South Africa

The Dutch physician and merchant Jan van Riebeeck (1619-1677), who had previously been based in Batavia for the Dutch East India Company, founded Cape Town in South Africa in 1652, as governor. He planted the first vines, imported from France, at the foot of Table Mountain in 1655. As recorded in his diary, the first wine was made on 2 February 1659, some 15 litres of what was probably a muscadel wine. Governor Simon van der Stel (1639-1712), who took office in 1679, founded the town of Stellenbosch, and also established the Constantia wine estate (1685). This estate became world-famous for the legendary sweet wines produced there (Vin de Constance), and exported to the courts of Europe. While some German and Dutch settlers started farming with wine at an early stage, it was the concentrated influx of French Protestants, known as Huguenots, that really formed the foundation for the South African wine industry. Some 200 Huguenots arrived at the Cape in 1688, and settled in what is now the town of Franschhoek (French corner). Their descendants still play an important role in the industry today. Also in the 17th century, large quantities of fortified wines in the style of sherry and port were exported to England. The Dutch governors successfully encouraged wine-growing in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Phylloxera reached South Africa in 1885, and devastated the vineyards. The Union of South Africa, a dominion within the British Commonwealth, was established in 1910. At the same time, racial separation was formally entrenched, and most Blacks were excluded from voting. This was later enhanced after the Second World War, with the concept of Apartheid formalising racial separation even more strictly. This led to an increasing isolation of the country, with most countries boycotting South African products, including wine. In 1918, the wine industry found itself with a glut of low-quality, unsellable wine, with prices so low most wine farmers were threatened with ruin. As a result, the government created the „Kooperatieve Wijnbouwers Vereniging van Zuid Afrika” (see under KWV). This super-cooperative also became a controlling body for the entire South African wine industry, and dominated the industry until the early 1990’s. The apartheid policies were scrapped in 1991, and all races were put on an equal footing, including the right to own property. The world markets rapidly opened their doors for South African wine, and the period since then has seen a tremendous boom in wine exports, so that wine is now one of the most important export goods, and the only branded product category exported. The non-profit association WIETA was founded in 2002, it oversees the improvement of employment conditions in the wine industry.

The climate in the wine-growing regions is close to ideal for wine-growing. The proximity of both the cool Atlantic Ocean, with currents from the Antarctic (Benguela Stream) and of the Indian Ocean characterises the wines grown ”between two oceans”. The summers are long and mostly sunny, with a mild and wet winter from May to September, in a Mediterranean climate zone. A cool, gusting wind from the southeast is also known as the ” Cape Doctor”, which cleanses the air, but it is feared by wine producers, as it can damage the vines. In climatic terms, as well as in terms of soils and types of wine produced, there are two major regions, the Coastal Region, which has a stronger maritime influence and a more temperate climate with more rainfall, producing mainly dry red and white wines, and the inland areas of the Klein Karoo, Olifants River, Robertson and Worcester, separated from the coastal climate by mountain ranges, with a hotter and drier climate, producing many alcoholic dessert wines and fortified wines. In particular the regions close to the coast, such as Constantia, Durbanville, Overberg, Philadelphia, Stellenbosch as well as the newer regions along the West Coast are influenced by the proximity of the ocean. Cooling sea breezes as well as significantly cooler nights bring about a longer maturation period for grapes, which encourages the formation of flavour compounds and aromas, and supports the production of high-quality wines. The warmer areas generally require irrigation, with water drawn from rivers and dams.

The vineyard area totals around 110.000 hectares, of which more than 80% are located in the Western Cape province, mostly within a radius of 200 kilometres from the regional capital of Cape Town, on the southwest tip of the African continent. Around 7 million hectolitres were produced in 2000, this is growing due to new plantings coming on line. Around 40% of the grapes are used for distilling purposes, and fort he production of must concentrate; South Africa is the biggest producer in the world of rectified grape concentrate. Around 10% of the harvest volume is used for table grapes, and raisins. Around 60% of wines produced currently are white, with around 40% reds, but the red share is increasing. Es gibt 581 wine producers with an own cellar: 65 co-operatives, 93 estates, 402 private wine producers (Non-Estates) and 21 wholesale producers. Probably the largest wine estate in terms of vineyard area is Nederburg (Paarl) which has 700 hectares of vineyards, the first botrytis dessert wine in South Africa, Edelkeur, was produced here by German-born Günter Brözel (one of the modern pioneers in the South African wine indsutry, apart from Johann Graue and Tim Hamilton Russel). An important auction takes place here each year. The KWV International group, which has been privatised, continues to play a decisive role as a producer and as a merchant house. Another major group is Distell (arose out of the merger of the Distillers Group and Stellenbosch Farmer´s Winery/SFW).

