South African wine
Encyclopedia

South African wine has a history dating back to 1659, and at one time Constantia
Constantia, Cape Town
Constantia is an affluent suburb of Cape Town, South Africa, situated about 15 kilometres south of the centre of Cape Town. The Constantia Valley lies to the east of and at the foot of the Constantiaberg mountain. Constantia Nek is a low pass linking to Hout Bay in the west.-History:Constantia is...

 was considered one of the greatest wine
Wine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...

s in the world. Access to international markets has unleashed a burst of new energy and new investment. Production is concentrated around Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...

, with major vineyard and production centres at Paarl
Paarl
Paarl is a town with 191,013 inhabitants in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Its the third oldest European settlement in the Republic of South Africa and the largest town in the Cape Winelands. Due to the growth of the Mbekweni township, it is now a de facto urban unit with Wellington...

, Stellenbosch and Worcester
Worcester, Western Cape
Worcester is a town in the Western Cape, South Africa. It is located 120 km north-east of Cape Town on the N1 highway north to Johannesburg....

. There are about 60 appellations within the Wine of Origin (WO) system, which was implemented in 1973 with a hierarchy of designated production regions, districts and wards. WO wines must be made 100% from grapes from the designated area. "Single vineyard" wines must come from a defined area of less than 5 hectares. An "Estate Wine" can come from adjacent farms, as long as they are farmed together and wine is produced on site. A ward is an area with a distinctive soil type and/or climate, and is roughly equivalent to a European appellation.

On 2 February 1659 the founder of Cape Town, Jan van Riebeeck
Jan van Riebeeck
Johan Anthoniszoon "Jan" van Riebeeck was a Dutch colonial administrator and founder of Cape Town.-Biography:...

, produced the first wine recorded in South Africa. In 1685, the Constantia
Constantia, Cape Town
Constantia is an affluent suburb of Cape Town, South Africa, situated about 15 kilometres south of the centre of Cape Town. The Constantia Valley lies to the east of and at the foot of the Constantiaberg mountain. Constantia Nek is a low pass linking to Hout Bay in the west.-History:Constantia is...

 estate was established in a valley facing False Bay
False Bay
False Bay is a body of water defined by Cape Hangklip and the Cape Peninsula in the extreme South-West of South Africa.- Description and location :...

 by the Governor of the Cape, Simon van der Stel
Simon van der Stel
Simon van der Stel was the last Commander and first Governor of the Cape Colony, the Dutch settlement at the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa.-Background:...

. His Vin de Constance
soon acquired a good reputation. But it was Hendrik Cloete, who bought the homestead in 1778, who really made the name of Constantia famous, with an unfortified wine made from a blend of mostly Muscat de Frontignan (Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains
Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains
Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains is a white wine grape that is a member of the Muscat family of Vitis vinifera. Its name comes from its characteristic small berry size and tight clusters...

), Pontac, red and white Muscadel and a little Chenin Blanc.

On 8 January 1918, growers in the Western Cape founded the Koöperatieve Wijnbouwers Vereniging van Zuid-Afrika Bpkt
KWV
The Koöperatieve Wijnbouwers Vereniging van Zuid-Afrika Bpkt was a winemaking co-operative founded on 8 January 1918 by wine makers from the Western Cape in South Africa. It was converted from its co-operative status into KWV Ltd on 2 December 2002...

 (KWV). KWV came to dominate the industry until the end of apartheid. In the 1930s they set up the South African Wine Farmers Association (SAWFA) as a 50:50 joint venture with their British agents, Vine Products, taking full control after the Second World War. Restrictions on the sale of "whites man's liquor" to black South Africans were lifted in the 1960s. Restrictions were never placed on Coloured South African laborers for fear of collapsing the wine farm labour force. Production quotas were abolished in the 1990s, and KWV relinquished its regulatory functions to the South African Wine Industry Trust and its producing interests to the Wijngaard Co-operative, leaving a publicly quoted marketing company.

History

The roots of the South African wine industry can be traced to the explorations of the Dutch East India Company
Dutch East India Company
The Dutch East India Company was a chartered company established in 1602, when the States-General of the Netherlands granted it a 21-year monopoly to carry out colonial activities in Asia...

 which established a supply station in what is now modern day Cape Town. A Dutch surgeon, Jan van Riebeeck
Jan van Riebeeck
Johan Anthoniszoon "Jan" van Riebeeck was a Dutch colonial administrator and founder of Cape Town.-Biography:...

, was given the task of managing the station and planting vineyards to produce wines and grapes intended to ward off scurvy
Scurvy
Scurvy is a disease resulting from a deficiency of vitamin C, which is required for the synthesis of collagen in humans. The chemical name for vitamin C, ascorbic acid, is derived from the Latin name of scurvy, scorbutus, which also provides the adjective scorbutic...

 amongst sailors during their voyages along the spice route. The first harvest
Harvest (wine)
The harvesting of wine grapes is one of the most crucial steps in the process of winemaking. The time of harvest is determined primarily by the ripeness of the grape as measured by sugar, acid and tannin levels with winemakers basing their decision to pick based on the style of wine they wish to...

 and crushing took place in 1659, seven years after landing in 1652. The man succeeding Van Riebeeck as governor of the Cape of Good Hope
Cape of Good Hope
The Cape of Good Hope is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula, South Africa.There is a misconception that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Africa, because it was once believed to be the dividing point between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. In fact, the...

, Simon van der Stel
Simon van der Stel
Simon van der Stel was the last Commander and first Governor of the Cape Colony, the Dutch settlement at the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa.-Background:...

, sought to improve the quality of viticulture
Viticulture
Viticulture is the science, production and study of grapes which deals with the series of events that occur in the vineyard. When the grapes are used for winemaking, it is also known as viniculture...

 in the region. In 1685, Van der Stel purchased a large 1850 acres (748.7 ha) estate just outside Cape Town, establishing the Constantia
Constantia (wine)
Constantia, or vin de Constance, is a South African dessert wine. It is made from Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains grapes grown in the district of Constantia, south of Cape Town. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries it was widely exported to Europe...

 wine estate. After Van der Stel's death, the estate fell into disrepair but was revived in 1778 when it was purchased by Hendrik Cloete.

Under Cloete, Constantia soon earned a reputation across Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

 for the quality of its Muscat based dessert wine
Dessert wine
Dessert wines are sweet wines typically served with dessert.There is no simple definition of a dessert wine. In the UK, a dessert wine is considered to be any sweet wine drunk with a meal, as opposed to the white fortified wines drunk before the meal, and the red fortified wines drunk after it...

s. The reputation of Constantia positively affected perception of other Cape wines and when the area fell under British rule
History of South Africa (1815–1910)
During the Napoleonic Wars, the Cape Colony was annexed by the British and officially became their colony in 1815. Britain encouraged settlers to the Cape, and in particular, sponsored the 1820 Settlers to farm in the disputed area between the colony and the Xhosa in what is now the Eastern Cape...

, large quantities of Cape wine were exported to Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...

. By 1859 more than 1 million gallons (45,000 hl) of South African wine were exported to Britain. The region experienced a period of prosperity that lasted until the 1860s when the Cobden-Chevalier Treaty
Cobden-Chevalier Treaty
The Cobden–Chevalier Treaty was a Free Trade treaty signed between the United Kingdom and France on 23 January, 1860. It is named after the main British and French originators of the treaty, Richard Cobden MP and Michel Chevalier.-Origins and negotiations:...

 signed by the Gladstone government
William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone FRS FSS was a British Liberal statesman. In a career lasting over sixty years, he served as Prime Minister four separate times , more than any other person. Gladstone was also Britain's oldest Prime Minister, 84 years old when he resigned for the last time...

 and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 reduced the preferential tariff
Tariff
A tariff may be either tax on imports or exports , or a list or schedule of prices for such things as rail service, bus routes, and electrical usage ....

s that benefited South African wine to the detriment of French wine
French wine
French wine is produced in several regions throughout France, in quantities between 50 and 60 million hectolitres per year, or 7–8 billion bottles. France has the world's second-largest total vineyard area, behind Spain, and is in the position of being the world's largest wine producer...

 exports. By 1865, exports dried up to less than 150,600 gallons (5,700 hl). In 1866 the phylloxera epidemic reached South Africa, causing widespread devastation to the industry and vineyards that would take more than 20 years to recover.

While many growers gave up on winemaking, choosing instead to plant orchards and alfalfa
Alfalfa
Alfalfa is a flowering plant in the pea family Fabaceae cultivated as an important forage crop in the US, Canada, Argentina, France, Australia, the Middle East, South Africa, and many other countries. It is known as lucerne in the UK, France, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand, and known as...

 fields to feed the growing ostrich
Ostrich
The Ostrich is one or two species of large flightless birds native to Africa, the only living member of the genus Struthio. Some analyses indicate that the Somali Ostrich may be better considered a full species apart from the Common Ostrich, but most taxonomists consider it to be a...

 feather industry. The growers that did replant with grapevines, chose high yielding grape varieties such as Cinsaut
Cinsaut
Cinsaut or Cinsault is a red wine grape, whose heat tolerance and productivity make it important in Languedoc-Roussillon and the former French colonies of Algeria and Morocco...

