Although it was established in 1702 and has some of South Africa's oldest pinotage and shiraz vineyards, as well as a handsome Cape Dutch homestead, Meerendal is no fuddy-duddy wine estate. The tasting room is very professionally run and combined with a contemporary art gallery and distillery, offering vodka, rum and gin tastings. There are two restaurants, Carlucci's Deli and the more upmarket Crown, as well as 18km of mountain biking trails.
The estate hosts various mountain biking competitions, as well as the milder, 5km Saturday-morning Durbanville Parkrun (www.parkrun.co.za). Galileo Open Air Cinema (http://thegalileo.co.za) screens movies here, and there's an elegant boutique hotel in the historic homestead.