South Africa

and its major Wine Producing Areas

An Introduction to South Africa

Many of the wine producing areas in South Africa can be found near its southern tip, within 100 miles of Cape town. Some of the best known regions in South Africa are Stellenbosch and Paarl, home to some of the most famous producers. Overburg, home to Hamilton-Russell vineyards, is also up and coming with many new producers starting up.

South Africa has had a rather bumpy 350 year history of wine production. Early colonial wars led to large shifts in demand for South African wine, and they weren't spared phylloxera. In the early 19th century artless overproduction of Chennin Blanc, also known as Steen, meant South AfricaÕs wines fell out of favour. To turn this situation around the government founded the KWV, this fixed prices and enforced limits. While helped improve the situation, the beginning of apartheid, twenty years later, led to many countries boycotting South Africa.

During the apartheid the wine industry suffered a great deal, and in 1973 the government opened up the wine industry again with the wine of origin system. This set standards and enforced a consistent quality in the industry. While this did much to help the industry, the end apartheid in 1994 really opened the market for South African wine, ending boycotts from other countries. Today South Africa is rapidly retuning to its position as a major wine producing country.

South Africa can also lay claim to its own grape variety, Pinotage. Pinotage is a cross between Pinot Noir and Cinsault (or Hermitage), and was developed in 1925 at the university of Stellenbosch by Abraham Perold. This grape wasnÕt planted for 30 years and finally hit he shelves in 1961.

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