South Africa offers far more than just wine. For those looking to explore the country’s full spectrum of flavours, these tastings—ranging from fiery chillies to fragrant fynbos—take you into the heart of the country’s diverse culinary landscape.
Whether you’re looking to add some heat to your palate, discover indigenous herbs, forage for wild mushrooms, or indulge in pure, raw honey, these experiences offer something beyond the expected. Here’s where to dive into these flavours in their purest, most intimate forms.
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Chilli lovers, spice things up
If you love heat, South Africa has a growing scene for those looking to taste the diverse world of chillies. Whether it’s fiery hot sauces, fresh chillies, or infused products, you can explore the nuances of heat in the best way possible: through your taste buds.
These places offer chilli tastings:
Banhoek Chilli Oil Company – Stellenbosch (Chilli Tasting & Artisan Oil)
Tucked into the scenic Banhoek Valley, this small-batch producer creates slow-infused chilli oil using sun-ripened Thai chillies and canola oil sourced from the Overberg. Their tasting room lets visitors sample the rich, layered flavour of the oil and discover new ways to use it in cooking, from drizzling over pizza to elevating roasted veg.
Festival of Fire – Cape Town Ostrich Ranch, Philadelphia (Annual Chilli Festival)
Held at the Cape Town Ostrich Ranch, this fiery annual event celebrates all things chilli—from scorching sauces to spicy eats and chilli-infused drinks. With local producers, cook-offs, and tongue-tingling tastings, it’s a must for heat seekers wanting to explore SA’s spicy side in a festive, family-friendly setting.
Fynbos for flavour seekers
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Fynbos, an indigenous plant group found primarily in the Western Cape, offers incredible aromatic possibilities. From herbal teas to unique flavourings in food and cocktails, fynbos is an essential part of the South African flavour landscape. This group of plants, which includes everything from fragrant buchu to robust rooibos, gives you a sense of place that’s distinctly South African.
These places offer fynbos tastings:
Cape Town Fynbos Experience – Cape Town (Fynbos Tasting & Education)
This curated tasting and storytelling experience explores the culinary and cultural uses of indigenous fynbos. Set in a beautiful garden setting in Cape Town, you’ll sip fynbos-infused teas, sample botanical salts, and even try traditional remedies—all while learning about the plants’ ecological significance.
Inverroche Distillery – Stilbaai (Fynbos Gin Tasting)
This pioneer in fynbos-infused gin offers tastings, pairings and even gin school experiences. Their gins use botanicals foraged from the Cape Floral Kingdom—each one capturing a different terrain and flavour note from limestone hills to dune thickets.
The Fynbos Trail – Gansbaai (Fynbos Foraging & Nature Walk)
A multi-day hike that immerses you in the landscape and lets you taste it too. With guided foraging walks and tastings of fynbos teas, cordials and honey, it’s a journey through both ecology and flavour.
ALSO READ: Cheese, chocolate and charcuterie tastings in South Africa
Mushrooms on the menu
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South Africa’s forests and woodlands are home to a wide range of wild mushrooms, each with its own rich, earthy flavours. Mushroom foraging has gained popularity in recent years, allowing food lovers to immerse themselves in the thrill of discovering wild mushrooms and learning how to incorporate them into dishes.
These places offer mushroom tasting and foraging:
Delheim Wine Estate – Stellenbosch (Mushroom Forage & Tasting)
Delheim Wine Estate offers a seasonal Wild Mushroom Forage. Guests are guided through the estate’s forested grounds by mushroom experts and learn to identify edible fungi. The adventure ends with a gourmet lunch prepared with the mushrooms collected, paired with estate wines.
Veld and Sea – Cape Peninsula (Mushroom & Foraging Workshops)
Run by forager and artist Roushanna Gray, Veld and Sea hosts seasonal wild mushroom foraging workshops in autumn. These immersive experiences explore forest ecosystems and edible fungi, often concluding with a beautifully curated, foraged feast. It’s as much about creativity and connection as it is about food.
Honey straight from the hive
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Honey is an incredibly versatile product in South Africa, and many small, family-run farms offer an up-close look at the fascinating world of beekeeping. Taste the flavours of the land through raw, unfiltered honey that reflects the unique flora of the region.
These places offer honey tastings:
Simply Bee Observation Centre – Hopefield (Honey Tasting & Beeswax Products)
Simply Bee offers a deep dive into the world of honey and beekeeping. Visitors can get close to bees, observe them in action, and sample a variety of raw, unfiltered honeys produced from local plants. Their range of beeswax-based products makes for a great souvenir, too.
The Bee Effect – Cape Town (Honey Tasting & Sustainable Beekeeping)
For those based in Cape Town, The Bee Effect hosts pop-up honey tastings. Sample an array of honeys from various regions and learn about sustainable beekeeping practices that help preserve bee populations and local biodiversity.
Lyon Raw – Cape Town (Honey Sensory Tasting)
Experience guided honey tastings led by South Africa’s first internationally trained Honey Sommelier, Natasha Lyon. Lyon Raw offers immersive sessions that delve into the nuances of raw, unadulterated honeys sourced from small-scale beekeepers, highlighting the unique characteristics of each varietal.
Whether you’re sampling fiery chillies, discovering the subtle, floral notes of fynbos, foraging for wild mushrooms, or indulging in the sweet delights of raw honey, each experience reveals the diversity of South African terroir.
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