If I were to ask you where you would find some of the best wines in the world, what would be your response? I’m sure Italy, France, and Spain may be some of the first countries that come to mind. However, while it may not be your first thought, South Africa has a rich history in viticulture that has allowed it to become one of the world’s top wine producers in both quantity and quality.
Now, one thing we believe in is to understand how you got here and where you are going, you have to fully grasp where we have been. History paints the richness into the picture…
In 1652, the Dutch East India Company set up a re-supply point and way-station at what we now know as Cape Town. Vineyards were planted here in order to produce grapes and wines designated to preventing scurvy amongst sailors traveling along the spice route. The first harvest and crushing took place about seven years later. Eventually, a man named Simon van der Stel began governing the Cape of Good Hope, and sought to improve the quality of viticulture. He then bought a 1,900 acre estate that became the legendary Constantia Estate.
photo courtesy of www.constantiavalley.com
The growing conditions here were nearly perfect and the dessert red wine, suitably named Constantia, became a major success. In fact, despite its limited circulation, it was very well known amongst high society throughout Europe. Napoleon Bonaparte himself requested Constantia during his exile to St. Helena and renowned British writers Charles Dickens and Jane Austen were also fans of the wine. Tension with France made African wines more favorable to the British, causing a boom in exports. However, bad weather in the 1820’s caused a steady decline in wine production. Then, in the late 1800’s, vineyards were devastated by powdery mildew and phylloxera aphids.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the wine industry was still in a slump, due in part to excessive regulation set by the KWV (a South African winemaking cooperative) who imposed a minimum price on wine while also guaranteeing farmers that they would buy any excess wine. Unfortunately, this created an atmosphere within the industry that valued quantity over quality, and South African wine suffered. Apartheid was another factor in South Africa’s decline in the wine industry…
Even when quality wasn’t an issue, anti-apartheid trade sanctions meant that international markets weren’t buying any product. Everything changed in 1994: Nelson Mandela was elected president, apartheid ended, the KWV was stripped of most of its regulatory powers, and farmers were shoved back into a free market.
The South African wine industry almost immediately saw a huge increase in exports as the country’s isolationist tendencies came to an end, and began to thrive. It is now the ninth-largest producer of wine in the world, with over 250,000 acres under vine and over 250,000 employees. They help to deliver some of the world’s finest and unique wines found no where else in the world, such as wine made with Pinotage grapes.
Photo courtesy of capreo.com
In addition, boutique wineries have become increasingly popular since 1994, spreading all over South Africa’s Cape of Good Hope. These boutiques have led to a major renaissance in the wine industry of South Africa, and has had a fairly turbulent history in viticulture, forced to grow through many difficult times. Nonetheless, South Africa endured the rainy days and has now entered the international arena as a first-class wine producer with new wineries opening at an unbelievable rate.
Bottom Line – South African wine isn’t going anywhere.
Photo courtesy of absolutetravel.com
Actually, wines are being modified and perfected daily as South Africa still hasn’t chosen a “true” specialty wine. So, next time you’re craving a glass of the finest wine, don’t go for the usual. Become a part of the worldwide discussion. Venture out and try some Pinotage, Sauvignon-Blanc, or Shiraz straight from the hills of South Africa. Besides, if your palette is anything like those of the world’s high-class wine connoisseurs, you won’t be disappointed.
