South African Wine

Virtually all of South Africa’s vineyards are within a 100 mile East-West coastal arc centred on Cape Town. First under Dutch and then British rule, the Cape became famous for its Constantia dessert wines, savoured by Napoleon and written about by Jane Austen. By the late 19th and early 20th century, German and Italian immigrants began settling at the Cape, introducing their winegrowing and winemaking traditions. For most of the 20th century, the South African industry was controlled by the KWV or the Koperatiewe Wijnbouwers Vereeninging, but with democracy came privatisation of the business.

After decades of isolation under apartheid, there was an explosion of knowledge, interest and investment in South African wine making. The modern South African wine industry is really a little over a decade old and has caught up fast. Today there are over 600 wine producers in South Africa, virtually double the number in 2000. Stylistically, modern South African wines are half way between Old World and New. They are prized for their elegance and food compatibility, but they nevertheless do still express prominent varietal flavours.