known in South Africa, is distilled at the Kleinplasie Open Air Farm Museum - taste the fire of the region... and it is all legal! These cellar visits can be combined with culinary experiences of the area as well as "Dinner in the Vineyards" and several other general tourist attractions, arranged by SafariWise, a local tour operator based in Worcester.

Worcester Winelands, South Africa - Johan. Date of travel: Nov 2009
Visitors to the Worcester Winelands find themselves in the biggest wine producing region of South Africa, with more than twenty co-operative wine cellars, several private wine cellars & boutique wine cellars, as well as 2 brandy (Cognac) cellars. The chances that you will find your wine of choice in this area is therefore almost guaranteed! Organic wines: If you have an organic wine interest visit Waverly Hills, close to Tulbagh. This cellar offers one white wine and several red wines. If you book well in advance, the wine-maker will do the wine tasting with the guests and tell them more about the farm and the process of organic farming. The olive processing plant on the farm can also be visited and it is also organic. A restaurant is on the premises for great food too! Mountain Oaks is a cellar situated in the Slanghoek valley and prides itself in its Chardonnay & Chenin Blanc wines. However, a Pinotage is also produced. The other organic cellar of the area is Bon Cap in the Robertson Valley. They offer two ranges - Bon Cap (Heavy Wooded) & The Ruins (Lightly Wooded). Bon Cap is the "serious wine" and then The Ruins is the more "fun wine". A restaurant with excellent food is at the cellar. Non-Organic: Du Toitskloof Wine Estate for great white wines - also have the standard reds available. Deetlefs is a Private Cellar with interesting wines At Bergsig Cellar you can do a tour with the wine-maker, who is also the owner, and he will let you taste wine straight from the casks! Slanghoek cellar offers a great experience in tasting wine and teaching you about blending. You will have the opportunity to blend your own wine and when you are happy with the taste, you take the formula and bottle your blend with your own label! This is a two-hour process but worth it! Jason's Hill has a great Bistro and fantastic Pinotage. At Badsberg Cellar you can do wine tasting on horseback! For groups of 5 - 7, there are routes for the morning/afternoon to do wine tasting at three or four cellars on horseback. Eagle's Cliff for excellent white wines and very low in sulphur. Alvi's Drift also has excellent white wines. Conradie Private Cellar has award winning Cabernet Sauvignon and excellent Chardonnay. Other cellars to visit include De Wet, Nuy, De Doorns, Brandvlei, Goudini, Groot Eiland, Opstal, Overhex, Romansrivier, Stettyn & Wabooms Wine Cellar... and several more! Contact SafariWise, a local tour operator based in Worcester.