Stellenbosch - Wine Country

By the time I got to Knysna, I was getting a little travel-weary.  Although it's fun seeing a few place every couple of days, the packing and unpacking, long bus-ride, etc, was getting to me.  I decided that Stellenbosh was going to be my last stop before Cape Town, then spend the rest of my time in CPT.
That means I will have almost 2 weeks in CPT - time to leisurely enjoy and see this beautiful city.  But, first thing first.  I need to visit this place that so many people recommend and brag about.
Stellenbosch is South Africa most famous wine region.  It's like Napa Valley in California, although South Africans will tell you proudly that they have been growing grapes here for more than 300 years.  Like all wine-growing regions, it's a beautiful area with rolling hills and moderate temperature.  It also attracts a lot of money people, hence you see a lot of beautiful homes in the area.
The town is also famous for the University of Stellenbosch, one of the oldest universities in South Africa.  I stayed at a hostel in downtown Stellenbosch, not far from the campus.  Unfortunately, the hostel also has a bar that's very popular with students and I was there on a Friday night.  They did not stop drinking and making a lot of noise until after the bar closed at 2 am.
I took an all-day wine tour, which costs 450 Rands (about US$43).  There were only 3 of us, another American, first one I met on this trip, and a German.  We visited 4 wineries spread over the area.  At the first winery, we were taken on a tour of the wine-making process.  At all the wineries we were given 5 to 6 types of wines to taste.  Some of the varieties are unique to South Africa.  I've never heard them before, like Pinotage.  At one winery, we had also had cheese to go with the wine.  It was a very nice and worthwhile experience.  After the second winery, I could hardly remember the type and taste of the previous one.  They were all good!

1st stop - Simonsig Winery

A cork tree but they don't do well in SA.  It's too hot.

Wines being aged

Oak barrels for aging the wine

No explanation needed

One of the wineries have good cheese samples

Samantha, our hostess at one of the wineries

3 happy winos - 1 German on left, 2 Americans on right

Vineyard with beautiful mountains in the background

Wine sampling under beautiful old (almost 300 yrs) oak trees

One of the beautiful buildings at University of Stellenbosch

Beautiful tree-line street on campus

Many of the signs are in Afrikan