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October and November, late spring in the antipodes.
It’s a 40 minute drive up the N7 highway from Cape Town.
Royal Hotel (33 Main St., Riebeek Kasteel; 2722/4481378;RoyalInRiebeek.com; doubles from $88). The new owners of this 145yearold manor house have completed the first stage of an ambitious renovation, with 30 more suites and an amphitheater to come.
Bartholomeus Klip Farmhouse (Bo Hermon Rd., off Rte. 44, Hermon; 2722/4481820; BartholomeusKlip.com; doubles from $381, allinclusive). A manicured oasis with hardwood floors, clawfoot tubs, and gourmet meals, set on a 17,000acre farm and game reserve beside the Elandsburg Mountains.
Royal Kitchen (33 Main St., Riebeek Kasteel; 2722/4481378; dinner for two $60). The Royal Hotel’s restaurant gives dishes such as springbok pie and oxtail bobotie (a curryspiced meat bake) the whitetablecloth treatment, and the colonialstyle bar is the area’s social epicenter.
Crisp Fine Produce (Short St., Riebeek Kasteel; 2722/4481008). A fresh vegetable boutique on a tiny culdesac, across from the Royal Hotel.
The Wineyard (Short St., Riebeek Kasteel; 2722/4481769) A great stop for picnic supplies: valleygrown olives, cheese, and a strong selection of local bottlings.
Swartland wine only recently entered the world market, but many of the region’s best releases—from the crisp Pulpit Rock Brink Family Chenin Blanc ($8) to the chocolate-tinged Sadie Family Sequillo Syrah ($32) and majestic Sadie Family Columella (from $70)—are already available around North America, albeit in small quantities. In coming years, look for reds from 2006, which ranks among the best of recent vintages.
The John Platter South African Wine Guide ($18), published annually in November and sold in bookstores, wineries, and airports, is so helpful and widely consulted that it tops South Africa’s nonfiction bestseller lists.
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