. By the early 1900s more than 80 million vines had been replanted, creating a wine lake
Wine lake
The wine lake refers to the continuing supply surplus of wine produced in the European Union. A major contributor to that glut is the Languedoc-Roussillon, which produces over one-third of the grapes grown in France. In 2007 it was reported that for the previous several vintages, European...

. Some producers would pour unsaleable wine into local rivers and streams. The depressed price caused by the imbalance between supply and demand
Supply and demand
Supply and demand is an economic model of price determination in a market. It concludes that in a competitive market, the unit price for a particular good will vary until it settles at a point where the quantity demanded by consumers will equal the quantity supplied by producers , resulting in an...

 prompted the South African government to fund the formation of the Koöperatieve Wijnbouwers Vereniging van Zuid-Afrika Bpkt (KWV) in 1918. Initially started as a co-operative, the KWV soon grew in power and prominence to where it set policies and prices for the entire South African wine industry. To deal with the wine glut, the KWV restricted yields and set minimum prices that encouraged the production of brandy
Brandy
Brandy is a spirit produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35%–60% alcohol by volume and is typically taken as an after-dinner drink...

 and fortified wine
Fortified wine
Fortified wine is wine to which a distilled beverage has been added. Fortified wine is distinguished from spirits made from wine in that spirits are produced by means of distillation, while fortified wine is simply wine that has had a spirit added to it...

s.

For much of the 20th century, the wine industry of South Africa received very little attention on the world stage. Its isolation was exacerbated by the boycotts
Anti-Apartheid Movement
Anti-Apartheid Movement , originally known as the Boycott Movement, was a British organization that was at the center of the international movement opposing South Africa's system of apartheid and supporting South Africa's Blacks....

 of South African products in protest against the country's system of Apartheid. It was not till the late 1980s and 1990s when Apartheid was ended and the world's export market opened up that South African wines began to experience a renaissance. Many producers in South Africa quickly adopted new viticultural and winemaking
Winemaking
Winemaking, or vinification, is the production of wine, starting with selection of the grapes or other produce and ending with bottling the finished wine. Although most wine is made from grapes, it may also be made from other fruit or non-toxic plant material...

 technologies. The presence of flying winemakers from abroad brought international influences and focus on well known varieties such as Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Canada's Okanagan Valley to Lebanon's Beqaa Valley...

 and Chardonnay
Chardonnay
Chardonnay is a green-skinned grape variety used to make white wine. It is originated from the Burgundy wine region of eastern France but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from England to New Zealand...

. The reorganization of the powerful KWV co-operative into a private business further sparked innovation and improvement in quality as vineyard owners and wineries who had previously relied on the price-fixing structure that bought their excess grapes for distillation
Distillation
Distillation is a method of separating mixtures based on differences in volatilities of components in a boiling liquid mixture. Distillation is a unit operation, or a physical separation process, and not a chemical reaction....

 were forced to become more competitive by shifting their focus to the production of quality wine. In 1990, less than 30% of all the grapes harvested was used for wine production meant for the consumer market with the remaining 70% being discarded, distilled into brandy
Brandy
Brandy is a spirit produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35%–60% alcohol by volume and is typically taken as an after-dinner drink...

 or sold as table grapes and juice
Grape juice
Grape juice is obtained from crushing and blending grapes into a liquid. The juice is often sold in stores or fermented and made into wine, brandy, or vinegar. In the wine industry, grape juice that contains 7-23 percent of pulp, skins, stems and seeds is often referred to as "must"...

. By 2003 the numbers had been reversed with more than 70% of the grapes harvested that year reaching the consumer market as wine.

Climate and geography

South Africa is located at the tip of the African continent with most wine regions located near the coastal influences of the Atlantic and Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...

s. These regions have mostly a Mediterranean climate that is marked by intense sunlight and dry heat. Winters tend to be cold and wet with potential snowfall at higher elevations. The threat of springtime frost is rare with most wine regions seeing a warm growing season between November and April. The majority of annual precipitation
Precipitation (meteorology)
In meteorology, precipitation In meteorology, precipitation In meteorology, precipitation (also known as one of the classes of hydrometeors, which are atmospheric water phenomena is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravity. The main forms of precipitation...

 occurs in the winter months and ranges from 250 millimetres (9.84 in) in the semi-desert like region of Klein Karoo to 1500 millimetres (59.06 in) near the Worcester Mountains. Regions closer to the coast or in the rain shadow
Rain shadow
A rain shadow is a dry area on the lee side of a mountainous area. The mountains block the passage of rain-producing weather systems, casting a "shadow" of dryness behind them. As shown by the diagram to the right, the warm moist air is "pulled" by the prevailing winds over a mountain...

 of inland mountain chains like the Drakenstein
Drakenstein
The Drakenstein Mountains are part of the Cape Fold Belt and are in the Western Cape province of South Africa; they were named in honour of H.A. van Reede tot Drakenstein who visited the Cape as Commissioner-General in 1685; Drakenstein was the name of his estate in the Netherlands...

, Hottentots Holland and Langeberg
Langeberg
The Langeberg Mountain Range is a mountain range situated in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. The range runs in a generally east-west direction and is approximately 170 km long. The Langeberg's most westerly point is located 35 km west of the town of Swellendam; the range ends some 30 km...

 will have more rain than areas further in land. In many South African wine regions irrigation is essential to viticulture. The Benguela current
Benguela Current
The Benguela Current is the broad, northward flowing ocean current that forms the eastern portion of the South Atlantic Ocean gyre. The current extends from roughly Cape Point in the south, to the position of the Angola-Benguela Front in the north, at around 16°S. The current is driven by the...

 from Antarctica brings cool air off the south Atlantic coast that allows the mean
Mean
In statistics, mean has two related meanings:* the arithmetic mean .* the expected value of a random variable, which is also called the population mean....

 temperatures of the area to be lower than regions of comparable latitude
Latitude
In geography, the latitude of a location on the Earth is the angular distance of that location south or north of the Equator. The latitude is an angle, and is usually measured in degrees . The equator has a latitude of 0°, the North pole has a latitude of 90° north , and the South pole has a...

. A strong wind current, known as the Cape Doctor
Cape Doctor
"Cape Doctor" is the local name for the strong, persistent and dry south-easterly wind that blows on the South African coast from spring to late summer...

, brings gale
Gale
A gale is a very strong wind. There are conflicting definitions of how strong a wind must be to be considered a gale. The U.S. government's National Weather Service defines a gale as 34–47 knots of sustained surface winds. Forecasters typically issue gale warnings when winds of this strength are...

 force winds to the wine regions along the Cape which has the positive benefit of limiting the risk of various mildew and fungal grape disease as well as tempering humidity
Humidity
Humidity is a term for the amount of water vapor in the air, and can refer to any one of several measurements of humidity. Formally, humid air is not "moist air" but a mixture of water vapor and other constituents of air, and humidity is defined in terms of the water content of this mixture,...

 but can also damage grape vines that are not protected.

During the harvest months of February and March, the average daily temperatures in many South African wine regions is 23 °C (73.4 °F) with spikes up to 40 °C (104 °F) not uncommon in the warm inland river valleys around the Breede, Olifants and Orange River
Orange River
The Orange River , Gariep River, Groote River or Senqu River is the longest river in South Africa. It rises in the Drakensberg mountains in Lesotho, flowing westwards through South Africa to the Atlantic Ocean...

s. On the Winkler scale the majority of South African wine regions would be classified as Region III locations with heat summation and degree days similar to the California wine
California wine
California wine has a long and continuing history, and in the late twentieth century became recognized as producing some of the world's finest wine. While wine is made in all fifty U.S. states, up to 90% of American wine is produced in the state...

 region of Oakville in Napa Valley. Warmer regions such as Klein Karoo and Douglas fall into Region IV (similar to Tuscany) and Region V (similar to Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....

 in Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...

) respectively. New plantings are focus on cooler climate sites in Elgin and Walker Bay
Walker Bay
Walker Bay is a large bay located in the south-western Western Cape province of South Africa. It is the next major bay between False Bay near Cape Town and Cape Agulhas to the south-east. The bay is famous for having some of the best land based whale-watching in the world, which a town on its...

 regions as characterized as Region II with temperatures closer to the Burgundy and Piedmont.

The wine regions of South Africa are spread out over the Western
Western Cape
The Western Cape is a province in the south west of South Africa. The capital is Cape Town. Prior to 1994, the region that now forms the Western Cape was part of the much larger Cape Province...

 and Northern Cape
Northern Cape
The Northern Cape is the largest and most sparsely populated province of South Africa. It was created in 1994 when the Cape Province was split up. Its capital is Kimberley. It includes the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park, part of an international park shared with Botswana...

 regions, covering 500 kilometres (310.7 mi) west to east and 680 kilometres (422.5 mi) north-south. Within this wide expanse is a vast range of macroclimate
Macroclimate
In viticulture, there are several levels of regional climates that are used to describe the terroir or immutable characteristics of an area. These levels can be as broad as a macroclimate which includes entire wine regions or as small as a microclimate which includes the unique environment around...

 and vineyard soil types influenced by the unique geography of the area which includes several inland mountain chains and valleys. Within the Stellenbosch region alone, there are more than 50 unique soil type
Soil type
In terms of soil texture, soil type usually refers to the different sizes of mineral particles in a particular sample. Soil is made up in part of finely ground rock particles, grouped according to size as sand, silt and clay...

s. In general, the soils of South Africa tend to retain moisture and drain well, having a significant proportion of clay
Clay
Clay is a general term including many combinations of one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure.- Formation :Clay minerals...

