Wines and wine regions of South Africa
Since Nelson Mandela took his 'long walk to freedom' in the early 1990s and opened up his country to normalised trading relations with the rest of the world, the South African wine industry has moved from a predominantly centralised control of production to a flowering of diversity. Home grown winemaking talent has blossomed, helped by an influx of ideas from eager new world winemakers looking for a job, and alongside this has gone massive new investment in wineries and vineyards. All this activity has meant that the quality and diversity of wines has grown exponentially. Vineyards tend to be placed in the more beautiful areas of the world such as the Mosel or Rhône valleys but the Cape region of South Africa overshadows them all in its setting of stunning beauty. Great wines and fascinating flora and fauna. One of the more memorable sights that we have seen is that of a grape farmer chasing a pack of baboons out of his vineyard, an activity that is executed with some caution! For the wine tourist this is a must-see destination.
View a full list of our South African white wine and South African red wine.
Paarl
Pearl in Africaans, is a relatively warm growing area, being on the same latitude (south) as Spain's sherry region in the north. A large area of vineyards, which are planted across the wide valleys, and up into the foothills of surrounding mountains.
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Stellenbosch
Less than an hour out of Cape Town and home to many of the Cape's best red wines. Stellenbosch has varied soils from granitic to alluvial sands, and an equally varied climate from very hot, to relatively cool.
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Worcester
A hot, inland wine region. Production is dominated by several large co-operative wineries.
Cape Aguhlas
Cape Agulhas is the southernmost point of Africa and is situated in the Overberg region, southeast of Cape Town. The cape was named by Portuguese navigators, who called it Cabo das Agulhas - Portuguese for ‘Cape of Needles’ - after noticing that the direction of magnetic north coincided with true north in the region. It’s the official site where the Indian and Atlantic oceans divide.
Franschoek
A region founded by 17th century French Hugenots and hence has a long history of wine production. Nowadays the picturesque small town of Franshoek is 'gourmet central', boasting more restaurants than anywhere else in the region barring Cape Town.