I call them the 'death list', 'cos I know a night out in the company of anyone on it will leave me feeling absolutely wretched the next morning (and in some cases, for the rest of the week).

Amber Drake, niece of food guru Justine, and a woman who'll eat absolutely anything as long as she can wash it down with tequila; Douglas, the American with the ridiculous surname who owns super-club Hemisphere; Robbie Kempson, the Springbok prop who drinks wine out the bottle; Caroline Jury, the English model who lives on a diet of Sauvignon Blanc and nicotine; and then there's the worst of the lot — Evan Alexander.

You've almost certainly never heard of Evan, an unremarkable sort with a sad scraggly beard he's been trying (unsuccessfully) to grow for as long as I've known him; you will know the wine he used to preside over, however...

He's recently moved into the luxury food market, importing expensive delicacies to Gauteng (and doubtless running assorted illegal contraband in the process). Before that, however, he was in charge of marketing for what has become my opening target on any assault on the Winelands: Waterford.

It was Evan who introduced me to the estate, nestled in a corner of Stellenbosch behind Stellenzicht — where Guy Webber continues to make some of the country's finest Pinotage and Syrah — and across the road from Dornier, home of the late Swiss architect, and one of the country's most strikingly designed cellars.

Pre- and post-chocolate?

It takes a lot to stand out in the blur of wine farms that is Stellenbosch; Waterford has two particular attractions. The first is the quality of the wine, led by the Kevin Arnold Shiraz. Kevin is a particularly gifted winemaker, and his Shiraz, spiked with the subtlest touch of Mouvedre, is a dazzling wine.

But the second, and the prime reason for hauling visiting friends out for a visit, is the chocolate tasting, where a trio of Belgian chocolate is paired with the aforementioned Shiraz, the excellent Cabernet Sauvignon, and a dessert wine that's refreshingly light on the saccharine glue that so much of the varietal emerges as.

The difference on the palate of the three wines pre- and post-chocolate is surprising; it's a quirky way of illustrating the characteristics of the three vinos.

So that's your start to your wine route, then; wherever you stumble off to next, you simply have to end up at my new favourite Winelands haunt, where I had a quite outstanding meal. Great views don't necessarily mean great food (Dieu Donne's calamitous eatery being the defining example), but at Guardian Peak, your sweeping view of the valley below is complemented by under-rated wine, and some inventive cooking that makes for a refreshingly different menu.

A postcard vista backdrop

Under blue skies and brilliant sunshine, you'd have a postcard vista as backdrop in summer; in bleak midwinter, grey skies and the screech of bitter wind make for an equally striking landscape, burning fire and red wine offering refuge from the scowling Mordor outside. It's the food that's the real saviour, though, particularly if you've taken your time getting to lunch: a small but vibrant menu, and a handful of daily additions, offering some vivid combinations.

Lightly fried paella balls are a novelty on a South African menu; they're also moreish and irresistible, offset with a touch of tomato and piquant aioli, and primed for victimisation from the rest of the table.

There's competition for star attraction appetiser, though, pear and gorgonzola spring rolls leading the way (and avoiding the bland and greasy pit that gourmet spring rolls so often stumble into), and Carpaccio, a huge brown carpet of raw beef flavoured with biltong, also worth a look. I fed some to Dave, an Australian mate out on holiday, and you could see the instant delight; growing up in a backwater colony of New Zealand does leave your gastronomic past a barren place indeed.

Pick of the lot?

Offsetting his heathen upbringing further, a large, meaty springbok shank, unquestionably the best way to serve our national antelope, headlined the main course salvo; a decent rib eye also made an appearance, accompanied by a luminous puddle of shocking violet, that appeared to be a radioactive beetroot having a bubble bath, but turned out instead to be a colourful red wine foam.

Pick of the lot, though, was my selection: oxtail, a perennial favourite that more kitchens should embrace in winter, atop a marvellous heap of saffron risotto. Oxtail can be large chunks of bone and gristle, with little meat, which may many explain restaurants' hesitancy to use it; this had thick chunks of flesh in abundance.

Adding to Guardian Peak's delights is that, with a couple of exceptions on the starter list, all meals come with a generous glass of wine, selected to play off the meal in question.

And while Guardian Peak's wines might not be as celebrated as cellar-mates Ernie Els and Rust en Vrede, they emerge from shared terroir with admirable poise and complexity, the reds in particular illustrating just what a natural home for vin rouge this part of the world is, with the Malbec in particular a strong, distinctive rouge.

The desserts form a conventional list; after a morning of chocolate indulgence at Waterford, and two large courses along with the restaurant's fabulous olive bread, there wasn't space for anything more.

I'll try and leave a little room for next time, as next time there certainly will be; or at least, I hope there will be. I'm having dinner with the dastardly Evan Alexander later this week, and he claims to have a case of wine we simply have to try. If that does finish me off, Guardian Peak would be as good a place as any for the wake.

Review unannounced and paid for in full. Lunch for four, with wine, R900 including tip. Guardian Peak Restaurant and Estate, Annandale Road, Stellenbosch. Call +27 21 881 3899 for reservations; www.guardianpeak.com