 (often at least 25% of the composition) with low pH levels around 4. The pH levels of the soils are often adjusted with lime and calcium
Calcium
Calcium is the chemical element with the symbol Ca and atomic number 20. It has an atomic mass of 40.078 amu. Calcium is a soft gray alkaline earth metal, and is the fifth-most-abundant element by mass in the Earth's crust...

 treatment. Other soil types found in South Africa includes granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...

 and sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...

 in Constantia, shale
Shale
Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock composed of mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals and tiny fragments of other minerals, especially quartz and calcite. The ratio of clay to other minerals is variable. Shale is characterized by breaks along thin laminae or parallel layering...

 in Elgin and arenaceous shale in Walker Bay. Near the river valleys, the soils are particularly lime rich with high proportion of sand and shale.

Wine of Origin

Drafted in 1973, the "Wine of Origin" (WO) program legislates how wine regions of South Africa are defined and can appear on wine labels. While some aspects of the WO is taking from the French Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée
Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée
Appellation d’origine contrôlée , which translates as "controlled designation of origin", is the French certification granted to certain French geographical indications for wines, cheeses, butters, and other agricultural products, all under the auspices of the government bureau Institut National...

(AOC) system, the WO is primarily concerned with accuracy in labeling and does not place any additional regulations on wine regions such as permitted varieties, trellising methods, irrigation and crop yields. Wine regions under the WO system fall under one of four categories-the largest and most generic are Geographical Units (such as the Western Cape
Western Cape
The Western Cape is a province in the south west of South Africa. The capital is Cape Town. Prior to 1994, the region that now forms the Western Cape was part of the much larger Cape Province...

 region which includes the smaller, but still largely defined Regions (such as Overberg
Overberg
Overberg is a district in South Africa to the east of Cape Town beyond the Hottentots-Holland mountains. It lies along the Cape Province's south coast between the Cape Peninsula and the region known as the Garden Route in the east...

), followed by districts (like Walker Bay
Walker Bay
Walker Bay is a large bay located in the south-western Western Cape province of South Africa. It is the next major bay between False Bay near Cape Town and Cape Agulhas to the south-east. The bay is famous for having some of the best land based whale-watching in the world, which a town on its...

) and then finally wards (such as Elgin
Elgin, Western Cape
Elgin, situated in the Overberg region of South Africa, is an apple-growing area near Grabouw and is about 70 km southeast of Cape Town. A group of apple farms called Glen Elgin - owned by the Molteno family - gave the place its name...

. The Eastern Cape
Eastern Cape
The Eastern Cape is a province of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are Port Elizabeth and East London. It was formed in 1994 out of the "independent" Xhosa homelands of Transkei and Ciskei, together with the eastern portion of the Cape Province...

 province is South Africa's most recent wine region. While geographical units, regions and districts are largely defined by political boundaries-wards are the level of origin designation that is most defined by unique terroir
Terroir
Terroir comes from the word terre "land". It was originally a French term in wine, coffee and tea used to denote the special characteristics that the geography, geology and climate of a certain place bestowed upon particular varieties...

characteristics.

Wine regions

As of 2003, South Africa was 17th in terms of acreage planted with the country owning 1.5% of the world's grape vineyards with 110000 hectares (271,815.7 acre). Yearly production among South Africa's wine regions is usually around 10 million hL (264 million US gallons) which regularly puts the country among the top ten wine producing countries in the world. The majority of wine production in South Africa takes place in the Cape, particularly the southwest corner near the coastal region. The historical heart of South African wine has been the area near the Cape Peninsula
Cape Peninsula
The Cape Peninsula is a generally rocky peninsula that juts out for 75 km into the Atlantic Ocean at the south-western extremity of the African continent. At the southern end of the peninsula are Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope...

 and modern day Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...

. This area is still of prominence in the industry being home to the major wine regions of Constantia
Constantia, Cape Town
Constantia is an affluent suburb of Cape Town, South Africa, situated about 15 kilometres south of the centre of Cape Town. The Constantia Valley lies to the east of and at the foot of the Constantiaberg mountain. Constantia Nek is a low pass linking to Hout Bay in the west.-History:Constantia is...

, Stellenbosch and Paarl
Paarl
Paarl is a town with 191,013 inhabitants in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Its the third oldest European settlement in the Republic of South Africa and the largest town in the Cape Winelands. Due to the growth of the Mbekweni township, it is now a de facto urban unit with Wellington...

. Today wine is grown throughout the Western Cape
Western Cape wine
Western Cape is a Geographical Unit within the Wine of Origin classification system of South African wine. Corresponding to the province of Western Cape it includes most of the vineyards in South Africa.-Style:...

 and in parts of the Northern Cape
Northern Cape
The Northern Cape is the largest and most sparsely populated province of South Africa. It was created in 1994 when the Cape Province was split up. Its capital is Kimberley. It includes the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park, part of an international park shared with Botswana...

, KwaZulu-Natal
KwaZulu-Natal
KwaZulu-Natal is a province of South Africa. Prior to 1994, the territory now known as KwaZulu-Natal was made up of the province of Natal and the homeland of KwaZulu....

 and Eastern Cape
Eastern Cape
The Eastern Cape is a province of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are Port Elizabeth and East London. It was formed in 1994 out of the "independent" Xhosa homelands of Transkei and Ciskei, together with the eastern portion of the Cape Province...

 regions. The river regions along the Breede Valley, Olifants and Orange River
Orange River
The Orange River , Gariep River, Groote River or Senqu River is the longest river in South Africa. It rises in the Drakensberg mountains in Lesotho, flowing westwards through South Africa to the Atlantic Ocean...

s are among the warmest areas and are often the location of bulk wine production and distillation. The cooler climate regions east of Cape Town along the Indian coast, such as Walker Bay
Walker Bay
Walker Bay is a large bay located in the south-western Western Cape province of South Africa. It is the next major bay between False Bay near Cape Town and Cape Agulhas to the south-east. The bay is famous for having some of the best land based whale-watching in the world, which a town on its...

 and Elgin
Elgin, Western Cape
Elgin, situated in the Overberg region of South Africa, is an apple-growing area near Grabouw and is about 70 km southeast of Cape Town. A group of apple farms called Glen Elgin - owned by the Molteno family - gave the place its name...

, have seen vast expansion and development in recent years as producers experiment with cool climate varietals and wine styles.

Under the Wine of Origins legislation, wine regions in South Africa are divided into 4 classifications-geographical unit, region, district and wards. Below are some notable WOs.

Constantia

The boundaries of this ward include the historic Constantia
Constantia (wine)
Constantia, or vin de Constance, is a South African dessert wine. It is made from Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains grapes grown in the district of Constantia, south of Cape Town. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries it was widely exported to Europe...

 estate, though the ward and the three wine estates later built upon the 750 hectares (1,853 acre) estate are separate entities. The Constantia ward is located south of Cape Town on the Cape Peninsula that juts out into the Atlantic ocean. Because of this location, the wine region receives oceanic influences on each side that creates a cooling effect that contributes to a long, slow ripening period in the summer where average daily temperatures fall between 18–19 °C (64.4–66.2 F). Winters are often moderate and mild but wet with annual precipitation usually over 1000 millimetres (39.37 in). The soil of the region is composed primarily of Table Mountain sandstone
Table Mountain sandstone
The Table Mountain Sandstone is a group of rock formations within the Cape Supergroup sequence of rocks. Although still widely used in common parlance, the term TMS is no longer formally recognized; the correct name is the "Table Mountain Group" . The sequence is dominated by quartzites of very...

 with high concentrations of loam
Loam
Loam is soil composed of sand, silt, and clay in relatively even concentration . Loam soils generally contain more nutrients and humus than sandy soils, have better infiltration and drainage than silty soils, and are easier to till than clay soils...

 and granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...

. The area grows a wide range of grapes with Sauvignon blanc
Sauvignon blanc
Sauvignon Blanc is a green-skinned grape variety which originates from the Bordeaux region of France. The grape most likely gets its name from the French word sauvage and blanc due to its early origins as an indigenous grape in South West France., a possible descendant of savagnin...

 being particularly noted.

Stellenbosch

The Stellenbosch district is the second oldest wine region in South Africa, after Constantia, and is responsible for around 14% of the country's annual wine production. First planted in 1679, Stellenbosch is located 45 kilometres (28 mi) east of Cape Town. The region is surrounded by the Helderberg
Helderberg
Helderberg is a wine-producing area in the Western Cape of South Africa.Originally known as the 'Hottentots-Holland' area, it was renamed 'Helderberg' by the City of Cape Town following concerns about possible racist connotations in the name...

, Simonsberg
Simonsberg
Simonsberg is part of the Cape Fold Belt in the Western Cape province of South Africa and is located between the towns of Stellenbosch, Paarl and Franschhoek, forming a prominent 1399m high mountain, as it is detached from the other ranges in the winelands region...

 and Stellenbosch Mountains and receives some climatic influences from nearby False Bay
False Bay
False Bay is a body of water defined by Cape Hangklip and the Cape Peninsula in the extreme South-West of South Africa.- Description and location :...

