#VinComing: The World Of Wine:
South Africa: Part 1 of 2:
By @AndyTheWineGuy:
In this, the first of a series of blogs exploring the world of wine, country by country, I will provide an insight into the wines of South Africa, in this case utilising my first-hand experience of the country from October of last year. I will touch on the history of wine production there, the principal types of wines they’ve become famous for and the impact of Apartheid, Phylloxera & climatic factors such as the Benguela Current & The Cape Doctor.
History:
South Africa exists as the oldest “New World” wine-producing Country, stretching back, incredibly, to as early as 1659 when early catalyst & quickly appointed Governor, Jan van Riebeeck developed the first ever wines as part of the Dutch East India Company, who, in turn, founded a supply station which later became known as Cape Town. When van Riebeeck stepped aside, his successor Simon van der Stel (see gif below) took it upon himself to elevate the quality of wines to new levels and his 1685 made “Vin de Constance” – a Muscat-based sweet wine – soon acquired a global reputation; heralded as “The sweet, luscious & excellent wine called Constantia”. Van der Stel named the wine after the region he established it within, a stunning part of the Western Cape that overlooks False Bay.
The next contributor towards the rise of South African wine came a century later in the form of one Hendrik Cloete. With exportation being a huge basis of funding, Cloete focused on the European Market with the help of knowledgeable French Huguenots. Sweet wines survived the long voyages to Europe far better due to the superior preservation a high sugar content allows. A damaging Gladstone government export treaty & more significantly, phylloxera – an aphid pest that feeds on the roots and leaves of grapevines that devastated the wine industry – ploughed South African wine in a 20+ year lull.
Those who had the foresight to struggle through this dire period reaslied the benefits of their persistence with huge plantings taking place at the turn of the 20th Century. Their enthusiasm for this new era of South African wine got the better of this new generation of winemakers, however, as over-production and lower-priced produce necessistated an introduction of reform. Ergo, the wonderfully sounding “Koöperative Wijnbouwers Vereniging van Zuid-Afrika Bpkt”, or to you and me, the “KWV” was established by Charles Kohler, initially as a cooperation, but quickly evolving to become a governing body, establishing policies, stability & trading legislation. This was the structure South African wine sought and spelt the beginning of a bright future.
Apartheid:
Lasting from 1948-1994 was this tragic enforced system of legalized racial segregation which greatly affected the wine trade of South Africa with other countries reluctant to trade at all during this grave period of white supremacy in South African history. Finally, however, in 1994 it was abolished & trade ties were gradually rebuilt.
South African Wine Today:
Currently sitting inside the Top 10 wine producing regions in the world, the wines of this great African country have risen from the ashes Apartheid and can now boast produce to rival some of the very best available with a plethora of international awards to boot.
There has been a domestic sway in the 21st century towards wine as the preferred drink, yet fascinatingly 5 times more Brandy is still consumed.
A wonderful reference tool recently published is Master Of Wine @TimAtkin ‘s South Africa Report 2013, utilising 25 years experience of the wines of SA, the report features a brand new Bordeaux-esque classifictaion system – i.e. 1st growth through to Crus Bourgeois.
Climate & Geography:
As with thriving new world wine-producing countries such as Chile & New Zealand,the majority of South Africa’s wine regions are coastal, either that or they feel the effects of the mediterrenean climate or an antarctic breeze named the Benguela current. The current ensures a lower temperature than would otherwise be evident, helping to preserve the grapes after long, hot days – which are frequent and often intense in heat. Another geogrphical force also has a hand to play, locally named, “The Cape Doctor”. This, often powerful, coastal wind helps keep away unwelcome sugar-thirsty insects, literally blowing them away from the vines. One of my favourite wines from the Constantia, made by Rollo Gabb and his winemaker Leon Esterhuizen at Journey’s End, pays tribute by naming their flagship Bordeaux Blend, “The Cape Doctor”. Here is a photgraph I took from their Tasting Room, nestled in the Helderberg Basin and overlooking spectacular mountains and, in the distance, False Bay.