| The Paarl Wine Route is also called the 'Red Route' for its legendary
red wines. Cabernet Sauvignon, port and Shiraz wines have established Paarl's
place on the global wine map and the region has repeatedly received international
awards for these wines. The Paarl wine district lies to the north of Stellenbosch,
and is bordered by the town of Wellington to the north east, and the mountains
of the Groot and Klein Drakenstein and Franschhoek ranges to the south east. The
Berg River, which rises in the high mountains overlooking Franschhoek, winds its
way to the sea through an ever widening valley, flanked by the majestic Groot
Drakenstein and Wemmershoek Mountains, on through Paarl and past Wellington. This
is the life giving artery of one of the country's major wine producing areas.
The most important areas situated along the upper reaches of the river are: Franschoek,
Groot Drakenstein and Paarl. There are three main types of soil in the
Paarl wine district: along the Berg River, which runs through the town
of Paarl from the south to the north of the eastern sector, the vines are
grown on the sandy soil of Table Mountain sandstone; on the mountain slopes around
Paarl and in the south east the soil is decomposed granite; and in the
north east it is Malmesbury shale. The pH content in the soils of the Paarl
district is low, as it is in Stellenbosch, and deep ploughing with liberal
application of the agricultural lime is necessary during soil preparation. The
valley land requires supplementary irrigation in the hot growing season before
the harvest, but vineyards on the eastern slopes, having better water retention,
frequently need none at all. The wine estates and cooperatives that are
members of the wine route arrange tours for visitors and provide an opportuity
to get to know the wine makers personally, to taste the wines and to purchase
some of the excellent and great variety of red and white wines: Wine
cellars on the route are:
African Terroir, Anura Vineyards, Ashanti, Avondale,
Backsberg Estate, Bernheim Winery, Boland Kelder, Coleraine Wines, De Zoete Inval
Estate, Domaine Brahms, Fairview Estate, Frost Vineyards, Kleine Draken, KWV International,
Laborie Estate, Landskroon Wines, Nederburg, Nelsons Creek Wine Estate, Perdeberg
Co-op, Rhebokskloof Estate, Seidelberg Wine Estate, Simonsvlei, Vendome Wine Estate
and Windmeul Winery |
