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South African Wines

Wines have been produced in South Africa for more than 350 years. It has been since the fall of apartheid that South African wines have been seen outside the country. Today South African wines are becoming increasingly known for exceptional quality and surprising value with almost every varietal becoming world class.
 
The first vines arrived to South Africa in July 1655 but the first Cape wine was made from two year old vines imported from France, the Rhineland and Spain in 1656. On February 2 1659 the first ever wine was harvested at the Cape – a modest 15 liters made of Muscadel grapes and Green or Spanish grapes. Much has changed since the trade embargo imposed by countries opposed to the apartheid system was lifted. In the mid-1990's South African wines began to appear in North American shelves, and today are almost ubiquitous in many quality restaurants and wine shops.
 
Many grape varieties are grown in South Africa, but Shiraz and Pinotage are perhaps the most notable. Pinotage is the country's "indigenous" grape, being a cross between the delicate Pinot Noir and the heartier Cinsaut or Cinsault.
 
The South African Pinotage Association's Sue van Wyk says of the wines made from this grape, "Pinotage is like an old friend: a wine that comforts and cheers me and a joy to have on hand." On the white side, South Africa enjoys a reputation for Steen, which is the local Afrikaans name for Chenin Blanc.
 
Other South Africa-specific grape varieties are Hanepoot, a white grape grown only in South Africa, Cape Riesling, the South African name for the French Cruchen Blanc, and Fransdruif, the South African term for the white wine grape native to Jerez, the Sherry region of Spain. Lastly, South Africans call Cinsaut "Hermitage."
 
Biodiversity & Wine Initiative (BWI)
 
The BWI is a pioneering partnership between the local wine industry and the conservation sector aimed at minimizing any further loss to the highly threatened Cape Floral Kingdom (CFK), the smallest on the planet but home to as many as 9 600 plant species, more than the entire Northern Hemisphere. Some 90% of local wine production occurs within the CFK, which is also a World Heritage Site and a conservation hotspot.
 
South African Wine Growing Regions

South Africa implemented an appellations system of its own in 1973, which designated production regions, districts and wards, called the Wines of Origin system. There are some 60 official appellations. South African vineyards tend to be concentrated around Cape Town. The largest wine-making areas are Paarl, Stellenbosch and Worcester.
 
The Cape winelands are some of the most breathtakingly beautiful in the world. Several of the wine routes, including Constantia, Durbanville, Darling, Stellenbosch, Helderberg, Paarl, Franschoek, Wellington and Walker Bay, are within an hour or less easy driving distance from Cape Town. Others, like Breedekloof, Worcester, Robertson, the Little Karoo, Tulbagh, the Swartland, Olifants River and the Northern Cape take you on a slightly longer journey through constantly changing and spectacular landscapes.
The Cape winegrowing areas, situated in the narrow viticultural zone of the southern hemisphere, mainly have a Mediterranean climate and the mountain slopes and valleys form the ideal habitat for the wine grape Vitis vinifera, the products of which have given pleasure to man for many centuries. Long, sun-drenched summers and mild, wet winters contribute to the ideal conditions for viticulture at the Cape.

Liberated by the advent of democracy, the South African wine industry has gone from strength to strength, with exports growing by 335% between 1995 and 2007. Currently, there are more than 3 999 farmers and 560 wine cellars cultivating some 101 957 hectares of land under vines. 70% of the 351 446 tons of harvest was used for wine.

The South African wine industry is backed by a state body, the Nietvoorbij Institute for Viticulture and Oenology, a leader in research with one of the most modern experimental wineries in the world and several experimental farms; the departments of viniculture and viticulture at the University of Stellenbosch; and the Elsenburg Agricultural College, which offers cellar technology. All wines for export must be granted an export license. Samples of each batch of wine destined for foreign countries are sent to the Wine & Spirit Board at Nietvoorbij, Stellenbosch where they undergo detailed tasting tests and chemical analysis in the laboratories before licenses are granted. An official seal is given to each bottle by the Wine & Spirit Board, which verifies that the claims made on the label regarding origin, vintage and grape variety are true.

 
Page Sources:

The Complete Encyclopedia of Wine
New World Of Wine From The Cape Of Good Hope:
The Wine Bible
WOSA