Up until 1982, no European grape varieties were allowed to be imported into the country (up to that time, wine was the only alcoholic beverage excepted from sales tax). The term Big Six is used to denote the six grape varieties with a share of more than 15% of the vineyard are, which are used to make the best wines. Even now, the sweet fortified wines made in the style of sherry and port remain one of the traditional specialities. Chenin Blanc and the muscat varieties are are used to make large quantities of sparkling wines (bubblies, perlé wines), many of them made in tanks with carbon dioxide added, but bottle-fermented sparkling wines are also produced in accordance with the méthode cap classique erzeugt. The Pinotage grape, created by viticultural pioneer Professor Abraham Isak Perold (1880-1941) at the University of Stellenbosch in 1925 (crossing of Pinot Noir and Cinsaut) is a Cape speciality, producing deep, full-bodied red wines. Refrigeration and temperature controls were introduced in the cellars from the mid-1950’s on, today practically all white wines are fermented at cool to cold temperatures (12 to 15 °C) using temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks. While there have been significant changes in the vineyard plantings in recent years, with many more red vines being planmted, the leading variety remains the white Chenin Blanc, which is often called Steen locally, and accounts for 18 per cent of the total vineyard area (down from over 30% 25 years ago). The main grape varieties planted are:
Variety Colour Hectares % share
Chenin Blanc (Steen) White 20.000 18,0
Cabernet Sauvignon Red 12.900 11,7
Sultana (Thompson Seedless) table grape White 11.800 10,0
Colombard (Colombar) Red 11.000 9,4
Shiraz Red 8.500 7,7
Pinotage Red 6.100 6,7
Sauvignon Blanc White 6.500 5,9
Merlot Red 6.300 5,7
Chardonnay White 6.100 5,5
Muscat d´Alexandrie (Hanepoot) White 4.400 4,0
Cinsault Red 3.800 3,5
Ruby Cabernet Red 2.300 2,1
Crouchen Blanc (Cape Riesling) White 2.300 2,1
SĂ©millon (Green Grape) White 1.200 1,1
Cabernet Franc Red 600 0,5
Pinot Noir Red 600 0,5
Riesling (Rheinriesling) White 600 0,5
Malbec Red 600 0,5
Petit Verdot Red 600 0,5
Viognier White 600 0,5


The Wine of Origin system, which controls the origin of wines, was introduced in 1973. The system has been revised and updated at regular intervals, with a major review in 1993. The system guarantees origin, variety and vintage stated on the label, and is being adjusted in accordance with European appellation systems. In the past, a wine stating a variety had to contain a minimum of 75% of that variety, since 2006 this has been increased to 85%, in line with EU regulations. The quality wines declared as WO are monitored and certified by the state „Wine and Spirits Board” (Wyn en Spiritusraad). Every wine is subjected to a chemical analysis, and must pass a blind-tasting test for sensory factors. If the wine is approved, or certified, a postage stamp-sized black-and-white quality seal stating „Certified/ Gesertifiseer” is issued, which is then affixed to the bottle neck (in 1993, this seal replaced the previous seal which had blue, green, red and gold stripes). The seal carries two numbers, the number above the line being the running bottle number, the number below the line is a batch number. This system allows each certified wine to be traced back to the producer, i.e. the estate, private producer or co-operative. Text on the label may be in English or Afrikaans. Some terms used are, for example, small oak (klein eikevat), Sulphur (swael), non-certified Wwne (nie gesertifiseerde wyn), certified wine (gesertifiseerde wyn), Cultivar (kultivaar) = grape variety, from ”cultivated variety”, fortified wine, Late Harvest, Special Late Harvest, Noble Late Harvest, Natural Sweet, Méthode Cap Classique = bottle-fermented sparkling wine similar to the Champagne method.

