STAFF REVIEW: CURATED WINE TRAM EXPERIENCE

I’d heard all about the beauty of the Franschhoek winelands, but unfortunately was yet to experience them first hand. Luckily for me, that all changed during this very special visit in March 2022. 

While on holiday in Cape Town, riding the renowned Wine Tram was undoubtably number one on my list. I’d never been to the area before and can unashamedly admit that I was a fully-fledged tourist. The multitude of different wine farms was honestly quite overwhelming, and therefore, I opted for the curated experience. 

This took out any worry for planning our route/journey around the farms, and meant that we had an expert guide on-hand to talk us through the various pairings and history of the farms. It also meant that we were able to meet fellow travellers and wine enthusiasts, which resulted in a much more social day out than if we’d tried to go it alone. 

As our Uber drove us through the deserted roads surrounded by fields and mountains, I could feel my excitement building. The scenery of the area was already undeniably beautiful. As we entered Franschhoek I couldn’t help but marvel at the pretty Dutch-style architecture and calming atmosphere of the quaint town centre.

Just moments later we were pulling into the Wine Tram terminal. We quickly picked up our tickets and stickers from the office and hopped on to our tram. The friendly staff poured us a glass of complimentary wine with well-practiced precision and efficiency, and we took our seats at the top, front of the vehicle in the sun. 

Through the tram intercom everyone was told where they’d need to be getting off, depending on which colour sticker they had been assigned. We were proudly sporting our gold stickers, that we were informed meant we were the VIPs of the day. This is when we were first introduced to our tour guide, Rodger. 

From the start Rodger was charming and cheerful, telling us that he hopes to keep a smile on all our faces throughout the day. He talked us through the plan for the day and let us know that we’d be departing the tram very shortly, where we’d be climbing into an ‘African Ferrari’ his playful name for the tractor pulled wagon that was going to take us to Rickety Bridge Winery. 

We began the tour by getting to know the group we were about to spend the day with. We had a mix of different people from all around the world including Sweden, England, Australia, The Netherlands, and more locally from Johannesburg. 

Rodger then started to talk people through the history of the surrounding wine farms, that were first created in the 17th century with grapes brought over to Cape Town by the Dutch East India Company. Shortly after, the French Huguenots settled in the area and tended to the farms, which is how Franschhoek (meaning French corner) got its name. 

He then went on to explain what the climate and elevation of these particular grapes did to the finished bottled product. For example, I learnt that the hotter the climate, the more sugar content in each grape, and the more sugar, the higher the alcohol content. Rodger even picked some of the fresh grapes and offered them around to us to try. The flavour was something very different to the ones you get in the supermarket. Once you bit through it, your mouth was instantly filled with a sweet, thick syrup. 

Next, it was time to head inside for a tour of the Rickerty Bridge wine cellars. We saw both the gigantic steel vats, as well as the sleek oak barrels. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen so much wine in one place before. 

Finally, the moment we were really here for: it was time to enjoy our first wine tasting. We were treated to two wines to start, where Rodger asked us to try and decipher which was made in the oak barrels and which was made in the steel.

After that, we had another three wines. During this part of the tasting, Rodger had us smell different flavours that had gone into making the different wines (e.g., black pepper.) He’d brought these along in small glass jars, to see if we could smell what we were tasting in the wine. We were then lucky enough to be treated to one of the fanciest bottles of wine I’ve seen: The Sleeper, which came in what looked like its own mini coffin. The award-winning wine is matured for a total of 24 months in brand new oak barrels. It was incredibly flavoursome, with distinctive fruity and spicy notes, and was my favourite red of the day. 

After we finished our wine, we were led to the best seat in the house: a beautifully set table with breath taking views of the surrounding farms and mountains. Here, we were served a three-course meal with wine pairings for each course (all included in the price of the experience). We were given a set menu, with three options for each course. 

To start, I chose chicken livers in a cream sauce. It was simple yet decadent (as anything that’s 90% cream is bound to be), not to mention utterly delicious. I was shocked at how big the portions were. I would have been content with this amount of food as a main! The most popular choice for the next course on the table was unsurprisingly the steak and chips, which the group all seemed very happy with. I had seabream with a polenta cake, that I’ll admit didn’t taste of much. 

Finally, I ended the meal with a baked cheesecake served with berry compote and vanilla ice cream (yum!) Again, this was a gigantic portion, and I had to roll myself back to the African Ferrari, and then waddle onto the tram, ready to stuff myself full of yet more wine. 

The next stop, Grande Provence, was my favourite farm of the day. The views, atmosphere and the unique wines all contributed to this. Here, we indulged in another three tastings. All of them were amongst my favourites of the day, but the real stand out was a white wine unlike any I’ve ever tasted before. It was grassy, lemony, and sweet all at once. 

For our final farm of the day, we gathered onto one of the Wine Tram’s buses, that transported us to La Bri Estate for our last tasting. Here, we were asked to choose between a biltong or chocolate pairing. I famously can’t make decisions (for the fear of missing out), so, naturally I decided to pay the extra R85 to have both. I can confirm that the biltong was my preference, but the chocolate was a nice note to end on. 

The droewors on the biltong platter was the best I’ve had; fatty cured sausage, flavoured with plenty of clove, cinnamon, and spices. If you have R85 and enough space in your stomach for two pairings and 6 glasses of wine, I’d highly recommend getting both. 

On the bus back to base, we discussed our favourite wines of the day with our newfound friends and made plans to meet up later that evening, to drink yet more wine (obviously). Finally, we all thanked Rodger for being such a great guide and making the experience something special before posing for a group photo and saying our goodbyes. 

I thoroughly enjoyed our day and couldn’t recommend this experience enough for those who are new to Cape Town. 

I will say that next time (because I’m adamant that I’ll be returning), I’ll take matters into my own hands and set out to explore many more of the 30+ wineries in the region. The only negatives I would note of the experience are that we only had the chance to see three of the farms and spent next to no time riding on the tram itself. 

However, this tour was very much quality over quantity. We had an expert on-hand to answer all our questions, select the very best wines available, and tell us all about them in detail. A big thanks to Rodger, and all the amazing people on our tour that made the day as special as it could be!