Abingdon Wine Estate

More family home than formal wine estate, Abingdon invites guests to slow down and savour. The farm, run by father-daughter team Ian Smorthwaite and Laurie Cooper, holds the distinction of being the first to produce a certified estate wine made using KZN-grown grapes. Enjoy a tasting overlooking the vineyard, or beside a roaring fireplace on a cold Midlands day. When the post-tasting peckishness hits, you’re well served by a succinct but highly satisfying menu of tapas and sharing boards. There’s an unmistakably home-made quality to the food, thanks to Jane Smorthwaite in the kitchen. Everything is designed to be shared: think baked Camembert (with honey, rosemary, figs and thyme) pulled apart at the table; loaded forkfuls of golden chicken-and-leek pies; pork belly and crackling with just the right snap. The atmosphere is relaxed, intimate and wonderfully down to earth, the kind of place where strangers really do leave feeling like family.

Don't leave without trying:
A sharing board (choose between cheese, meat, veg or mixed) followed by one of each of the small plates to share.