The South African Wine Industry

The South African Wine Industry

The history of wine in South Africa is unique in that it is the only country in the world that we can trace wine back to a date. The world’s first corporation, the Dutch East India Company, set up an outpost in 1652 at the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa. Jan van Riebeeck was given the task of managing the station. The outpost was originally intended to be a supply station for ships on their way around Africa and on to Asia, however, when it was discovered that wine and grapes could ward off scurvy, vines were planted and on February 2nd 1959 the South African wine industry was born.

In the 19th century, South Africa fell under British rule which proved lucrative for the wine industry as South African wine flowed into the British market. However, this ended in the 1860s when the Cobden-Chevalier Treaty signed by the Palmerston government and France reduced the tariffs on French wine and French wine exports overtook that of South African. By the early 1900s there was a large surplus of wine. The depressed prices caused by this out-of-balance supply and demand prompted the South African government to fund the formation of the Koöperatieve Wijnbouwers Vereniging van Zuid-Afrika Bpkt (“KWV”) in 1918. Initially started as a co-op, the KWV soon grew in power and prominence, setting policies and prices for the entire South African wine industry.

For most of the 20th century, the wine industry of South Africa received very little attention on the worldwide stage. Its isolation was further deepened by boycotts of South African products in protest at the country's system of Apartheid. It wasn't until the late 1980s and 1990s when Apartheid was ended and the world's export market opened up to South African wines. With a steep learning curve, many producers in South Africa quickly adopted new winemaking technologies. The reorganization of the powerful KWV co-operative into a private business improved innovation and quality in South African wines. Vineyard owners had previously relied on KWV's price-fixing structure that bought their excess grapes for distillation. Now they had to shift their focus to quality wine production in order to compete. In 1990, less than 30% of all the grapes harvested were used for wine aimed at the consumer market, with the remaining 70% being discarded, distilled into brandy or sold as table grapes and juice. By 2003 these proportions had reversed, with more than 70% of the grapes harvested that year reaching the consumer market as wine.

Today, South Africa is the 9th largest wine producer in the world with over 100,000 hectares of vineyards and 450 million liters of wine produced annually. Chenin Blanc is the most widely planted variety in South Africa and while the grape is still king, around 40% of vineyards have been replanted in recent years and there is a notable shift from 80% white grapes to a split that is nearly 50/50 red and white. The top five grape varieties in South Africa are Chenin Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Colombard, Shiraz and Sauvignon Blanc. The wine industry in South Africa is undergoing an exciting period of change, both in the vineyard and in the winery. Winemakers are experimenting with new varieties of vine, as well as new clones of existing varietals such as Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon. Large-scale experimentation with rootstocks is taking place to establish which planting material is particularly suited to conditions at the Cape. As in other New World countries, viticulturists are hard at work matching vine varieties to soils and climates in order to achieve the best results. Vineyard life in South Africa is similar to Europe's although South Africa's wine year begins in September. While preparations for the vintage are being made in Europe, the vines in South Africa are just beginning to bud. January in the Cape heralds the beginning of summer and, as the temperatures increase, early grape varieties begin to ripen. The bulk of the harvest takes place in February and the sugar to acid ratio of the grapes is checked daily so that each variety is harvested at optimum ripeness. In most South African vineyards harvesting is carried out by hand, although machines are used on some farms. The grapes are picked into baskets and transported in bins to the winery where the winemaking process begins.