This beautiful wine estate was bought by Don Bilton in 1959 and it has blossomed into a striking venue which others can enjoy. Set on the hills of the Helderberg Mountains it offers everything you want in a wine estate and whispers elegance from all corners.

We are big wine fans, so living in Cape Town is an absolute blessing, and the choice of wine farms to go to is huge. Wine tasting is generally offered at all of them and it’s a very fun way to enjoy an afternoon. Bilton, however, offers something a little bit different to most wine farms and when I heard about it I knew that I had to go. Chocolate and Wine Tasting. That’s right, you heard me. I wasn’t sure if the two would really go well together to be honest but I couldn’t resist giving it a go, after all it involved wine and it involved chocolate so it couldn’t be all that bad.

I was pleasantly surprised by the experience. We were taken through the different wines as well as the different chocolates and told to try the chocolate by itself first, and then try another bite after a sip of the wine. The taste of the chocolate changed completely and all flavours were exemplified. For only R50 this was definitely worth doing and it makes for such a different and fun day out.

They also offer regular wine tastings at R35 and chocolate tastings at R15. Then their restaurant offers cheese platters for R50 (including brie, brie with fig or chilli, camembert, blue & matured cheese and biscuits), or cheese platters for two at R80. They also have picnic hampers which need to be booked 48 hours in advance.

As with most wine farms here, it’s a beautiful setting for a day of wine.