South African wine
The South African wine has a Dutch touch.
After all, it was the Dutch who planted the first vines. The wine is now world famous and a large part of the production is exported. Although a variety of grapes form the basis of the wines, the Pinotage is important to mention separately. This is namely a cross that has been planted exclusively in South Africa.
New world
In fact, it is strange to call South Africa a “new world” wine country. Wine grapes have been cultivated since 1652. When the French Huguenots arrived in Franschhoek and Stellenbosch, real wines were made with the knowledge and experience from France. The reason that South Africa’s wine history is relatively short has to do with, for example, Apartheid. No wine was then exported to the Netherlands. After the abolition of Apartheid, South Africa has grown into a serious wine country that exports to wine all over the world.
Grape varieties
The grape of South Africa is the Pinotage. It is a cross between the Pinot Noir and the Cinsault grape. The new grape was crossed at the University of Stellenbosch. The challenge was to get a grape that has the characteristics of the Pinot Noir but at the same time is easy to grow. The question is whether this was successful. Most wines made from Pinotage don’t look like a Pinot Noir. However, we have succeeded in crossing a grape with its own identity. Very good wines have now been made.
South African white wine
Most of the wine produced in South Africa is white. For this, in many cases wine is made from Chenin Blanc. You can also come across this under the name “Stone”. Many sparkling and also sweet wines are made from it. Due to the relatively high presence of acids, the grape is well suited for this. In addition, a lot of Chardonnay has been planted (does well everywhere). You will also regularly find wines from Suavignon Blanc and Semillon on the wine shelves.
