We drove SE out of Cape Town this morning to enjoy the beautiful wine country. Since the day began enveloped in heavy fog, we weren’t sure how much scenery we would see.

The first stop was the historic Veregelen Wine Estate.

It’s name comes from Dutch meaning “situated far away”.

The estate dates back to the 1700s. During a visit, you have the opportunity to view the original homestead house & the wine cellar which has been converted into a massive library.

Today, the grounds contain various buildings converted into restaurants along with extensive manicured gardens.

When we arrived, it was a bit chilly & the fog had yet to lift. The weather made me want a nice cup of tea to get warm. To my great pleasure, the Rose Terrace was an ideal spot to relax on a cool foggy morning.

In fact, I rate the Rose Cottage among the most ideal tea rooms I have ever visited. Luckily, we were there before others began arriving, so we had time to enjoy its ambiance almost all by ourselves.

By the time we left the Rose Cottage, the fog had lifted revealing beautiful blue skies which allowed us to enjoy the gardens.

Next on the agenda was a visit to an Olive estate called Morgensted which is located right next to Veregelen.

They also produce grapes to make wine; but, instead of a wine tasting, we did an olive oil tasting.

Then we made a short visit to Stellenbosch which is a quaint university town located in the heart of South Africa’s wine country. It has many eateries & would have been a great place for lunch if we had not just finished our olive oil tasting.

Our last stop was at the very high scale winery at the Delaire Graff Estate. It was still a little too early for wine tasting; but, the beautiful views from there were intoxicating.