Wine

Groot Constantia, one of the original wine estates

The early history of South African wine can be traced right back to the founding of a supply station at the Cape of Good Hope by the Dutch East India Company in 1652. Jan van Riebeeck was given the task of managing the station and planting vineyards to produce wine and grapes that could be used to ward off scurvy for sailors on their voyages along the spice route.

But the Dutch had almost no winemaking tradition, and it was only after the French Huguenots had settled at the Cape between 1680 and 1690 that the wine industry began to flourish. As religious refugees, the Huguenots had very little money and had to make do with the bare essentials. They also had to adapt their established winemaking techniques to new conditions. With time, their culture and skills left a permanent impression on the wine industry, and on life at the Cape.

At the beginning of the 19th century, South Africa was annexed by the British, which proved to be lucrative for the wine industry, as South African wine could then flow into the British market. This prosperity lasted until the 1860s, when the Cobden–Chevalier Treaty signed by the Palmerston government and France reduced the preferential tariffs that benefited South African wine in favor of French wine exports.

Following the devastation from the phylloxera epidemic in the late 19th century, many vineyards were replanted with high-yield grape varieties such as Cinsaut. By the early 1900s there was a large glut of wine, creating a “wine lake” effect which led some producers to pour their unsaleable wine into local rivers and streams. The depressed prices caused by this out of balance supply and demand dynamic prompted the South African government to fund the formation of KWV (a winemaker’s cooperative) in 1918. KWV soon grew in power and prominence, setting policies and prices for the entire South African wine industry. To deal with the wine glut, KWV restricted yields and set minimum prices, encouraging the production of brandy and fortified wines.

Wine estate near Stellenbosch

A breakthrough in the South African wine industry occurred in 1925, when Professor Abraham Perold successfully crossed the Pinot Noir grape and Cinsault grape to develop the first Pinotage cultivar, which was eventually perfected and first bottled in 1961. This is still the most successful export to this day, as it was an original South African creation.

For much of the 20th century, the wine industry of South Africa received very little attention on the worldwide stage. The country’s isolation was further deepened by boycotts of South African products in protest at the government’s system of Apartheid. It wasn't until the late 1980s and 1990s, when Apartheid was abolished, that the world's export market opened up, and South African wines began to experience a renaissance.

At this point, many producers in South Africa quickly adopted new viticultural and winemaking technologies. The presence of winemakers from abroad brought international influences and a focus on well-known varieties such as Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay. The reorganization of the powerful KWV cooperative into a private business further sparked innovation and improvement in quality. Vineyard owners that had previously relied on KWV's price-fixing structure now 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 world’s 9th largest wine producer. There are over 6,000 wine labels, almost 400 wineries, and the South African wine industry exports around 450 million liters of wine annually. Wine exports are worth about R9 billion (+/- $600 million) each year, with exports to the UK accounting for the largest share at 20% of the total. Counting both direct and indirect employment, the wine industry currently supports more than 300,000 jobs in South Africa.