Where the hills are alive

Tabletop

HERE’S a wine cellar which is championing nine other city destinations with as much enthusiasm as they do their own attractions.

Durbanville Hills, perched high above Table Bay, has long been a favourite stop for travellers, presenting breathtaking views over the Atlantic to Table Mountain and Robben Island. The bastion resembles the prow of a ship ploughing through vines rather than waves, and the maritime theme is repeated inside where a wooden deck links the tasting area to the renosterveld garden. Visitors can choose to match wines with artisanal cheese, breads and meats, or settle for biltong and chocolate wine pairings. The recently refurbished restaurant caters for meals from breakfast to dinner.

Cellarmaster Martin Moore and his team source grapes from 770ha of vines for their three ranges: while many associate this winery, correctly, with distinctive sauvignon blanc, reds should not be missed, especially the merlot from the Vineyard and Rhinofields labels along with the Rhinofields pinotage and Noble Late Harvest.

Durbanville Hills compiled a list of 10 diverse city destinations that offer a real soupçon of Cape Town, most of which are not on usual tourist itineraries. Three of these feature in our prizes in this week’s competition – the winery and an underground tour of Cape Town, a journey from our Castle through tunnels that used to take water from the mountain to ships in the bay. The third is the Book Lounge in Roeland Street, a well-stocked book shop that reaches out to young and old with rare titles, poetry readings and story-telling sessions.

The other destinations are the Biscuit Mill, Camps Bay beach, Long Street, WHATIFTHEWORLD gallery, Labia theatre, full-moon hikes up Lion’s Head and bike rides along Sea Point promenade.

LOFTY CELLAR WITH UNFORGETTABLE VIEWS: Durbanville Hills tempts with many attractions.