South African Wine Regions – Learn more here!

South African Wine Regions offer some of the best wines in the world and offer fantastic opportunities for Wine and Gourmet Travel to this beautiful country.

The South African wine industry is the world’s 9th largest in overall volume production and produces 3.9% of the world’s wine (2013) – source of stats info is wosa.co.za

South Africa is also famous for its Pinotage which is indigenous to South Africa, but also available in New Zealand.

The wine industry in South Africa (this includes wine and gourmet tourism), is also a significant contributor to the national economy through production, employment, export and tourism.

Wine and Gourmet Tourism to South Africa have really taken off in recent years and is making a huge contribution to the national GDP.

Wine is produced mainly in the Western Cape area, but you will also find vineyards in the KwaZulu-Natal, Free State, Northern Cape and Gauteng provinces of South Africa.

Wine and Gourmet Travel in South Africa

Wine and Gourmet Travel in South Africa have really taken off in recent years.

Many businesses are noticing the potential of wine tourism in South Africa and large investments are being made to capitalise on this rather untapped and young industry.

Wine and Gourmet Travel are mainly focussed on the Western Cape area of South Africa where most of the vineyards are located.

Visitors to South Africa and the wine areas need to take note that drinking and driving laws are quite harsh and guests should rather make use of guided wine tours or shuttle services when visiting the wine areas.

Even at night it is advisable to rather make use of taxis when going to restaurants.

More and more people are turning into “foodies” and everyone has an opinion about what they taste and experience.

The major aim with this website is to offer potential wine and gourmet travelers to South Africa all the tools (a sort of one stop shop) where they can dream, discuss and ultimately plan their wine and gourmet trip to this beautiful country.

By browsing this website you will be able to find more information and listings on the following service providers – all you need to plan and book your gourmet trip.

Oh, before I forget to tell you, you will be dealing directly with all the service providers on this website, so there are zero booking fees or commissions – you deal direct with the owners and wine makers.

You will find more information on the following:

• Wine Estates in all the regions of South Africa
• Accommodation suppliers
• Various Wine Tours (you don’t want to drink and drive after-all)
• Restaurants
• Wine Festivals and Events
• Wine Merchants (shops)
• Specialised food shops, deli’s, etc
• Wedding Venues

The Cape Winelands are some of the most breathtakingly beautiful wine regions in the world.

Several of the wine routes, including Constantia, Durbanville, Darling, Stellenbosch, Helderberg, Paarl, Franschhoek, Wellington and Hermanus are within an hour or less easy driving distance from the city of Cape Town.

We are quite positive that you will be able to satisfy all your wine and gourmet travel needs through this website and we wish you happy planning!

Wine Regions in South Africa

There are about 18 important wine regions in South Africa, but some of the most visited areas in terms of wine and gourmet tourism include, Constantia, Stellenbosch, Durbanville, Paarl, Franschhoek, Wellington, Hermanus, Robertson, Worcester, Tulbagh, Elgin, Swartland and now also the Plettenberg Bay area on the Garden Route of South Africa.

What are the important regions? Well, here they are:

• Olifants River
• Swartland
• Durbanville, Philadelphia & Darling
• Cape Peninsula
• Stellenbosch
• Helderberg
• Paarl
• Wellington
• Elgin
• Tulbagh
• Franschhoek
• Walker Bay & Bot River
• Breedekloof
• Worcester
• Villiersdorp
• Southern Cape
• Robertson
• Klein Karoo & Garden Route

Wine and Food Festivals in South Africa

There are many Wine and Food related festivals and events taking place in all the wine regions of South Africa.

South Africa is renowned for its fresh gourmet produce and wines of the world acclaim.

Almost every town in every wine region hosts a major food and wine festival every year.

Some of these wine and gourmet festivals and events, to name but a few, include:

• The Stellenbosch Wine Festival
• Franschhoek Bastille Festival
• Franschhoek MCC / Champagne Festival
• Franschhoek Uncorked Festival
• Swartland Revolution
• The Good Food and Wine Show
• Wacky Wine Weekend in Robertson
• Robertson Slow
• Ommiberg Wine Festival in Paarl
• Hermanus Wine and Food Festival
• McGregor Food and Wine Festival
• Cheese Festival
• Port Wine Festival in Calitzdorp
• The Riebeek Cellars Grape Stomp
• Riebeek Valley Olive Festival
• Riebeek Valley Cook-Off
• Swartland Shiraz Matazz Weekend
• Wine on the River Robertson
• Fork and Cork Wellington

History of Wine in South Africa

The early history of South African Wine can be traced to the founding of a supply station at the Cape of Good Hope by the Dutch East India Company.

Jan van Riebeeck was given the task of managing the station and planting vineyards to produce wine and grapes in the Wijnberg (Wine Mountain) area of the Cape that could be used to ward off scurvy for sailors continuing on their voyages along the spice route.

In 1685, another Cape Governor, Simon van der Stel, purchased a large 1850 acre estate, founding what later became the world renowned Constantia wine estate.

In the 19th century, South Africa fell under British rule which proved lucrative for the wine industry as South African wine flowed into the British market.

This prosperity lasted until the 1860’s when the Cobden-Chevalier Treaty signed by the Palmerston government and France reduced the preferential tariffs that benefited South African wine in favour of French wine exports.

Following the devastation from the Phylloxera epidemic in the late 19th century, many vineyards were replanted with high yielding grape varieties such as Cinsaut.

By the early 1900’s 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 the Kooperatiewe Wijnbouwers Vereniging van Zuid Afrika (KWV) in 1918.

The Wine Laws of South Africa

Label Requirements – source of information is wosa.co.za under Wine of Origin

The Label Committee has to approve all labels before they can be used on certified wines or estate brandies.

The particulars which are permitted are prescribed by regulations, The Wine of Origin Scheme and the Scheme of Estate Brandy.

All compulsory particulars such as the class name, alcohol content, name and address or code number of the responsible seller, the origin appellation or the name of the geographical unit has to appear in the same visual field on one or more labels of a bottle of wine or estate brandy.

Compulsory information must be clearly distinguished from other information on the label.

The following information may only be used with regard to the selling of wine if the Wine of Origin Scheme authorises it:

• The name of the area which is defined as a ward, district, region or geographical unit
• Names of grape cultivars
• The indication of vintage
• The words “Estate”, “Vineyard”, “Origin” and “Vintage”
• The term “Wine of Origin”

Wine Varietals of South Africa

The red wine varietals mostly used in South Africa include Pinotage, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Malbec, Pinot Noir, Petit Verdot, Shiraz, Muscadel, Mourvèdre (Monastrell in Spain) and Malbec. 

Other: Barbera, Carignan, Carmenère, Cinsaut (Cinsault in France), Durif (also known as Petite Sirah), Gamay Noir, Meunier, Nebbiolo, Nero d’Avalo (known as Calabrese in Sicily), Roobernet, Sangiovese, Tannat, Tempranillo, Tinta Amarela, Tinta Barocca, Touriga Franca, Touriga Nacional, Trincadeira (Tinta Amarela in Portugal) and Zinfandel.

The white wine varietals mostly used in South Africa include Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Viognier, Semillon, Cape Riesling, Colombard and Gewurstraminer.

Other: Albariño (also know as Alvarinho in Portugal), Bukettraube, Clairette Blanche, Grüner Veltliner, Hanepoot, Hárslevelü, Marsanne, Muscat d’Alexandrie, Nouvelle, Palomino, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris/Grigio, Rousanne, Sylvaner, Verdelho and  Vermentino.