A Journey Through The Spice Route Destination

Located on the beautiful hills of the Paarl mountians, a 45 minute drive from Cape Town, you’ll find the Spice Route Destination. During my trip to Cape Town last weekend, I headed there for a day of journeying through the Spice Route Destination – I enjoyed it so much that I can’t wait to go back!

Irina and I started our day off the best possible way – a back and neck massage at the beautiful Beauti for life spa. Our therapist, Jeanie, adds her own touch to the treatment by not only focusing on your shoulders but on your actual arms too – it was so interesting and definitely left me feeling relaxed for the rest of the day. I highly recommend treating yourself to one of her massages!

We then took a stroll down to the Wilderer Distillery to have a taste of their gin; apple brandy and schnaps. I think I would’ve enjoyed this tasting a bit more if the lady that was helping us was a bit more polite and engaged with us a bit more but I knew that the wine tasting would make up for it. So I’m sad to sad to say that this wasn’t one of my top moments at the Destination and I’m a huge gin fan so I was a bit disappointed.

Moving along swiftly, we then made our way to chocolate heaven at the De Villiers Chocolate shop. I really enjoyed this tasting as the team takes you along the chocolate journey from the actual cocoa bean to the finished product. I mean, who doesn’t love chocolate tasting? We even left with a few slabs we bought as presents for family and too be honest, I wouldn’t even be able to tell you which one was my favourite – they were all so delish!

The third stop on our Spice Route journey was a tasting of the Spice Route Wines. Each wine was presented to us for a tasting with an explanation behind each bottle. The Sauvignon Blanc was definitely my favourite, if I didn’t have as limited packing space as I did, I definitely would have bought a few bottles. Another great thing about this tasting is that you can either do it at the underground wine cellar or enjoy it out in the garden looking out to the most beautiful scenery.

While we enjoyed our wine tasting, we also indulged in a cured meats tasting. Since 2009, Richard Bosman’s Quality Cured Meats has been producing Italian and Spanish style meat that is hung and cured for  2-12 months. The flavours were mouth watering and I really enjoyed the spicy Chourico!

Another stroll around the surroundings to take it all in and then we headed for lunch at the Barley and Biltong Emporium which was absolutely buzzing by the time we got there for lunch. It has a beer garden vibe with a Cape Town touch to it and seems like the perfect place to enjoy a Saturday with a bunch of friends! The food was so delicious and I can definitely recommend the platters and the pate’ trio!

After filling our tummies with such a yummy lunch, we headed to the Cape Brewing Company  to have a look at how they celebrate beer. I think that place would be any beer lovers dream! It was packed inside!

I thoroughly enjoyed my day at the Spice Route Destination, I actually sat while we were having lunch and just reflected on how relaxed and happy I felt at that moment. Another really cool thing about the Spice Route Destination is that you get a passport for all your tastings. That alone obviously thrilled this travel obsessed girl to the maximum. Each passport offers you five tastings (CBC Brewery, Wilderer Distillery, De Villiers Chocolate, Spice Route wine tasting room, Richard Bosman’s Quality Cured Meats) and is valid for a year. It costs R180.00 and is 100% worth it in my opinion.  Even though I can now say I’ve visited the Spice Route Destination, I would honestly go back as it’s such a beautiful location and definitely a great day out!