Five Star Guides wine tour

Any visitor to South Africa’s scenic Winelands could trip over wineries throughout Stellenbosch, Franschhoek and Paarl unaccompanied – but it takes an insider to either hone in on special interests or provide a more intimate local’s perspective. Qualified tour guide and former WINE magazine editor Fiona McDonald is the person to do just that.

Whether the interest and knowledge is “glass of white wine, barman” or up at the “what clone of Chardonnay went into this?” level, Fiona will steer you in the right direction, having made legions of contacts in her three decades as a wine writer and international competition judge.

No two tours are the same and can range from exposure to world-leading Chenin Blanc producers to more nuanced regenerative viticulture-driven operations where the welfare of soil, hooved animals and sustainability informs what they make. One guarantee is that a day out with wine – and Fiona – always beats a bad day in the office!