Cape Winelands · Simondium · South Africa
Glen Carlou.
A solution to your Cape Town vineyard problem.
A solution to your Cape Town vineyard problem.
If you're in Cape Town and looking for a vineyard to visit, here's a solution to your problem.
I'm not entirely sure how I ended up here, which is often a sign that you're in the right place. Glen Carlou is in the Paarl area, about 45 minutes from Cape Town — close enough for a day trip, far enough that it feels like you've actually gone somewhere. The estate sits up on a hill with the kind of view over the valley that makes you want to stay for lunch and not rush back.
The tasting is relaxed and genuinely good. They do a serious Chardonnay and a Cabernet Sauvignon worth taking home. Walking the vineyard blocks between tastings — the small signs marking each planted row by variety and year — makes the whole thing feel real rather than tourist-facing.
The dining room has a thatched roof open on one side to the valley. At lunch the silhouettes of people eating against that view is the kind of scene that makes you feel like you're in exactly the right part of the world.
"I also remember drinking from the bottle on the van ride back to the hotel. No regrets whatsoever."
The drive out there is part of it. The roads through the Cape Winelands are properly beautiful — red dust tracks, mountain backdrops, farmland on both sides. Hire a car or book a driver for the day. If you're booking a driver, make sure they understand you intend to actually drink the wine.
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