Wine sipping on the Franschhoek Wine Tram
Are you in for a day full of wine tastings and beautiful wine estates? Than this is your call to book a ticket for the Franschhoek Wine Tram. All aboard!
A morning ride on the Wine Tram
We start our day with a ride on the vintage Franschhoek Wine Tram. We start around 9am from Franschhoek Tram Station. A "tram-bus" brings us to Groot Drakenstein Station where we embark on a journey with the original Wine Tram. Off to our first stop: Boschendal Wine Estate.
Best spot on the tram
Reveal secret tip
First stop: Boschendal Wine Estate
Cellar Door wine tasting at Boschendal
From the tram platform at Boschendal Estate you'll be transported by shuttle to the estate. We went for a longer stop here, since the estate is quite large. We started with a wine tasting at the Cellar Door all the way in the back of the estate. It's a bit strange to start tasting wine at 10am, but the fairytale setting and chocolate pairing gets you in the right mood. After the tasting we did a stroll along the estate before heading back to the Wine Tram.
Return to the platform via the shuttle and head over to the next stop: Noble Hill
Noble Hill Estate
Next up: Noble Hill. This beautiful less known wine estate is the perfect place to schedule a lunch and taste a glass of wine. We went for a mix of sharing dishes: table prepared guacamole, some croquettes, fried cauliflower and pulled beef burrito accompanied with a glass of rose wine. This was the most cosy and picture perfect estate of the day!
Take the "tram-bus" to the next estate: Babylonstoren
Babylonstoren Wine Estate
Babylonstoren is one of the largest wine estates you can visit along the Franschhoek Wine Tram. We had enough wine for a moment and already tasted the Babylonstoren a few days earlier during dinner in Camps Bay, Cape Town. So here we went for a stroll, visited the wine museum and checked out the large estate.
Take the shuttle to the last estate: Bacco Estate Winery
Bacco Estate Winery: Italian wine in South Africa
Last estate on our list: Bacco Estate Winery. This fairly new estate is created by Nathan who was inspired by the Super Tuscany wine region and winery approach to create a new experience in the Paarl-Franschhoek wine valley.
Take the tram back to the terminal
Take the tram back to the station
From Bacco you take the shuttle and Wine Tram back to the station to end the day with a sunset ride with the vintage tram.
Fine dining in Franschhoek
Franschhoek is the culinary capital of South Africa. Many estates have their own high quality restaurant. In the city center are more restaurants, some even with a Michelin star or a chef with experience in Michelin star restaurants. We went to Reuben's for a delicious diner including oysters, fish gnocchi and an impression of an Indian curry.