south african wine

The South African wine roots date back to the Dutch East India company pre 1685.  The French took control of South Africa around the 19^th century and the wine business was booming.  Unfortunately the French and British signed a treaty called the Cobden-Chevalier Treaty in 1860.  This treaty helped to establish free trade among the two nations and Britain’s importing of French wine more than doubled.  The wine industry took a hard hit as they were sending a lot of wine over to Britain and this treaty brought that to an almost complete stop.   

               Towards the early part of the 1900s there was a huge glut of juice in South Africa which created a big problem because of low demand.  As supply increases and demand decreases prices tend to plummet.  Winemakers were even going as far as dumping their yields into local waterways mostly because the popularity of the grapes they were growing was so low.  The South African government decided to get involved and they helped to start a cooperative called KWV.  This organization set up prices as well as policies for all of the South African wine industry.  They had control over yields as well as setting minimum pricing.  Both the cooperative along with apartheid led to their isolation as a wine industry throughout the world for years.

               It took until around the 1980s/1990s for all of that to start reversing course.  It has grown steadily since then and South African wines are gaining more and more attention throughout the world. 

                              Famous Region- Cape Town or Cape Peninsula are the two most well known regions varietals

                                             White- Chenin Blanc (AKA Steen)-Originally French varietal.  Very fruity with slight sweetness and acidity.  Sauvignon Blanc is another varietal that is popular from this region.

                                             Red-Pinotage-cross between Pinot Noir and Cinsault.  Usually have a lot of smoky and earthy flavors.  Cabernet and blends are other reds that are currently popular as well.