New World
South Africa wine
A producer with a documented history back to the seventeenth century, best known for Chenin Blanc and increasingly for old-vine wines.
Overview
South Africa has the longest documented winemaking history outside Europe, with production at the Cape recorded from the 1650s.
Chenin Blanc — locally long called Steen — is the most planted variety and the source of the country’s most distinctive whites, particularly from old bush vines in Swartland and Stellenbosch.
Pinotage, a 1925 crossing of Pinot Noir and Cinsault made at Stellenbosch University, exists essentially only here. Its reputation has been mixed, and the modern quality end of the category is quite different from the coffee-and-mocha commercial style.
The Old Vine Project certifies vineyards of 35 years and older, and is unusual internationally as a formal scheme attaching verified vine age to a bottle.
Mediterranean, moderated by the cold Benguela current and by the Cape Doctor, a strong south-easterly wind that reduces disease pressure.
Regions
mediterranean · warm
Breedekloof
A large, hot inland district long dedicated to bulk wine, now the source of some remarkable old-vine Chenin Blanc.
maritime · cool
Cape South Coast
The Wine of Origin region gathering South Africa’s coolest coastal districts, from Elgin round to Cape Agulhas.
cool · maritime
Constantia
The Cape’s historic wine ward, famous in the eighteenth century for its sweet Vin de Constance.
maritime · cool
Elgin
A high plateau apple-growing district that turned to wine in the 1980s, and one of the coolest places in the Cape.
mediterranean · warm
Franschhoek
A mountain-enclosed valley settled by Huguenots, producing a broad range of styles.
mediterranean · warm
Paarl
A warm inland district north of Stellenbosch, historically the administrative centre of the South African wine industry.
mediterranean · warm
Robertson
A hot inland valley on limestone — rare in the Cape — irrigated from the Breede River, and known for Chardonnay.
mediterranean · moderate
Stellenbosch
South Africa’s best-known district, producing structured Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Chenin Blanc.
mediterranean · warm
Swartland
A dry, warm region of old dry-farmed bush vines, and the centre of South Africa’s new-wave movement.
cool · maritime
Walker Bay
A cool coastal district near Hermanus, producing South Africa’s best Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
Wines
Grapes grown here
Sources
Sources consulted
- Wines of South Africa — WOSA