The Wines of South Africa

By Art LiPuma, General Manager SeaSide Wine & Spirits, Old Saybrook

South African wines have recently become more popular in the last decade or two, but there was not much thought of exporting wine previous to that. South Africa has actually only been growing grapes since the mid 1600’s which is when the first vines where planted. The wines were replanted in the early 1900’s due to the spread of phylloxera (a disease of the vines cause by an insect that feeds on the roots of the vines) This problem has been seen all over the world. The great amount of replanting proved to cause an over production of wine. In the mid 1950’s the government took control of the pricing and the KWV quarantine system limited the quantity of vines being planted.

In the late 1990’s KWV pulled their regulations and South Africa was able to become the eighth largest wine producer in the world. From the early 1900’s to the early 21st century production of wine has gone from 23 million gallons per year to over 200 million. The export business has grown significantly to aid in these sales. Another factor for the increase is the improvement in the quality wine that is produced. South Africa grows their grapes in the Cape Vineyards which is in the southwestern part of the country that follows the coastline. The major wine regions are Olifants River, Klen Karoo, Breede, River Valley and (Swasrtland, Darling, Tulbagh, Parral, Tygerberg, Stellenbosch, and Cape Point) All of these are considered the Coastal region.

The Olifants region was once thought of the major area for producing bulk wine due to the abundance of grapes grown in the heavily naturally arrogated land. Recently they have been putting much more attention into the quality of the wine. Within the wine Regions are smaller wine districts. There are well over twenty district that represent the best wines from that particular region .The major grapes grown here are: Chenin Blanc, Colmbard, Cabernet Sauvignon , Shiraz, and Pinotage.

The most widely grown grape is Chenin Blanc. This grape was once mostly used in making Brandy. The other grapes that are grown in much smaller amounts are: Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot and Chardonnay. Over the years the red wine production has doubled. Recently they have been experimenting with other grapes that originated from countries in Europe. Most of these wines are varietal wines meaning made mostly of one particular grape but includes a small percentage of something else. By South African law it must contain a minimum of 85% of the grape that is on the label. The blended wines are slowly becoming more popular. Generally, South African wines are low in acidity due to the low ph in the soil and the hot wet climate. They sometimes add Tartaric Acid in the wine making.

Chenin Blanc is by far one of the most popular white grapes. This grape is quite dry but in other areas of the world this could be a bit of a fruity of a wine and will pair well many seafood dishes. As for the most popular red that would be Pinotage, which is a native grape of South Africa. This grape is a hybrid grape of Pinot Noir and Cinsault. This wine is a bit earthy and dry, which will accompany most barbecue meats including ribs and burgers.

Next time you are shopping for wine take a peak in the South African section and try something different and unusual and the price points are generally something you can’t pass up! Cheers!