Wine farms that children will enjoy

Wine farms that children will enjoy

Wine and wine farming are an integral part of life in the Western Cape. The region’s rich viticultural heritage dates back to 1652, shortly after Jan van Riebeeck’s arrival, when the first vines were planted. There is a vine in Cape Town that still bears grapes today, believed to have been planted during that early period. This deep-rooted tradition is a source of pride for locals, and visitors can experience the best of it at the many boutique wineries in the region. These offer tastings and the opportunity to purchase wine directly from the source.

South African law permits zero alcohol in a driver’s blood, which has led to the rise of a variety of tour options for wine enthusiasts. From guided wine farm tours to the popular Franschhoek Wine Tram, and even the affordable yellow hop-on-hop-off bus, there are many ways to explore the Cape Winelands safely and enjoyably.

For families, there are babysitting services at many hotels, and trusted childminders can be arranged.

Wine farms offer far more than tastings. Many have expanded into lifestyle destinations, featuring restaurants, accommodation, landscaped gardens, hiking and biking trails, museums, event venues, and children’s play areas. Wine tasting experiences often include carefully curated wine pairings, and some farms have thoughtfully created child-friendly tasting experiences so that younger guests can participate too, offering grape juice pairings with pizza, chocolate, or cookies.

Many wine farms also offer petting zoos, play parks, and engaging children’s activities, making the Cape Winelands a family-friendly destination that welcomes visitors of all ages.

The following wine farms have facilities and/or tasting opportunities for children to enjoy.

Wine farms that children will enjoy

Durbanville

 Bloemendal has a huge playground with jungle gyms, slides and treehouses in full view of the restaurant. They also do a juice and pizza pairing for a children’s tasting experience.

At Nitida, Children get to mix their own strawberry milk and taste different juices, which are paired with lots of sweets

D’Aria Winery has a child-friendly playground which can be booked as a party venue. CU Kids play park is fully equipped with swings and other apparatus

Stellenbosch

Clos Malverne children’s tasting option involves  3 different drinks (creme soda, apple juice and strawberry milk) combined with a macaroni cheese ball, a small chicken burger and a  cupcake for dessert

Spier has activities for children while adults enjoy the wine; there is a tasting option of two different grape juices and an educational activity sheet that highlights the role of insects in the vineyards.

Neethlingshof’s activities for children include Crayons and colouring pages that are delivered while you wait for your tasting. The Adults’ wine tastings include a delicious flash food and wine pairing. The children’s taste pairing here consists of a red and white grape juice as well as a chocolate milkshake, which is paired with a savoury pancake, a slider-style cheese burger and a cupcake for dessert.

Bellevue has a pizza and wine, or a sliders and wine pairing for adults. A marshmallow and milkshake  pairing for children, or one with fancy juices and sweet treats

Middelvlei  Children can play in the sandpit, feed the farm animals or just run on the expansive lawns.  Middelvlei  offers a children’s juice tasting with a snack box

Le Pommier on the Helshoogte Pass outside Stellenbosch has children’s tasting pairings: 1) Juice and Pizza Pairing: Three different juices are paired with mini pizzas for the savoury side, and a Flavoured Milk and Sweet Surprise Pairing: Four different types of flavoured milk paired with Kit-kats, marshmallows, Speckled Eggs, and jellybeans

Skilpadvlei has an indoor kids’ playroom with slide, swing, lego and much more. A Tasting experience for children includes the option to decorate biscuits with different coloured icing and sweets. Red and white grape juice or a flavoured milk is paired with chocolate, biltong, caramelised popcorn, pink milk and a chocolate.

Koelenhof also has a great outdoor children’s play area with a jungle gym. The tasting experience includes sweet and savoury treats that can be enjoyed by young and old. The sparkling red and white grape juices are paired with delicious sweet and savoury treats such as biltong, chocolate, dipping pretzels, and crisps. A fun activity sheet for children is included

Boschendal has a playground with jungle-gyms, slides and treehouses, Acorn hideouts, slides, walkways, platforms, mushroom pods and pyramids.

Spier has beautiful, wide open spaces for special experiences like picnics by the lake. The Farm Cafe has a great selection of fresh goods. There are Segway tours and giant boulders to climb. There is a grape juice tasting for children to try

 Blaauwklippen Vineyards has a bike park and a play park with jungle gyms. The tasting room offers a wide variety of sweet and savoury pairings for adults, and children can snack on three mini pizzas paired with an Appletiser.

At Laborie, Children have ample space to run and play. The estate is spread out with beautiful gardens, The estate offers family-friendly lunch and sunset picnics.

Hazendal has a lot to keep children entertained with huge lawns and garden areas, and an amazing interactive and immersive edutainment centre.

Tokara has a fantastic children’s play area with four sandpits, swings and scooters, treehouses with ladders, a slide, a climbing net and a rubber shock-absorbing floor.

Franschhoek

At Babylonstoren, young children can play in the waterways, feed the animals and explore the garden, while older children can hike, swim, row on the dam, or explore the farm by bicycle. Other  activities include collecting eggs, rowing on the dam or harvesting fruit and veg

Allée Bleue Wine Estate Children can play on the lawns under the oak trees or on the jungle gym.  Enjoy your picnic on the property, We have a special picnic menu for children.

The Spice Route is a scenic attraction with rolling lawns, large trees and awesome mountain views. There is also plenty for children to enjoy. Highlights include the chocolate and ice cream. For adults, there are craft beer, spirits and wine tastings. With many local artisanal shops and restaurants

The Ricketty bridge  pairing for children consists of an apple juice, Créme Soda and strawberry-flavoured milk, paired with Smarties, sour worms, and wine gums

Paarl

Perdeberg has several wine pairings designed for children, There is a pairing that includes three shortbread cookies, with icing prepared in an icing bag so children can decorate the cookies themselves. These are paired with three flavours of milkshake.

Simonsvlei. At Simonsvlei, there are two different grape juice pairings for children. These are the Frozen Delight Pairings with a grape juice,  ice cream, and chocolate-dipped cookies. The Sweet & Salty Tasting. includes grape juice, crunchy biscuits and droewors

Rhebokskloof is able to host children’s parties in the gardens during summer, where there is a great playground with jungle gyms and mini bikes and in winter, there is an indoor venue. For older children, there is quad biking, horse riding, hiking, trail runs or MTB rides on their tracks.

Fairview is a wonderful farm for both parents and children to visit. resident goats, a great restaurant, and beautiful gardens with a children’s cheese tasting experience on offer

Nederberg has an amazing play area with zip lines and swing bridges as well as lawn Jenga to try. A tasting/pairing experience for children includes a choice of different flavoured milk or different flavoured hot chocolate to mix with your cookies.

Wellington

Dunstone Country Estate has indoor and outdoor play areas. Indoors, there is a large soft play area, a Lego table, a climbing wall and a mini kitchen. Outside, there are jungle-gyms, trampoline, putt putt, and sand pit, or they can visit the farm animals

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