. The bay tempers the climate and keep average temperatures during the summer growing season to around 20 °C (68 °F), just slightly warmer than Bordeaux. Vineyard soil types range from decomposed granite on the hillside near the mountains to sand
Sand
Sand is a naturally occurring granular material composed of finely divided rock and mineral particles.The composition of sand is highly variable, depending on the local rock sources and conditions, but the most common constituent of sand in inland continental settings and non-tropical coastal...

y alluvial loam in the valleys near the rivers.

The seven wards of Stellenbosch-Banghoek, Bottelary, Devon Valley, Jonkershoek Valley, Papegaaiberg, Polkadraai Hills and Simonsberg-Stellenbosch are well known for their red wine production that demonstrate terroir
Terroir
Terroir comes from the word terre "land". It was originally a French term in wine, coffee and tea used to denote the special characteristics that the geography, geology and climate of a certain place bestowed upon particular varieties...

distinction-particularly Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Canada's Okanagan Valley to Lebanon's Beqaa Valley...

, Merlot
Merlot
Merlot is a darkly blue-coloured wine grape, that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name Merlot is thought to derive from the Old French word for young blackbird, merlot, a diminutive of merle, the blackbird , probably from the color of the grape. Merlot-based wines...

, Pinotage
Pinotage
Pinotage is a red wine grape that is South Africa's signature variety. It was bred there in 1925 as a cross between Pinot noir and Cinsaut...

 and Shiraz
Shiraz
Shiraz may refer to:* Shiraz, Iran, a city in Iran* Shiraz County, an administrative subdivision of Iran* Vosketap, Armenia, formerly called ShirazPeople:* Hovhannes Shiraz, Armenian poet* Ara Shiraz, Armenian sculptor...

. Simonsberg was the first wine ward to gain individual distinction. White wine production centers around Chardonnay
Chardonnay
Chardonnay is a green-skinned grape variety used to make white wine. It is originated from the Burgundy wine region of eastern France but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from England to New Zealand...

 and Sauvignon blanc which are often blended together. The western reaches of Stellenbosch, such as Bottelary and near Elsenburg also include a sizable portion of Chenin blanc
Chenin Blanc
Chenin blanc , is a white wine grape variety from the Loire valley of France. Its high acidity means it can be used to make everything from sparkling wines to well-balanced dessert wines, although it can produce very bland, neutral wines if the vine's natural vigor is not controlled...

 plantings in areas rich in light, sandy soils.

Paarl

For most of the 20th century, Paarl was for all practical purposes the heart of the South African wine industry. It was the home of the KWV as well as the annual Nederburg Wine Auction where the reputation of a vintage or an estate could be established. Gradually the focus shifted southwards to Stellenbosch where Stellenbosch University
Stellenbosch University
Stellenbosch University is a public research university situated in the town of Stellenbosch, South Africa. Other nearby universities are the University of Cape Town and University of the Western Cape....

 gained a more prominent role in the South African wine industry with its viticulture and winemaking programs. The transfer of power from the KWV to a private business further shifted the focus away from Paarl. However, the terroir driven wines of its wards, the Franschhoek Valley and Wellington, have revitalized interest in the area in recent years.

The fortified wine
Fortified wine
Fortified wine is wine to which a distilled beverage has been added. Fortified wine is distinguished from spirits made from wine in that spirits are produced by means of distillation, while fortified wine is simply wine that has had a spirit added to it...

 produced in Paarl and nearby Tulbagh
Tulbagh
Tulbagh is a town in the Tulbagh valley and is situated in the Witzenberg Local Municipality, with the valley called "Die Land van Waveren" locally. Closest towns are Wolseley, Prince Alfred's Hamlet, Gouda and Ceres in the Boland district of the Western Cape Province, South Africa.The valley has...

 can be designated with the unique WO of Boberg relating to its proximately to the Berg river
Berg River
The Berg River is a river located just north of Cape Town in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. It is approximately 294 km long with a catchment area of 7,715 km² and outlets into the Atlantic Ocean. About 65% of the Berg River area is under agriculture...

.

Franschhoek Valley

The Franschhoek Valley was founded by Huguenot settlers
Huguenots in South Africa
A large number of people in South Africa are descended from Huguenots. Most of these originally settled in the Cape Colony, but have since been quickly absorbed into the Afrikaner and Afrikaans population, thanks to sharing a similar religion to the Dutch colonists.-History:Even before the large...

 who brought with them from their native France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 their traditions and winemaking expertise
French wine
French wine is produced in several regions throughout France, in quantities between 50 and 60 million hectolitres per year, or 7–8 billion bottles. France has the world's second-largest total vineyard area, behind Spain, and is in the position of being the world's largest wine producer...

. The ward includes some higher elevation vineyard sites which can produced full flavoured white wines with noticeable acidity levels.

Breede River Valley

The Breede River Valley, located east of the Drakenstein Mountains, is a warm climate region that can be very dry and arid in some places.
The river itself provides easy access to irrigation which makes bulk wine production of high yield varieties commonplace. The Robertson
Robertson, Western Cape
Robertson is a town in the Western Cape Province of South Africa known as the valley of wine and roses. It was founded in 1853 and named after the Scottish Dutch Reformed Church Minister, Dr William Robertson....

 district is located closest to the river along alluvial soils and the occasional calcium-rich outcrop of land. The average annual precipitation is generally below 400 millimetres (15.75 in), making irrigation essential. Temperatures during the summer growing seasonal normally around 22 °C (71.6 °F). The Bonnievale
Bonnievale, Western Cape
Bonnievale is a settlement in Cape Winelands District Municipality in the Western Cape province of South Africa....

 ward is the most notable sub-region of Robertson, noted for its Chardonnay
Chardonnay
Chardonnay is a green-skinned grape variety used to make white wine. It is originated from the Burgundy wine region of eastern France but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from England to New Zealand...

 and Shiraz wines.

The Worcester
Worcester, Western Cape
Worcester is a town in the Western Cape, South Africa. It is located 120 km north-east of Cape Town on the N1 highway north to Johannesburg....

 district is responsible for more wine than any other wine region in the country with one fifth to one quarter of the entire South African yearly wine production coming from this area. Located just beyond Du Toit's Peak in the Breede River Valley, Worcester includes a broad fertile plain that relies on irrigation due to its dry, arid climate. The area's large and numerous co-operatives produce sizable amounts of fortified wine as well as Muscadel and Hanepoot based dessert wine
Dessert wine
Dessert wines are sweet wines typically served with dessert.There is no simple definition of a dessert wine. In the UK, a dessert wine is considered to be any sweet wine drunk with a meal, as opposed to the white fortified wines drunk before the meal, and the red fortified wines drunk after it...

s. In recent years the Slanghoek ward shared with Breedekloof district has seen success growing botrytized and dry Sauvignon blanc
Sauvignon blanc
Sauvignon Blanc is a green-skinned grape variety which originates from the Bordeaux region of France. The grape most likely gets its name from the French word sauvage and blanc due to its early origins as an indigenous grape in South West France., a possible descendant of savagnin...

 wines. The Worcester district is home to nearly half of all the Semillon
Sémillon
Sémillon is a golden-skinned grape used to make dry and sweet white wines, most notably in France and Australia.-History:The origin of the Sémillon grape is hard to determine. It is known that it first arrived in Australia in the early 19th century and by the 1820s the grape covered over 90 percent...

 and a third of Ruby Cabernet
Ruby Cabernet
Ruby Cabernet is a red Olmo grape variety that is a cross between Cabernet Sauvignon and Carignan, it can produce wines with good colour and a pleasant cherry flavour, but is mostly blended into bulk wines....

 planted in South Africa with sizable plantings of Colombard
Colombard
Colombard is an early fruiting white variety of wine grape, better known as French Colombard in North America. It is possibly the offspring of Gouais Blanc and Chenin Blanc....

 and Chenin blanc
Chenin Blanc
Chenin blanc , is a white wine grape variety from the Loire valley of France. Its high acidity means it can be used to make everything from sparkling wines to well-balanced dessert wines, although it can produce very bland, neutral wines if the vine's natural vigor is not controlled...

.

Overberg

The cool climate Overberg
Overberg
Overberg is a district in South Africa to the east of Cape Town beyond the Hottentots-Holland mountains. It lies along the Cape Province's south coast between the Cape Peninsula and the region known as the Garden Route in the east...

 region has been the site of the most recent interest and development in the South African wine industry, particularly with increased plantings of Chardonnay and Pinot noir
Pinot Noir
Pinot noir is a black wine grape variety of the species Vitis vinifera. The name may also refer to wines created predominantly from Pinot noir grapes...

. The entire area received very little attention until the late 20th century and was not even classified in 1973 within the original "Wine of Origins" program. The maritime climate of Walker Bay
Walker Bay
Walker Bay is a large bay located in the south-western Western Cape province of South Africa. It is the next major bay between False Bay near Cape Town and Cape Agulhas to the south-east. The bay is famous for having some of the best land based whale-watching in the world, which a town on its...

 and the cool, higher elevation vineyards of Elgin located east of Cape Town have had success producing these varietals as well as Sauvignon blanc.

