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ENTURIES ago, German cleric Martin Luther pronounced: “Beer is made by men, wine by God.” The brew masters behind the explosion of craft beer may contest this but, after tasting two dozen wines on an outstanding wine tour, I stand by Luther: wine is the sublime drink.

On a warm autumn day Wine Flies tours took a group of us to historic and modern wine estates — including one which makes craft beers — and to the smallest winery in South Africa.

We visited wine estates along the Stellenbosch route, which has about 200 out of some 800 wine estates in the Cape Winelands.

We were guided by Riaan Renke, Wine Flies GM and co-founder. The diversity of wines and his pairing them with artisanal cheeses and chocolates gave the tour an exceptional flavour.

Our first stop at Villiera, South Africa’s premier bubbly producer, was fun though it dented my stamina for tasting.

Sparkling wine is my favourite tipple and I probably swallowed more than I spat from the array of three bubblies poured for us, at 10am! For the rest of the day I could take only the smallest of sips of vintages from each estate or I would have flagged before the final stop.

Wine tasting has a pacing and fitness of its own, which I found more challenging than being on a bike all day.

Yet every estate, with a unique history and tastes, was compelling. On this personal tour, “Lord” Renke was a fount of information.

He explained, for example, the difference between the art of winemaking and the production of commercial wines.

To produce millions of litres for commercial brands, wines are made to a recipe from typically machine-picked, not hand-picked, grapes. In contrast, a winemaker may blend up to 80 wines to get the distinctive style he or she desires.

You want to be a superior winemaker? Be prepared to spend up to R250 000 per hectare you plant, wait at least four years before you harvest your first grapes and another seven to 10 years before your “investment” pays off — if it does.

With his passion for wines, Renke epitomises Ernest Hemingway’s view that “a person with increasing knowledge and sensory education may derive infinite enjoyment from wine”.

However, our leisurely day — stopping at two estates in the morning, a lunchtime braai with more tasting at Middelvlei, and two estates in the afternoon — was finite.

As the sun set, we pulled up at the V&A Waterfront, where we had started, reeling with info and the afterglow of fine wine. — Keeton was a guest of Wine Flies

Tours cost R800 per day all inclusive. Call 021 462 8011, see or e-mail info@wineflies.co.za.

wineflies.co.za