In the seventeenth century, vineyards were planted in what is currently the country of South Africa when a Dutch specialist positioned along the Cape of Good Hope included grapevines on his homestead.
The nation of South Africa today is generally a similar size as that of the consolidated U.S. states of Texas, California and Virginia (or somewhat littler than the joined territories of territory France and Spain, together with Portugal and Austria). As indicated by the 2019 release of Platter’s South African Wine Guide, this land incorporates a wine grape grounds of roughly 235,000 sections of land (95,000 hectares). That is approximately equivalent to 40% of the wine grape vine inclusion inside California.
The number of grape varieties planted in South Africa has expanded from approximately 80 to 100 since the turn of this century. Some 65% of wine grape generation is white—principally Chenin Blanc, Colombard and Sauvignon Blanc—with the parity of reds dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Pinotage and Merlot.
Half of the packaged wine in South Africa is sold at not exactly what might be compared to $3 per bottle and the ‘ultra-premium’ category (characterized, as indicated by Platter’s Guide, by industry examiner Nielsen) speaks to wines sold above about $9.00 per bottle for reds, or above about $7.00 for whites. One result of this pricing is that many top-quality South African wines—even at increased U.S. retail costs—can be of prominent worth.
The wine scene continually changes in this nation, and patterns today differ from those of 10 years or even five years prior. Consider the accompanying angles when finding South African vintages.