South Africa

The Cape winegrowing areas, situated in the narrow viticultural zone of the southern hemisphere, mainly have a Mediterranean climate and the mountain slopes and valleys form the ideal habitat for the wine grape Vitis vinifera, the products of which have given pleasure to man for many centuries. Long, sun-drenched summers and mild, wet winters contribute to the ideal conditions for viticulture at the Cape.

Liberated by the advent of democracy, the South African wine industry has gone from strength to strength, with exports growing by 219% between 1998 and 2010. Currently, more than 3 596 farmers cultivate some 101 016 hectares of land under vines.

Most of the Cape’s winegrowing regions are influenced by one of the two mighty oceans which meet at this southernmost tip of Africa: the Atlantic and the Indian oceans. Combine beneficial maritime influences like regular coastal fog and cooling sea breezes with a moderate Mediterranean climate, distinctive and varied topography, and diverse soils, and you have the ideal conditions in which to create wines of unique character and complexity.

Coupled to this, a winemaking tradition and history dating back over 350 years blends the restrained elegance of the Old World with the accessible fruit-driven styles of the New, making for wines which eloquently express the unique terroir of the Cape. No wonder that this extraordinary wealth of natural assets and tradition should instil South Africa’s wines with a true sense of place.