The best wineries in Franschhoek

What are the best wineries in Franschhoek?

Haute Cabrière, Boschendal, Babylonstoren, Grande Provence, La Motte and Leopard's Leap come up again and again, each for a different reason.

Here is our shortlist, with the reason to go and the tram line that stops there.

Seven of the eight estates in our shortlist are on a tram line. One ticket, one line, three or four of them in a day.

★ 4.6 · 8.5 hours

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Which wineries to visit on each tram line?

Pick two headline estates and one or two smaller ones. Here is what we would choose on each line.

• Red line: Haute Cabrière for the bubbles, Grande Provence for lunch and art, and Mont Rochelle, which is pouring at Miko while building work goes on, according to the operator.
• Blue line: La Bri for its chocolate, Turkish delight and biltong pairings, Klein Goederust for a young family estate, and Holden Manz for lunch at its Franschhoek Kitchen.
• Pink line: Leopard's Leap for lunch, Dieu Donné for the view and a cheese platter, and Chamonix if you have booked the cellar tour. Pigcasso is the wine farm of Farm Sanctuary SA.
• Orange line: Babylonstoren for the garden (allow two hours or more), Boschendal for the manor and grounds, and Vrede en Lust for the pairings.
• Green line: Boschendal or Plaisir, then the small cellars on the Helshoogte road: Bartinney, Le Pommier, Zorgvliet.

Many of these tips come from the detailed write-up by Stingy Nomads. The full line-by-line list is in our guide to the tram lines.

Which winery in Franschhoek is considered the best?

No single estate holds that title. The one with the strongest international recognition right now is La Motte, the valley's estate on the 2025 World's 50 Best Vineyards list.

The 2025 list featured six Western Cape estates, and La Motte was the Franschhoek one. Its tasting room stays open while some of its restaurants close for renovation, the estate's site said in October 2026. La Motte is not on a tram line; you need a car, a taxi or a tour that stops there.

Ask a sparkling-wine lover and they will say Haute Cabrière. Ask a history buff and they will say Boschendal, whose title deeds date to 1685 and whose first owner, Jean le Long, was a Huguenot refugee, per its history. Ask a gardener and they will say Babylonstoren. All three are fair answers.

What are the most beautiful wine farms near Cape Town?

Babylonstoren for its garden, Boschendal for its manor and oaks, Grande Provence for art and old buildings, and Haute Cabrière for the view down the valley.

Beauty in the Cape Winelands is mostly about mountains and Cape Dutch architecture. Babylonstoren calls itself one of the oldest Cape Dutch farms, and its own site shows a fruit and vegetable garden with tours, a cellar and restaurants such as Babel and the Greenhouse. Boschendal's restored manor house was finished in 1812. Grande Provence, on the main road, has its gallery and sculpture garden.

Haute Cabrière's estate claims the best view in Franschhoek, looking down the valley from the foot of the pass. We would not argue. Arrive on the Red line in the morning, when the light is on the vineyards below.

Which Franschhoek wineries are not on the tram?

La Motte, Mullineux & Leeu and several small estates along the R45. You reach them by car, taxi, on foot or by e-bike.

Two tours on this site visit estates that no tram line serves. The storytelling walk to three wine farms links Mont Rochelle, Mullineux & Leeu and La Cotte Heritage Farm on four kilometres of vineyard trails, with ten wines and lunch in the listing. The e-bike and wine tour rides from Old Road Wine Co. to Wildeberg and Stony Brook, two small estates, with tastings and lunch included. Both are adults or older children only: the walk is not for under 10s, the e-bike tour is 18+.

If you have a car and a designated driver, La Motte on the R45 is a short drive from the village.

Two small estates the tram does not reach, on quiet farm roads by e-bike, with tastings and lunch in the booking.

★ 5.0 · 4.5 hours

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Do you need to book wine tastings in Franschhoek?

For a standard tasting, usually not. For cellar tours, special pairings and lunches, yes, at least 24 hours ahead.

Many tasting rooms take walk-ins. Haute Cabrière's page, for example, describes tastings as first come, first served, with cellar tours by enquiry. The wine tram FAQ asks guests to book lunch at least 24 hours ahead. Stingy Nomads flag the Chamonix cellar tour and the chocolate and cheese pairings at Vrede en Lust as experiences that need booking.

On a Saturday in summer, book anything you really want. Tasting rooms on the tram lines fill when a full vehicle arrives at once.

What is the best South African red wine?

Many would say Pinotage, the Cape's own grape. Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Bordeaux-style red blends are just as strong.

Pinotage was created by Professor Abraham Perold at Stellenbosch, who crossed Pinot Noir with Cinsaut (then called Hermitage) in 1924, as the Pinotage Association records. The first wine labelled Pinotage was the 1959 Lanzerac, bottled in 1961. You can taste at Lanzerac on the full day with the wine tram.

Franschhoek itself is better known for white and sparkling wine: Chardonnay, Semillon and Cap Classique. For reds in the valley, try the Pinot Noir at Chamonix or Haute Cabrière, and the bigger reds on the Orange and Green lines.

Which winery in South Africa is considered the best?

There is no official answer. On the 2025 World's 50 Best Vineyards list, Klein Constantia in Cape Town was named Africa's best vineyard.

The same list featured Creation and Hamilton Russell in the Hemel-en-Aarde valley, Tokara and Delaire Graff in Stellenbosch, and La Motte in Franschhoek, Wesgro reports. The list judges the visit as well as the wine. Wine competitions and guides give different answers every year.

And the number one winery in the world? On that 2025 list, Vik in Chile came out on top. A fine answer for a quiz. For your own trip, the best winery is the one whose wine you want to take home.

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