At this stage (early 2007) participation in the Wine of Origin system is voluntary. Where a wine is certified (sticker on bottle neck), all the grapes used must be from the stated geographical area. Where a grape variety (or varieties) and a vintage are stated, at least 85% of the contents must consist of the variety/varieties resp. vintage stated (up to 2006: 75% of the variety, but already 85% for exports to the EU). No chaptalisation of any kind is permitted, although a limited amount of acidification is permitted. There are no restrictions on yields, irrigation or use of fertilisers. There are currently around 75 registered WO´s (5 regions, 19 districts and more than 50 wards). As of 2009, only producers participating in the Integrated Production of Wine system will be allowed to certify their wines in the WO system. These are the individual classifications:

Estate: Wine estate created from either a single or several farms, with the original intention being that only grapes grown on the estate were to be used for the production of estate wines. There are currently close to 100 registered estates. The grapes must be vinified on the estate, but may, with the permission of the Wine and Spirit Board be bottled and labelled elsewhere. From 1994 to 2003, estates were then permited to buy in grapes, but were restricted to a volume of 45% of their own production, and had to market these wines under a separate (second) label). Since 2003, estates may market wines from bought-in grapes under the estate label, the only difference now being that the wines from these grapes will state only ”bottled on the estate”, as opposed to ”grown, made and bottled on the estate”. This is simply a geographical definition, estate wines are not necessarily better than other wines.

Single Vineyard: since 2003, the term estate has been replaced by the term Single Vienyard to define the smallest and most precise geographical indication. Producers are now permitted to register a single vineyard, provided it is no larger than 5 hectares, and is planted with only a single variety. Once registered, the single vineyard name may be stated on the label.

Ward: smaller area. Many of these are independent, i.e. are not part of a District or Region.

District: larger contiguous area, which may consist of several wards. Some are independent, i.e. are not part of a region. The two most important districts, around the towns of Paarl and Stellenbosch, after which they are named, are important centres of viticulture.

Region: Large area named after a city or a political region. Most of the regions consist of several districts (exception: Klein Karoo which has only one) and a number of wards. The five regions are Boberg, Breede River Valley, Coastal Region, Klein Karoo and Olifants River.

Geographical Unit: This designation was only introduced in 1993. There are three of these very large regions. The Western Cape GU includes most of the wine-growing regions (Wine of Origin), it includes all 5 regions with their districts and wards. The Northern Cape GU includes the Douglas district as well as three wards - Hartswater, Lower Orange and Rietrivier FS. At this stage there are only experimental plantings in the KwaZulu-Natal GU, with a single experimental estate, but no WO regions as yet.

The most important wine-growing regions, with their position in the WO hierarchy shown in brackets (the most important producers are shown there) are:

* Boberg (region)
* Breedekloof (district in Breede River Valley region)
* Breede River Valley (region)
* Calitzdorp (district in Klein Karoo region)
* Cape Point (district in Coastal Region)
* Coastal Region (region)
* Constantia (ward in Coastal Region)
* Darling (district in Coastal Region)
* Douglas (independent district)
* Durbanville (ward in Tygerberg district)
* Franschhoek (Ward in Paarl district)
* Klein Karoo (Region)
* Lower Orange (independent Ward)
* Olifants River (Region)
* Overberg (independent District)
* Paarl (District in Coastal Region)
* Philadelphia (Ward in Tygerberg District)
* Piketberg (District in Olifants River Region)
* Robertson (District in Breede River Valley region)
* Ruiterbosch or Mossel Bay (independent Ward)
* Stellenbosch (District in Coastal Region)
* Swartland (District in Coastal Region)
* Swellendam (District in Region Breede River Valley)
* Tulbagh (District in Coastal Region)
* Tygerberg (District in Coastal Region)
* Walker Bay (independent District)
* Wellington#Wellington (South Africa) (Ward in Paarl District)
* Worcester (District in Breede River Valley Region)

An important source (also for wine-growing regions and producers) is: Online Wine guide for South Africa at www.sa-weine.de and at www.wine.co.za.