Other notable regions

The Klein Karoo region (meaning Little Karoo
Karoo
The Karoo is a semi-desert region of South Africa. It has two main sub-regions - the Great Karoo in the north and the Little Karoo in the south. The 'High' Karoo is one of the distinct physiographic provinces of the larger South African Platform division.-Great Karoo:The Great Karoo has an area of...

) has a semi-desert climate and was known mostly for sheep and ostrich
Ostrich
The Ostrich is one or two species of large flightless birds native to Africa, the only living member of the genus Struthio. Some analyses indicate that the Somali Ostrich may be better considered a full species apart from the Common Ostrich, but most taxonomists consider it to be a...

 farming. The region stretches from Montagu
Montagu, Western Cape
Montagu is a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa, about 180 km from Cape Town in western Kannaland. It is named after former secretary of the Cape Colony, John Montagu, but was once known as Agter Cogman’s Kloof. It is situated at the confluence of the Keisie and Kingna...

 in the west to the village of De Rust
De Rust
De Rust is a small village at the gateway to the Klein Karoo.De Rust is located at the foot of the Swartberg Mountain range between Oudtshoorn and Beaufort West...

 in the east. In Calitzdorp ward temperatures are moderated by sea breezes that start in the late afternoon and cool night time temperatures. Wine production in the area is largely centered around fortified "port-style" wine and Muscadels.

The Atlantic influenced "West Coast" region includes the wine making areas of Durbanville, Olifants River, Piketberg
Piketberg
Piketberg is a town in the Western Cape, South Africa. The original spelling of the name was "Piquetberg".The town is in the foothills of the Piketberg mountains, a range of low mountains formed from Table Mountain Sandstone....

and Swartland
Swartland
The Swartland begins some 50 kilometres north of Cape Town and consists of the regions between the towns of Malmesbury in the south, Darling in the west, Piketberg in the north and the Riebeek West and Riebeek Kasteel in the east...

. While historically this region was known for its large, bulk wine production in recent years producers have focused on premium wine production such as plantings of Sauvignon blanc in the Groenekloof area near Darling
Darling, Western Cape
Darling is a small town in a farming area on the west coast region of the Western Cape, about 75 km from Cape Town.By the beginning of the 18th century about 29 farmers lived in an area called Groenkloof and on one of these farms, Langfontein, Darling was founded in 1853...

 and Pinotage in unirrigated farmland of Swartland. In the Olifants River region, Chenin blanc and Colombard are popular. The area is also home to South Africa's biggest single co-operative winery - the Vredendal Co-operative.

The Northern Cape wine regions located along the Orange river include the hottest wine producing areas in South Africa. Wine production here was slow to take root, delayed to the 1960s when better irrigation and temperature control fermentation technology became available. Today the area is responsible for nearly 12% of all the wine produced in South Africa-mostly by large co-operatives for bulk wine production. The Hartswater
Hartswater
Hartswater is an agricultural town serving the northern section of the Vaalharts Irrigation Scheme in the Northern Cape province of South Africa. The town was laid out in 1948...

 region, located 80 kilometres (49.7 mi) north of Kimberley
Kimberley, Northern Cape
Kimberley is a city in South Africa, and the capital of the Northern Cape. It is located near the confluence of the Vaal and Orange Rivers. The town has considerable historical significance due its diamond mining past and siege during the Second Boer War...

 is South Africa's northernmost wine region.

KwaZulu-Natal
KwaZulu-Natal
KwaZulu-Natal is a province of South Africa. Prior to 1994, the territory now known as KwaZulu-Natal was made up of the province of Natal and the homeland of KwaZulu....

 was designated as a Geographical Unit in 2005 and is one of South Africa's most recent wine regions. The first wine estate in this region is The Stables Wine Estate and the region's first Wine of Origin wine was released by Tiny and Judy van Niekerk in July 2006. Current cultivars doing really well in the growing wine region of KwaZulu-Natal are Sauvignon Blanc, Pinotage, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. With mild summer temperatures the region boasts South Africa's coolest vineyards.

Other notable wards

The Ruiterbosch ward, located southwest of Klein Karoo around Mossel Bay
Mossel Bay
Mossel Bay is a harbour town of about 130,000 people on the Southern Cape of South Africa. It is an important tourism and farming region of the Western Cape Province...

, has a generally cool climate influenced primarily by the Indian Ocean. The area is planted primarily with Riesling
Riesling
Riesling is a white grape variety which originated in the Rhine region of Germany. Riesling is an aromatic grape variety displaying flowery, almost perfumed, aromas as well as high acidity. It is used to make dry, semi-sweet, sweet and sparkling white wines. Riesling wines are usually varietally...

, Sauvignon blanc and Pinot noir. The Cederberg
Cederberg
The Cederberg mountains and nature reserve are located near Clanwilliam, approximately 300 km north of Cape Town, South Africa at about . The mountain range is named after the endangered Clanwilliam Cedar , which is a tree endemic to the area. The mountains are noted for dramatic rock...

 located east of the southern reaches of the Olifants rivers includes some of the highest elevated vineyards in South Africa, planted at altitudes more than 1000 metres (3,280.8 ft).

Viticulture

Historically vineyards in South Africa were planted with untrellised bush vines planted 1.2 metres (3.9 ft) apart at a density of 7,000 vines per hectare (2,800 vines per acre). Following the phylloxera
Phylloxera
Grape phylloxera ; originally described in France as Phylloxera vastatrix; equated to the previously described Daktulosphaira vitifoliae, Phylloxera vitifoliae; commonly just called phylloxera is a pest of commercial grapevines worldwide, originally native to eastern North America...

 devastation, the focus of viticulture in South Africa was more on quantity rather than quality. Vineyards were planted with high yield varieties, widely spaced to facilitate the use of mechanical harvesting. In the late 20th century more producers began to focus on quality wine production and adopted modern viticultural practices. Vines were planted to an average density of 3,300 per hectare (1,300 per acre) and pruned
Pruning
Pruning is a horticultural practice involving the selective removal of parts of a plant, such as branches, buds, or roots. Reasons to prune plants include deadwood removal, shaping , improving or maintaining health, reducing risk from falling branches, preparing nursery specimens for...

 to keep yields down to 49-56 hl/ha (2.8-3.2 tons/acre). The most common form of trellising found in South Africa is the vertical hedge row system that uses a split cordon supported on a wire kept around 750 millimetres (2.5 ft) off the ground. The grapevine leaves are trained upright on separate wires that allow plenty of sunshine to reach the grapes but provide enough coverage to keep them from being sunburned. The vines are usually pruned to allow four to five spurs
Spur (biology)
A spur in botany is a spike, usually part of a flower.In certain plants, part of a sepal or petal develops into an elongated hollow spike extending behind the flower, containing nectar which is sucked by long-tongued animals . Plants with such structures include Delphinium, Aquilegia, Piperia, and...

 each with two to three buds (potential grape clusters) per cordon. Heat is also a concern come harvest
Harvest (wine)
The harvesting of wine grapes is one of the most crucial steps in the process of winemaking. The time of harvest is determined primarily by the ripeness of the grape as measured by sugar, acid and tannin levels with winemakers basing their decision to pick based on the style of wine they wish to...

 time with some wineries harvesting only at night in the cooler temperatures under floodlights
High-intensity discharge lamp
High-intensity discharge lamps are a type of electrical lamp which produces light by means of an electric arc between tungsten electrodes housed inside a translucent or transparent fused quartz or fused alumina arc tube. This tube is filled with both gas and metal salts. The gas facilitates the...

.

The lack of precipitation in many wine regions makes irrigation a necessity. Sprinkler and drip irrigation
Drip irrigation
Drip irrigation, also known as trickle irrigation or microirrigation or localized irrigation , is an irrigation method which saves water and fertilizer by allowing water to drip slowly to the roots of plants, either onto the soil surface or directly onto the root zone, through a network of valves,...

 systems are used to provide anywhere from 200–700 mm (7.9–27.6 in) of extra water a year. Modern winemakers are developing new techniques and an understanding of the role that water stress
Water stress
Researchers define water stress and water scarcity in different ways. For example, some have presented maps showing the physical existence of water in nature to show nations with lower or higher volumes of water available for use. Others have related water availability to population...

 plays in the development of quality wine grape production. Producers who do not irrigate will sometimes use the phrase "dryland" or "dry farmed" on their wine label
Wine label
Wine labels are important sources of information for consumers since they tell the type and origin of the wine. The label is often the only resource a buyer has for evaluating the wine before purchasing it...

s as marketing angle. Besides irrigation, an important concern for vineyard owners is the threat of vineyard pests such as mealy bugs and baboons. To combat these hazards, some vineyard owners will utilize Integrated Pest Management
Integrated Pest Management
Integrated pest management is an ecological approach to agricultural pest control that integrates pesticides/herbicides into a management system incorporating a range of practices for economic control of a pest...

 (IPM) programs such as the importation of ladybugs
Coccinellidae
Coccinellidae is a family of beetles, known variously as ladybirds , or ladybugs . Scientists increasingly prefer the names ladybird beetles or lady beetles as these insects are not true bugs...

, a natural predator of mealy bugs.

