Best Wine Cellar Tours in Stellenbosch & Franschhoek

Babylonstoren

Best for the most comprehensive vine-to-wine experience, combining vineyard context, several fermentation vessels, underground cellar space and tasting. The Cellar Tour starts outside in the vineyards, moves into the working cellar, where wine ferments in clay amphorae, open cement fermenters and concrete eggs, and ends in the estate’s underground wine tunnel with a tasting of its best wines paired with food grown on the farm. It was voted South Africa’s best innovative wine tourism experience in the 2022 Best Of Wine Tourism awards.

The tour costs R650 and takes two hours, starting at 10:00, 13:00 or 16:00. You pay when you book, under-18s cannot join, and the route is walked and is not accessible for wheelchairs, so wear comfortable shoes. Book through Babylonstoren’s cellar tour page. If two hours is more than your day allows, the estate’s free self-guided wine museum, The Story of Wine, is open daily.

The small-group Stellenbosch, Franschhoek and Babylonstoren tour includes a guided garden tour and a tasting at Babylonstoren but not the cellar tour. It is rated 5.0/5 from only nine reviews.

Lanzerac

Best for combining a working cellar with historic Stellenbosch atmosphere and easy access to tasting, food and spa facilities. The farm dates back to 1692, and the estate describes itself as the home of the world’s first commercially bottled Pinotage.

The cellar tour is complimentary and runs daily at 11:00 and 15:00. Tastings are separate and paid: the five-wine Jonkershoek Tasting costs R130 and the Heritage Tasting R330, and the tasting room is cashless. It opens daily from 08:00 to 19:00 between October and April, and closes earlier from May to September. Lanzerac does not say how long the tour lasts or whether you need to reserve, so call the tasting room on +27 21 887 1132 if your day depends on a particular slot. Our guide to wine and chocolate tastings covers Lanzerac’s truffle pairing, and the estate’s hotel is in our guide to wine farm stays.

Simonsig

Best for Cap Classique. Its history with Kaapse Vonkel gives the sparkling-wine cellar story a clear purpose: in 1971 Frans Malan made South Africa’s first bottle-fermented sparkling wine here, the style now called Cap Classique, and in the same year he helped found the Stellenbosch Wine Route.

Simonsig’s cellar tour is the Cap Classique Experience, a guided session of about an hour and a half that tells the Kaapse Vonkel story and ends with a Cap Classique tasting. Book it by emailing the tasting room at tastingroom@simonsig.co.za; the cellar tour page gives no price, so ask when you book. For something more hands-on, the degorging experience costs R420, runs daily at 10:00 and 15:00 for up to ten people, and shows how the yeast sediment is removed from a bottle-fermented wine. If you only want to taste, the five-wine Kaapse Vonkel Tasting costs R150. The estate is open daily from 09:00 to 17:00.

The small-group Cape Town and Stellenbosch wine tour includes a cellar tour and sabrage at Simonsig, and is rated 4.9/5 from 120 reviews on Viator. Our Cap Classique guide covers the style and the other estates that make it well.

Haute Cabrière

Best Franschhoek option for an atmospheric underground cellar and a focus on Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Cap Classique. The estate sits on the Franschhoek Pass just above the village, and its founder, Achim von Arnim, named the Pierre Jourdan Cap Classique range after the farm’s original landowner.

Cellar tours run daily at 12:00 and follow the wine from vine to glass, covering the estate’s Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, Franschhoek’s history and its links with Burgundy and Champagne. Book by enquiry through the estate’s contact page. Haute Cabrière does not publish a current price, so confirm it when you book; older guides describe a Saturday cellar master’s tour with sabrage at a much lower price, and that format is not on the estate’s current page.

Tastings happen in the underground tasting room, first come, first served, from 10:00 to 17:00 Monday to Saturday and 10:00 to 16:00 on Sunday. The four-wine Pierre Jourdan Discovery costs R120. For the rest of the valley, see our Franschhoek winery guide.

Cellar Tour vs Tasting

A tasting focuses on finished wines; a cellar tour focuses on fermentation, barrels, ageing and production. Most cellar tours end with a tasting, so you get both, but Lanzerac keeps them separate: the tour is free and the tasting is paid.

On a guided day you rarely choose the estate. The full-day Winelands tour includes one cellar tour within three valleys of tastings, and the four-estate Stellenbosch tour includes a cellar and vineyard tour among its four tastings, with cheese, cured meat and chocolate pairings and lunch. It is rated 4.8/5 from 271 reviews.

What You May See

Depending on estate and season: receiving areas, stainless-steel tanks, concrete vessels, barrels, maturation areas, bottle-ageing spaces and bottling equipment. Babylonstoren adds clay amphorae and concrete eggs, and a Cap Classique cellar like Simonsig’s shows bottles ageing on their yeast before degorging.

Cellars are at their busiest during the harvest, which runs from about February to April. The tanks are full and the smell of fermenting fruit is everywhere, although the cellar team is working long days. Our guide to the best time to visit covers what each season changes.

Cellar Tour vs Vineyard Tour

Cellar tours explain winemaking after harvest. Vineyard tours explain grape growing, soil, slope and climate. Some experiences do both: Babylonstoren starts in the vineyard, and the vineyard drives at Jordan and Waterford end with a cellar visit. Our guide to Stellenbosch vineyard tours compares the wine safaris, walks and Segway tours.

How Many Cellar Tours?

One is enough. Two only makes sense if they are deliberately different, such as still-wine production and Cap Classique: Babylonstoren or Haute Cabrière for one, Simonsig for the other. With a two-hour tour in the day, plan on one or two other tastings and lunch. Our Stellenbosch wine tasting guide helps you choose the other stops.

Best Time in the Day

Morning is ideal while your attention is fresh, leaving later stops for tasting and lunch. Babylonstoren’s 10:00 tour and Lanzerac’s 11:00 tour both fit that pattern, and Haute Cabrière’s 12:00 tour finishes in time for lunch in Franschhoek village. Our guide to wine farm restaurants covers where to eat in Stellenbosch.

Booking & Access

Fixed-time cellar tours often require reservations and may have age or accessibility restrictions, especially in older or underground spaces. Babylonstoren takes payment when you book, does not admit under-18s and is not wheelchair accessible. Simonsig and Haute Cabrière both take bookings by email or enquiry, so allow a day or two for a reply. Lanzerac and Haute Cabrière do not publish age or access rules for their tours, so ask if anyone in your group has limited mobility or is under 18.

Frequently Asked Questions

Best cellar tour for beginners?

Babylonstoren is one of the strongest comprehensive choices. Its two-hour tour (R650) covers the vineyard, the working cellar and the underground tunnel, and ends with a tasting, so you see the whole process in one visit.

Best for Cap Classique?

Simonsig. Frans Malan made South Africa’s first bottle-fermented sparkling wine there in 1971, and its Cap Classique Experience tells that story and ends with a tasting.

Best in Franschhoek?

Haute Cabrière is a particularly convenient dedicated option, with a cellar tour daily at 12:00 on the Franschhoek Pass just above the village. Babylonstoren, on the road between Paarl and Franschhoek, is the fuller alternative.

Do cellar tours include tasting?

Often, but not always; check the exact product. Babylonstoren and Simonsig include one, while Lanzerac’s cellar tour is free and its tastings are paid separately.