Visitor Information
Stellenbosch Tourism Bureau (tel. 021/883-3584; www.stellenboschtourism.co.za) is by far the most helpful in the Winelands, and you'd be well advised to head to their office as soon as you arrive. Besides giving expert advice on where to stay and what to do, they provide the excellent Discover Stellenbosch on Foot leaflet (R3/40¢/20p), which includes more than 60 historical sites with accompanying text. The tourism bureau is at 36 Market St. (summer hours Mon-Fri 8am-6pm, Sat 9am-5pm, Sun 10am-4pm; winter hours Mon-Fri 9am-5pm, Sat 9am-5pm, Sun 10am-2pm). Adjacent is the Adventure Centre (tel. 021/882-8112; www.adventureshop.co.za), which lists a huge variety of activities in the region.
Drinking with a Conscience -- The South African wine industry is still grappling to redress the economic and social injustices resulting from apartheid-era policies, such as the lack of land ownership by blacks and "coloureds," the shortage of qualified black winemakers and viticulturists, widespread unemployment, and rampant alcohol abuse. Significant change is in progress, however, through macro-initiatives such as the Wine Industry Transformation Charter, being finalized under the auspices of a Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) Steering Committee. Integral to the charter will be a scorecard, in which wine industry participants will accumulate points commensurate with their performance in such key areas as equity, asset ownership, land reform, shareholding, skills development, procurement practices, and more. Broader developments such as these should bolster the individual transformative efforts of entities like the South African Vintners Alliance, recently established to further the interests of BEE wineries, and the encouragement provided to black oeno-entrepreneurs by the original BEE producers, like New Beginnings (tel. 021/869-8453), the first black-owned wine farm in the country, and Bouwland (tel. 021/865-2135), as well as by the newer entrants such as Ses'Fikele (tel. 021/694-9840 or 021/852-5052), Crossroads Wines (tel. 021/461-0360), and African Roots (tel. 082/571-4157).
Getting Around
In Town -- Guided walking tours (90 min.) leave the tourist bureau every day at 10am and 3pm. For historic and twilight walks in town at a time that's convenient for you, contact Sandra Krige (tel. 021/887-9150 or 083/218-1310; hkrige@iafrica.com). The town center is small enough to explore on foot, but you can rent a bicycle from Piet se Fiets (tel. 021/887-3042; R15/$2/£1 per hour, R65/$9/£5 per day).
To Wine Estates -- Note that if you don't want to drive, you can visit five Stellenbosch wine estates by using the hop-on, hop-off Vinehopper bus (tel. 021/882-8112; R150/$21/£11 per person) To explore the Spier estate on horseback, contact Horse Rides at Spier (tel. 021/881-3683).