While ocean winds keep some fungus and mildew threats at bay, downy mildew
Downy mildew
Downy mildew refers to any of several types of oomycete microbes that are obligate parasites of plants. Downy mildews exclusively belong to Peronosporaceae. In commercial agriculture, they are a particular problem for growers of crucifers, grapes and vegetables that grow on vines...

 and powdery mildew
Powdery mildew
Powdery mildew is a fungal disease that affects a wide range of plants. Powdery mildew diseases are caused by many different species of fungi in the order Erysiphales. It is one of the easier diseases to spot, as its symptoms are quite distinctive. Infected plants display white powdery spots on the...

 (known regionally as "white rust") can pose an occasional threat during the wet winter season. Near harvest time botrytis
Botrytis cinerea
Botrytis cinerea is a necrotrophic fungus that affects many plant species, although its most notable hosts may be wine grapes. In viticulture, it is commonly known as botrytis bunch rot; in horticulture, it is usually called grey mould or gray mold.The fungus gives rise to two different kinds of...

 can also appear, being a hazard or a welcome visitor depending on whether or not botrytized wine production is the goal. Another threat is diseased and virus-infected rootstock
Rootstock
A rootstock is a plant, and sometimes just the stump, which already has an established, healthy root system, used for grafting a cutting or budding from another plant. The tree part being grafted onto the rootstock is usually called the scion...

. After the phylloxera devastation, vineyards in South Africa were replanted with American rootstock (nowadays most commonly Richter 99 and Richters 101-14). Some of these rootstocks that were imported were infected with various virus such as corky bark, fanleaf and leafroll, which soon spread to other vineyards. These virus-infected vines have a shortened life span and difficulties with photosynthesis
Photosynthesis
Photosynthesis is a chemical process that converts carbon dioxide into organic compounds, especially sugars, using the energy from sunlight. Photosynthesis occurs in plants, algae, and many species of bacteria, but not in archaea. Photosynthetic organisms are called photoautotrophs, since they can...

, which can lead to poor ripening of phenolic compounds in the grape and low quality wine. Since the 1980s, efforts have been undertaken by the South Africa wine industry to quarantine
Quarantine
Quarantine is compulsory isolation, typically to contain the spread of something considered dangerous, often but not always disease. The word comes from the Italian quarantena, meaning forty-day period....

 and promote healthy virus-free vineyards. Additionally, work has been undertaken in clonal research to identify which grape varieties grow best in which climate and wine region.

Vine Improvement Programme

Following the end of Apartheid and the opening of export markets, the South African wine industry had a substantial learning curve to overcome in order to be competitive on the world's wine market. The Vine Improvement Programme (VIP) was established to bring modern viticultural understanding to the industry. The first phase launched in the late 20th century focused on virus-free and yield controlling rootstock as well as clonal research. The second phase, which is ongoing, focuses on matching up various combination of grape varieties, clones and rootstock to specific terroir that can produce quality wine. Over the last 20+ years the work of the VIP has brought the South African wine industry to the forefront of viticultural advances.

Winemaking and wines

The winemaking traditions of South Africa often represent a hybridization of Old World wine
Old World wine
Old World wine refers primarily to wine made in Europe but can also include other regions of the Mediterranean basin with long histories of winemaking such as North Africa and the Near East. The phrase is often used in contrast to "New World wine" which refers primarily to wines from New World wine...

 making and the new
New World wine
New World wines are those wines produced outside the traditional wine-growing areas of Europe, in particular from Argentina, Australia, Canada, Chile, New Zealand, South Africa and the United States.-Early wines in the Americas:...

. Since the end of Apartheid, many producers have been working on producing more "international" styles of wine that can be successful on the world market. Flying winemakers from France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, Spain and California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

 have brought new techniques and styles to South Africa. In the 1980s, the use of oak barrels for fermentation
Fermentation (wine)
The process of fermentation in wine turns grape juice into an alcoholic beverage. During fermentation, yeast interact with sugars in the juice to create ethanol, commonly known as ethyl alcohol, and carbon dioxide...

 and aging became popular. The use of chaptalization
Chaptalization
Chaptalization is the process of adding sugar to unfermented grape must in order to increase the alcohol content after fermentation. The technique is named after its developer, the French chemist Jean-Antoine-Claude Chaptal...

 is illegal in South Africa as the country's warm climate makes attaining sufficient sugar and alcohol levels for wine production non-problematic. Winemakers more often have problems with low acidity levels which require supplementation with additional acids like tartaric acid
Tartaric acid
Tartaric acid is a white crystalline diprotic organic acid. It occurs naturally in many plants, particularly grapes, bananas, and tamarinds; is commonly combined with baking soda to function as a leavening agent in recipes, and is one of the main acids found in wine. It is added to other foods to...

.

Today the focus in the South African wine industry has been on increasing the quality of wine production-particularly with the more exportable and fashionable red grape varieties. Traditionally South African red wines had a reputation for being coarse in texture with rustic flavors. The Afrikaans
Afrikaans
Afrikaans is a West Germanic language, spoken natively in South Africa and Namibia. It is a daughter language of Dutch, originating in its 17th century dialects, collectively referred to as Cape Dutch .Afrikaans is a daughter language of Dutch; see , , , , , .Afrikaans was historically called Cape...

 word dikvoet used to describe these wines meant literally "thick foot". In the vineyards, growers focused yield control for better ripeness while winemakers used modern techniques to create softer, fleshier wines. Temperature control fermentation as well as controlled malolactic fermentation
Malolactic fermentation
Malolactic fermentation is a process in winemaking where tart-tasting malic acid, naturally present in grape must, is converted to softer-tasting lactic acid. Malolactic fermentation tends to create a rounder, fuller mouthfeel. It has been said that malic acid tastes of green apples...

 were more widely used as well as less dependency on filtration as a means of stabilization.

Cape port-style wine

The South African wine industry has a long history of fortified wine
Fortified wine
Fortified wine is wine to which a distilled beverage has been added. Fortified wine is distinguished from spirits made from wine in that spirits are produced by means of distillation, while fortified wine is simply wine that has had a spirit added to it...

 production producing wines known colloquially as "Cape port" (though the term "Port" is protected in the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

 to refer to only the wines from the Douro region of Portugal). These wines are made from a variety of grapes, such as Shiraz
Shiraz
Shiraz may refer to:* Shiraz, Iran, a city in Iran* Shiraz County, an administrative subdivision of Iran* Vosketap, Armenia, formerly called ShirazPeople:* Hovhannes Shiraz, Armenian poet* Ara Shiraz, Armenian sculptor...

 and Pinotage
Pinotage
Pinotage is a red wine grape that is South Africa's signature variety. It was bred there in 1925 as a cross between Pinot noir and Cinsaut...

, as well as Portuguese varieties like Tinta Barroca
Tinta Barroca
Tinta Barroca is a Portuguese red wine grape that is grown primarily in the Douro region with some plantings in South Africa. In Portugal, it is a common blending grape in Port wine while in South Africa it is normally made into a varietal...

, Touriga Nacional
Touriga Nacional
Touriga Nacional is a variety of red wine grape, considered by many to be Portugal's finest. Despite the low yields from its small grapes, it plays a big part in the blends used for ports, and is increasingly being used for table wine in the Douro and Dão. Touriga Nacional provides structure and...

, Souzão
Souzão
Souzão is Portuguese wine grape that is used in the production of port wine. While originating in the Minho regions, it is used primarily in Australia, California and South Africa. In Portugal, it is also an authorized planting in the Douro, and Dão-Lafões area...

 and Fernão Pires
Fernão Pires
Fernão Pires is a white Portuguese wine grape grown throughout Portugal but most notable in the Tejo and Bairrada where it is also known as "Maria Gomes". This varietal is known to produce wines with a spicy aromatic character, though often with delicate exotic fruity notes...

. The minimum alcohol level for these wines must be 16.5-22%. The many styles of "Cape port" closely parallel their Portuguese counterparts and include:
  • Cape White port-Can be made from any white grape varieties (such as Chenin blanc, Colombard or Fernão Pires) except for Muscats. Required to be aged in wood barrels for at least six months.
  • Cape Ruby port-Usually a blend of several fruity, full bodied wines that have been aged for at least six months in wood for each wine and at least a year total for the entire blend.
  • Cape Tawny port-A blend that has been aged in wood long enough to acquire a tawny color
    Tenné
    In heraldry, tenné or tawny or tenny is a "stain", a rarely used tincture, an orangish brown colour, at least in Continental European use....

     with a smooth, slightly nutty flavor. Blending Ruby and White ports to create Tawny port is prohibited.
  • Cape Late Bottled Vintage (LBV) port-A wine composed of grapes harvested in a single vintage that is aged at least two years in oak and three to six years total before being bottled. South Africa wine laws require that the term "Late Bottled Vintage" or "LBV" appear on the wine label
    Wine label
    Wine labels are important sources of information for consumers since they tell the type and origin of the wine. The label is often the only resource a buyer has for evaluating the wine before purchasing it...

     along with the vintage and bottling year.
  • Cape Vintage port-A wine composed of grapes harvested in a single vintage, aged in wood and released with the words "Vintage port" and the vintage year on the label.
  • Cape Vintage Reserve port-A wine produced in a vintage year recognized by the South African wine industry and/or trade publications as being of exceptional quality. The wine must be aged for at least one year in oak and sold exclusively in glass wine bottles. The words "Vintage Reserve port" and vintage date must appear on the wine label.

Other fortified and dessert wines

In addition to port-style wine, South African wine makers also produce "sherry
Sherry
Sherry is a fortified wine made from white grapes that are grown near the town of Jerez , Spain. In Spanish, it is called vino de Jerez....

