Tower of Babel

Just an hour’s drive from Cape Town, South Africa awaits a dazzling farm resort in the wine lands situated in the Drakenstein Valley, dating back to 1692. Surrounded by orchards of plum trees and fields of grapevines, Babylonstoren is one of the best preserved werfs – farm yards- in the Cape tradition of the 17th and 18th century. Guests stay in Cape Dutch cottages that once housed the farm’s workers and have since been stylishly renovated with claw-footed bathtubs and uber modern, sleek glass kitchens where you can prepare your own meals. The farm, winery and luxury hotel is owned by Karen Roos, the former editor of ELLE Decoration South Africa, and her billionaire husband Koos Bekker, where a spa, gym and swimming pool – a restored farm reservoir perfect for hot days – are featured.

The Western Cape’s reputation for wine is undiminished but now its cooking has caught up. Babylonstoren’s restaurant Babel, harvests its fruits and vegetables, along with over 300 varieties of plants, from the farm’s eight-acre organic garden year round which is arranged in a formal Dutch grid, closely modeled on the original plan for the Dutch East India Company gardens in the center of Cape Town. Guests are invited to join the harvesting, pruning, planting, or picking of fruit, herbs, nuts, spices and vegetables. Every day at noon, visitors are welcome to come on a guided cellar tour that takes them through the whole wine making process, starting in the vineyard through to the finished product inside the bottle, and then followed by a tasting. Simple and natural is the mantra at Babylonstoren, with a touch of South African chic. www.babylonstoren.com