South African Wines

In keeping with the spirit of renewal in the South African wine industry, in recent years over 40% of the vineyards have been replanted as the industry has realigned its product to compete globally, moving from volume production to noble cultivars and quality wines. South African vineyards have been dominated by white grape varieties but the trend now is towards a more market-driven balance between white and red.

Noble varieties which have been cultivated increasingly in the past few years include Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay, which produce top-class white wines, and Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz and Pinot Noir. A significant proportion of our red wine vineyards are currently very young – 52% are under 10 years old.

Some of our oldest grape varieties (also called cultivars) date back to ancient times and were developed from wild vines. The original wild vine belongs to the genus Vitis and it is generally accepted that it was cultivated for the first time in Asia Minor, south of the Caspian and Black seas. All the wine grape varieties cultivated in South Africa, which were originally imported from Europe, belong to the species Vitis vinifera. Unfortunately the roots of European vines are susceptible to an insect disease called phylloxera and, in order to avoid it, they are often grafted onto American rootstock which is largely resistant to the insect.

A vine yields its first crop after three years and is fully productive after five. On average, the South African vineyard is replaced after 25 years but this depends on factors such as the area in which it is situated and how heavily it has yielded. Generally, its lifespan may be anything between 15 and 30 years although vines as old as 100 years still in production can be found.

The vine is a remarkable plant which lends itself to selection, propagation and grafting factors which make possible a continuous improvement in both plant and quality. Although most of the vine varieties cultivated here today were originally imported, up to now six local crossings have been released. The best known of these is a red variety, Pinotage, a hybrid of Pinot Noir and Hermitage (Cinsaut), which is cultivated locally on a fairly large scale.

The Worcester Region has the most vineyard plantings (19% of all vines), followed by Paarl and Stellenbosch (17%), Robertson (14%), Malmesbury (12 %), Olifants River (9%), Orange River (9%) and Little Karoo (3%).

The Worcester Region also produces the most wine (24%), followed by Olifants River (17%), Robertson (14%), Paarl and Orange River (12%), Stellenbosch and Malmesbury (9%), and Little Karoo (3%).

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Wine Country

What is the most popular grape cultivar produced on earth? Where is it from? Where does the South African wine industry feature on the worldwide wine map? Is Pinotage such a groundbreaking wine?

All these questions and more, answered right here.

In South Africa, our largest production most famous wine grape cultivars are Chenin Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Colombar. A much larger portion of the South African terroir is conducive to the growing of these grapes.

But, I believe this has created an enormous mis-perception of wine producers and top grape cultivars globally among the general wine loving people in SA.

You see, many of you would be profoundly surprised to learn that the top wine grape cultivar in the world is Airén, a white wine grape grown predominantly in Spain.

It amounts to roughly 30% of all wine grapes grown in Spain and spans a massive 756 000 hectares. [The Airén vine has an unusually low vine density (around 1500 vines per hectare), and so its vineyards cover more area than any other grape variety in the world.]

This should explain its ability to outrank a popular cultivar such as Cabernet Sauvignon, second largest grape cultivar in the world spanning 701 000 hectares across predominantly France, Chile and the USA.

How does South African wine grape production size compare with the world? Let’s see. Our top cultivar, Chenin Blanc, spans across 19 100 hectares across mainly Worcester, Malmesbury and Paarl. In 20th position on the world wine grape cultivar list, Cataratto Bianco Comune spans across 107 200 hectares. [Quality over quantity, right?]

While South Africa’s industry is very small, ranking in at only 16th with about 1.5% of global plantings it is our production and quality that sees us at 7th position, accounting for 3% of the world’s wine.

What are the white vs. red wine grapes by area ratio? In the top 20 wine grape cultivars in the world by area, 9 of the wine grapes are white wine grapes, while 11 are red wine grapes. In the top 10, 4 are white wine grapes and 6 are red wine grapes.

Another thing I think that would have the general public confused is the perception that Pinotage is our main export to the international market. Yes, we were the first to introduce Pinotage to the world, but in terms of production, Pinotage, a cross between Pinot Noir and Cinsaut (grown under the name of Hermitage in South Africa) ranks a mere 8th on the top 20 cultivars in South Africa with Cinsaut individually ranking at 10th and Pinot Noir a mere 18th spanning only 577 hectares.

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Wines of South Africa

All the cultivars used in South Africa belong to the Vitis vinifera species which was originally imported from Europe. Although most of the cultivars cultivated locally today were originally imported, various unique South African cultivars created by crossing varietals have been released. The best known is the red variety Pinotage, which is a cross between Pinot Noir and Cinsaut. Also attracting attention is the white variety Nouvelle, a crossing of Semillon and Crouchen Blanc (better known as Cape Riesling).

Approximately 75 cultivars have been approved for the production of Wines of Origin. Each cultivar has specific characteristics regarding its adaptability to the soil and climate, and the suitability of its fruit for the production of a wine with a specific style or of a specific quality. There is thus a close relationship between the cultivar, origin and the wine itself.

The use of the name of a grape cultivar on a label is authorised in terms of the Wine of Origin Scheme and only the cultivar names attached may be used. The name of a grape cultivar may be used if 75% (85% from 1 January 2006) of the content of the wine originates from that cultivar. It is prescribed that, if a wine is to be exported to the European Union, 85% of its content has to be from that specific cultivar.

www.woodenwineracks.co.za

Vineyard Varieties

In keeping with the spirit of renewal in the South African wine industry, in recent years over 40% of the vineyards have been replanted as the industry has realigned its product to compete globally, moving from volume production to noble cultivars and quality wines. South African vineyards have been dominated by white grape varieties but the trend now is towards a more market-driven balance between white and red.

Some of our oldest grape varieties (also called cultivars) date back to ancient times and were developed from wild vines. The original wild vine belongs to the genus Vitis and it is generally accepted that it was cultivated for the first time in Asia Minor, south of the Caspian and Black seas.

All the wine grape varieties cultivated in South Africa, which were originally imported from Europe, belong to the species Vitis vinifera. Unfortunately the roots of European vines are susceptible to an insect disease called phylloxera and, in order to avoid it, they are often grafted onto American rootstock which is largely resistant to the insect.

A vine yields its first crop after three years and is fully productive after five. On average, the South African vineyard is replaced after 25 years but this depends on factors such as the area in which it is situated and how heavily it has yielded. Generally, its lifespan may be anything between 15 and 30 years although vines as old as 100 years still in production can be found.
South African wine

The vine is a remarkable plant which lends itself to selection, propagation and grafting factors which make possible a continuous improvement in both plant and quality. Although most of the vine varieties cultivated here today were originally imported, up to now six local crossings have been released. The best known of these is a red variety, Pinotage, a hybrid of Pinot Noir and Hermitage (Cinsaut), which is cultivated locally on a fairly large scale.
Grape Varieties

Noble varieties which have been cultivated increasingly in the past few years include Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay, which produce top-class white wines, and Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz and Pinot Noir. A significant proportion of our red wine vineyards are currently very young – 52% are under 10 years old.

The Worcester Region has the most vineyard plantings (19% of all vines), followed by Paarl and Stellenbosch (17%), Robertson (14%), Malmesbury (12 %), Olifants River (9%), Orange River (9%) and Little Karoo (3%).

The Worcester Region also produces the most wine (26%), followed byOlifants River (16%), Robertson (15%), Paarl (13 %), Stellenbosch (10%), Orange River (9%), Malmesbury (8%) and Little Karoo (3,9 %).

www.woodenwineracks.co.za