-style" wines produced in a solera
Solera
Solera is a process for aging liquids such as wine, beer, vinegar, and brandy, by fractional blending in such a way that the finished product is a mixture of ages, with the average age gradually increasing as the process continues over many years. A solera is literally the set of barrels or other...

 system and a unique vin de liqueur made from Muscat known as Jerepigo (or Jerepiko). With Jerepigo the brandy
Brandy
Brandy is a spirit produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35%–60% alcohol by volume and is typically taken as an after-dinner drink...

 is added to the must prior to fermentation which leaves the wine with a residual sugar (RS) level of at least 160 grams per liter. South Africa's long history of late harvest dessert wine
Dessert wine
Dessert wines are sweet wines typically served with dessert.There is no simple definition of a dessert wine. In the UK, a dessert wine is considered to be any sweet wine drunk with a meal, as opposed to the white fortified wines drunk before the meal, and the red fortified wines drunk after it...

s include the modern day Edel Laat-oes wines infected with noble rot
Noble rot
Noble rot is the benevolent form of a grey fungus, Botrytis cinerea, affecting wine grapes. Infestation by Botrytis requires moist conditions, and if the weather stays wet, the malevolent form, "grey rot", can destroy crops of grapes...

 (known locally as Edelkeur) and containing at least 50 grams of residual sugar per liter. Wine labeled simply as Laat-oes are from grapes harvested late but not infected with botrytis. These wines must have an alcohol content of at least 10% and residual sugar levels between 10-30 grams per liter. Wines above 30 grams RS may be called Spesiale Laat-oes or "special late harvest" which may imply that some grapes infected with botrytis were used.

Sparkling wines

Sparkling wines in South Africa are produced
Sparkling wine production
There are four main methods of sparkling wine production. The first is simple injection of carbon dioxide , the process used in soft drinks, but this produces big bubbles that dissipate quickly in the glass. The second is the Metodo Italiano – Charmat process, in which the wine undergoes a...

 with both the Charmat and the traditional "Champagne Method". To distinguish South African sparkling wines (and to now comply with European Union regulations protecting the term "Champagne" and champenois), wines made in this traditional bottled fermented method are labeled as Cap Classique. These wines have been traditionally made using Sauvignon blanc and Chenin blanc but in recent years have seen more of the traditional "Champagne grapes" of Chardonnay and Pinot noir being used. Red sparkling wine made from Pinotage can also be found.

Labeling laws

South African labeling law focus largely on geographical origins, falling under the purview of the "Wine of Origin" legislation. Single vineyard designated wine can be produced, provided that the vineyard is registered with the government and all the grapes used in the production of the wine was grown in that vineyard. While the term "estate" no longer qualifies as a designation of geographic origins, wineries can still label "estate wines" provided that all the grapes were grown and the wine vinified and bottled on the same property. The South African Wine & Spirit Board operates a voluntary program that allows South African wines to be "certified" for quality and accuracy in labeling. Under this certification process, vintage
Vintage
Vintage, in wine-making, is the process of picking grapes and creating the finished product . A vintage wine is one made from grapes that were all, or primarily, grown and harvested in a single specified year. In certain wines, it can denote quality, as in Port wine, where Port houses make and...

 dated wine must be composed of at least 85% grapes that were harvested that vintage year. Varietal
Varietal
"Varietal" describes wines made primarily from a single named grape variety, and which typically displays the name of that variety on the wine label. Examples of grape varieties commonly used in varietal wines are Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Merlot...

 wines must also be composed of at least 85% of the listed varietal. Blends, such as a Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinotage blend, can have both varietals listed on the label provided that the two wines were vinified separately. A wine that has been "co-fermented", with both grapes crushed and vinified together such as a Shiraz-Viognier
Viognier
Viognier is a white wine grape. It is the only permitted grape for the French wine Condrieu in the Rhone valley.-History:The origin of the Viognier grape is unknown. Viognier is presumed to be an ancient grape, possibly originating in Dalmatia and then brought to Rhône by the Romans. One legend...

, can not list both varietals. As of 2006, about 35% of Cape wineries participated in this voluntary program.

Grape varieties

Grape Vineyards
Chenin Blanc EWLINE
18%
Cabernet Sauvignon EWLINE
12%
Colombard EWLINE
11%
Shiraz EWLINE
9.8%
Sauvignon Blanc EWLINE
9%
Chardonnay EWLINE
8%
Merlot EWLINE
6.5%
Pinotage EWLINE
6%

Grape varieties in South Africa are known as cultivar
Cultivar
A cultivar'Cultivar has two meanings as explained under Formal definition. When used in reference to a taxon, the word does not apply to an individual plant but to all those plants sharing the unique characteristics that define the cultivar. is a plant or group of plants selected for desirable...

, with many common international varieties developing local synonym
Synonym
Synonyms are different words with almost identical or similar meanings. Words that are synonyms are said to be synonymous, and the state of being a synonym is called synonymy. The word comes from Ancient Greek syn and onoma . The words car and automobile are synonyms...

s that still have a strong tradition of use. These include Chenin blanc
Chenin Blanc
Chenin blanc , is a white wine grape variety from the Loire valley of France. Its high acidity means it can be used to make everything from sparkling wines to well-balanced dessert wines, although it can produce very bland, neutral wines if the vine's natural vigor is not controlled...

 (Steen), Riesling
Riesling
Riesling is a white grape variety which originated in the Rhine region of Germany. Riesling is an aromatic grape variety displaying flowery, almost perfumed, aromas as well as high acidity. It is used to make dry, semi-sweet, sweet and sparkling white wines. Riesling wines are usually varietally...

 (until recently known locally as Weisser Riesling), Crouchen
Crouchen
Crouchen or Crouchen Blanc is a variety of white grape. It has its origins in France, although it is now rarely grown there. Instead, it is more commonly found in Australia, where it is often referred to as "Clare Riesling", and in South Africa, where it is often called "Cape Riesling", "Paarl...

 (known as Cape Riesling), Palomino
Palomino (grape)
Palomino is a white grape widely grown in Spain and South Africa, and best known for its use in the manufacture of sherry.-Wine regions:In Spain, the grape is split into the sub-varieties Palomino Fino, Palomino Basto, and Palomino de Jerez, of which Palomino Fino is by far the most important,...

 (the grape of the Spanish wine
Spanish wine
Spanish wines are wines produced in the southwestern European country of Spain. Located on the Iberian Peninsula, Spain has over 2.9 million acres planted—making it the most widely planted wine producing nation but it is the third largest producer of wine in the world, the largest...

 Sherry
Sherry
Sherry is a fortified wine made from white grapes that are grown near the town of Jerez , Spain. In Spanish, it is called vino de Jerez....

 known locally as "White French"), Trebbiano
Trebbiano
Trebbiano is the second most widely planted grape in the world. It gives good yields, but makes undistinguished wine at best. It can be fresh and fruity, but does not keep long. Its high acidity makes it important in Cognac production...

 (Ugni Blanc), Sémillon
Sémillon
Sémillon is a golden-skinned grape used to make dry and sweet white wines, most notably in France and Australia.-History:The origin of the Sémillon grape is hard to determine. It is known that it first arrived in Australia in the early 19th century and by the 1820s the grape covered over 90 percent...

 (Groendruif) and Muscat of Alexandria
Muscat of Alexandria
Muscat of Alexandria is a white wine grape that is a member of the Muscat family of Vitis vinifera. It is considered an "ancient vine", and wine experts believe it is one of the oldest genetically unmodified vines still in existence...

 (Hanepoot). However, wines that are often exported overseas will usually have the more internationally recognised name appear on the wine label
Wine label
Wine labels are important sources of information for consumers since they tell the type and origin of the wine. The label is often the only resource a buyer has for evaluating the wine before purchasing it...

. In 2006, SAWIS (South African Wine Information and Systems) reported that the country had 100,146 hectares of vineyard
Vineyard
A vineyard is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice...

s, with about 55 percent planted to white varieties. Chenin blanc has long been the most widely planted variety, still accounting for at close to one-fifth of all grape varieties planted in South Africa as of 2009, though it is slowly decreasing in overall share of vineyard area. In the 1980s and 1990s, interest in international varieties saw increase in plantings of Chardonnay
Chardonnay
Chardonnay is a green-skinned grape variety used to make white wine. It is originated from the Burgundy wine region of eastern France but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from England to New Zealand...

 and Sauvignon blanc
Sauvignon blanc
Sauvignon Blanc is a green-skinned grape variety which originates from the Bordeaux region of France. The grape most likely gets its name from the French word sauvage and blanc due to its early origins as an indigenous grape in South West France., a possible descendant of savagnin...

. Other white grape varieties with significant plantings include Colombard
Colombard
Colombard is an early fruiting white variety of wine grape, better known as French Colombard in North America. It is possibly the offspring of Gouais Blanc and Chenin Blanc....

 (also spelled locally as Colombar), Cape Riesling, Gewürztraminer
Gewürztraminer
Gewürztraminer is an aromatic wine grape variety that performs best in cooler climates. It is sometimes referred to colloquially as Gewürz, and in French it is written '...

