Franschhoek, 'French Corner' in Afrikaans, was settled by Huguenot refugees in 1688 and sits about eighty kilometres east of Cape Town, hemmed in by mountains on three sides. The enclosed valley traps Mediterranean warmth by day and pulls cool air down the slopes after dark. It's also South Africa's heartland for old-vine Semillon, the variety that once dominated the Cape before Chenin and Sauvignon eclipsed it. The oldest white-grape vineyards in the country still stand here.