, Hanepoot, Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains
Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains
Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains is a white wine grape that is a member of the Muscat family of Vitis vinifera. Its name comes from its characteristic small berry size and tight clusters...

, Riesling and Sémillon. Both red and white mutants of Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains as well as Chenel
Chenel
Chenel is a white South African wine grape variety that was produced by a crossing of Chenin blanc and Trebbiano. The variety was produced in the late 20th century for viticultural purposes and its resistance to various grape rots....

 and Weldra, two Chenin blanc-Ugni blanc crossings, are used for brandy distillation and fortified wine production.

From the 1990s, plantings of red grape varieties rose steadily. In the late 1990s, less than 18% of all the grapes grown in South Africa were red. By 2009 that number had risen to 44%. For most of the 21st century, the high yielding Cinsaut
Cinsaut
Cinsaut or Cinsault is a red wine grape, whose heat tolerance and productivity make it important in Languedoc-Roussillon and the former French colonies of Algeria and Morocco...

 was the most widely planted red grape variety but the shift in focus to quality wine production has saw plantings of the grape steadily decline to where it represented just 2% of all South Africa vineyards in 2009. In its place Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Canada's Okanagan Valley to Lebanon's Beqaa Valley...

, Shiraz and Pinotage
Pinotage
Pinotage is a red wine grape that is South Africa's signature variety. It was bred there in 1925 as a cross between Pinot noir and Cinsaut...

 have risen to prominence with Cabernet Sauvignon being the most widely grown red grape variety covering 12% of all plantings in 2009. Other red grape varieties found in South Africa include Carignan, Gamay
Gamay
Gamay is a purple-colored grape variety used to make red wines, most notably grown in Beaujolais and in the Loire Valley around Tours. Its full name is Gamay Noir à Jus Blanc. It is a very old cultivar, mentioned as long ago as the 15th century...

 (often made in the style of Beaujolais wine with carbonic maceration
Carbonic maceration
Carbonic maceration is a winemaking technique, often associated with the French wine region of Beaujolais, in which whole grapes are fermented in a carbon dioxide rich environment prior to crushing. Conventional alcoholic fermentation involves crushing the grapes to free the juice and pulp from the...

), Grenache
Grenache
Grenache is one of the most widely planted red wine grape varieties in the world. It ripens late, so it needs hot, dry conditions such as those found in Spain, the south of France, and California's San Joaquin Valley. It is generally spicy, berry-flavored and soft on the palate with a relatively...

, Pontac, Ruby Cabernet
Ruby Cabernet
Ruby Cabernet is a red Olmo grape variety that is a cross between Cabernet Sauvignon and Carignan, it can produce wines with good colour and a pleasant cherry flavour, but is mostly blended into bulk wines....

, Tinta Barroca
Tinta Barroca
Tinta Barroca is a Portuguese red wine grape that is grown primarily in the Douro region with some plantings in South Africa. In Portugal, it is a common blending grape in Port wine while in South Africa it is normally made into a varietal...

 and Zinfandel
Zinfandel
Zinfandel is a variety of red grape planted in over 10 percent of California vineyards. DNA fingerprinting revealed that it is genetically equivalent to the Croatian grape Crljenak Kaštelanski, and also the Primitivo variety traditionally grown in Puglia , where it was introduced in the 18th century...



There is a wide range of lesser known groups that are used to feed the country's still robust distilled spirits and fortified wine industry. These grapes usually produce bland, neutral wine that lends itself well to blending and distillation but is rarely seen as varietal
Varietal
"Varietal" describes wines made primarily from a single named grape variety, and which typically displays the name of that variety on the wine label. Examples of grape varieties commonly used in varietal wines are Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Merlot...

 bottlings. These include Belies, False Pedro, Kanaän, Raisin blanc, Sultana
Sultana (grape)
The sultana is a type of white, seedless grape assumed to originate from the Turkish, Greek, or Iranian area...

 and Servan.

Pinotage

Pinotage, a crossing of Pinot noir
Pinot Noir
Pinot noir is a black wine grape variety of the species Vitis vinifera. The name may also refer to wines created predominantly from Pinot noir grapes...

 and Cinsaut, has seen its plantings rise and fall due to the current fashion of the South African wine industry. Today it is the second most widely planted red grape variety in South Africa. While there are supporters who want to make the grape South Africa's signature variety, critics of the grape note that hardly any other wine region in the world has planted the variety due to its flaws. In the early 1990s, as Apartheid ended and the world's wine market was opening up, winemakers in South Africa ignored Pinotage in favor of more internationally recognized varieties like Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon. Towards the end of the 20th century, the grape's fortunes began to turn, and by 1997 it commanded higher prices than any other South African grape. It is a required component (30-70%) in "Cape blends". Here it is made into the full range of styles, from easy-drinking quaffing wine and rosé
Rosé
A rosé is a type of wine that has some of the color typical of a red wine, but only enough to turn it pink. The pink color can range from a pale orange to a vivid near-purple, depending on the grapes and wine making techniques.- Production techniques :There are three major ways to produce rosé...

 to barrel-aged wine intended for cellaring. It is also made into a fortified 'port
Port wine
Port wine is a Portuguese fortified wine produced exclusively in the Douro Valley in the northern provinces of Portugal. It is typically a sweet, red wine, often served as a dessert wine, and comes in dry, semi-dry, and white varieties...

' style, and even a red sparkling wine
Sparkling wine
Sparkling wine is a wine with significant levels of carbon dioxide in it making it fizzy. The carbon dioxide may result from natural fermentation, either in a bottle, as with the méthode champenoise, in a large tank designed to withstand the pressures involved , or as a result of carbon dioxide...

. The grape can be very dependent on the style of winemaking, with well made examples having the potential to produce deep colored, fruity wines that can be accessible early as well as age. However critics of the variety believe that the variety's flaws-green vegetatal flavors and tannins and susceptibility to developing banana
Banana
Banana is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa and for the fruit they produce. Bananas come in a variety of sizes and colors when ripe, including yellow, purple, and red....

 and nail polish
Nail polish
Nail polish, or nail varnish, is a lacquer applied to human fingernails or toenails to decorate and/or protect the nail plate.-History:...

 acetate
Acetate
An acetate is a derivative of acetic acid. This term includes salts and esters, as well as the anion found in solution. Most of the approximately 5 billion kilograms of acetic acid produced annually in industry are used in the production of acetates, which usually take the form of polymers. In...

 aromas-are present in far more examples of Pinotage that reach the consumer market. Pinotage reached its zenith in 2001, covering 7.3% of the total vineyard area, but this has since decreased to 6%.

Important organizations

The South African wine industry has been led by many powerful organizations in both the private sector and through governmental agencies. Unlike other New World wine regions, the South African wine industry is largely influenced by several large co-operatives. The Koöperatieve Wijnbouwers Vereniging van Zuid-Afrika Bpkt (KWV) was a co-operative first created through the funding and encouragement of the South African government as a force to stabilize and grow the South African wine industry. As the KWV is now a privately owned winemaking co-operative some of its regulatory responsibilities have fallen to other organizations such as the South African Wine & Spirit Board. The Wine & Spirit Board runs the voluntary certification program that allows South African wines to be "certified" for quality and accuracy in labeling. In addition to submitted to various labeling guidelines, wines are blind tasted by a panel of experts for quality and are put through an analytical test for faults. Like the vintage and varietal labeling guidelines, these test are voluntary but wines that do not submit to testing are liable to random testing for health requirements.

The Wine & Spirits board also operates the South African Wine Industry Trust (SAWIT) and provides funding for the marketing and development of SAWIT. Established in 1999 by a joint agreement between the South African government and the KWV, which put forth 369 million rand
South African rand
The rand is the currency of South Africa. It takes its name from the Witwatersrand , the ridge upon which Johannesburg is built and where most of South Africa's gold deposits were found. The rand has the symbol "R" and is subdivided into 100 cents, symbol "c"...

 ($46 million USD), SAWIT works to promote the export market of South African wines abroad and the development of new technologies and education. Additionally SAWIT works with the Black Economic Empowerment
Black Economic Empowerment
Black Economic Empowerment is a programme launched by the South African government to redress the inequalities of Apartheid by giving previously disadvantaged groups economic opportunities previously not available to them...

 (BEE) program to promote the black community's involvement in the South African wine industry-including ownership opportunities for vineyards and wineries.

See also

  • Boschendal
    Boschendal
    Boschendal is one of the oldest wine estates in South Africa and is located between Franschhoek and Stellenbosch in South Africa's Western Cape.-Huguenot Origins:...

  • Cape Wine Master
    Cape Wine Master
    Cape Wine Master is the highest formal qualification in the South African wine industry. CWMs belong to the Institute of Cape Wine Masters , which was formed in 1984, and administrates tastings and other wine events, provides information and access to specialist advice for the wine industry...

  • KwaZulu-Natal wine
    KwaZulu-Natal wine
    KwaZulu-Natal is designated as a Geographical Unit under the Wine of Origin classification of South African wine. It corresponds to the province of KwaZulu-Natal in the east of South Africa, which has an embryonic wine industry.-Style:...

  • List of wineries in South Africa
  • The South African Wine Initiative
    The South African Wine Initiative
    The South African Wine Initiative is an organization that seeks to create global awareness of the exploitation of workers and environmental abuses as they allegedly relate to the South African wine industry and its practices....



External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK