Wine in South Africa
The first bottle of South African wine was created in Cape Town by the country’s founder and governor Jan van Riebeeck in 1659. New investment entered the South African wine business as a result of access to overseas markets. Constantia, Paarl, Stellenbosch, and Worcester are the principal vineyard and production centers in the area surrounding Cape Town. The Wine of Origin (WO) system, which was put into place in 1973 with a hierarchy of recognized production regions, districts, and wards, has about 60 appellations. Wines designated as WO may only be made with grapes grown in that region. Wines labeled as “single vineyard” must originate from a specific location that is no larger than 6 hectares. If they are grown together, neighbouring farms may produce “Estate Wine.”
Wine farms in South Africa
Due to their geographic location on the planet, South African wineries are referred to as “wine farms,” and they mostly produce white wines, with the harvest often occurring in February or March.
You must carefully choose where to go first and start looking for the ideal place for you if you intend to visit vineyards in South Africa. South Africa has numerous beautiful wineries in the Coastal Region, Breede River Valley, Kain Karoo, and other regions. Every winery in South Africa has a distinctive history, methods of winemaking, and wines to offer visitors.
How many wine farms in South Africa
The South African wine industry has flourished since democracy was established in 1994, with exports expected to reach 388 million liters in 2021. Currently, 90 512 hectares of land are planted with vines by about 2 613 growers. The wine business directly and indirectly employs about 269 096 people. In 2020, there were 1 342 112 tons (1 042.0 million liters) of yearly harvest, of which 86% was utilized to make wine. In 2021, there were 1 459 613 tons (1 133.3 million liters) of yearly harvest, of which 80.4% was utilized to make wine.
Wine producers
Estate wineries, who were only permitted to produce wine from grapes cultivated on their own property under the original legislation. The traditional “estate” was abolished in 2004 in favor of “estate wine,” which must be produced in adjacent vines managed as a single entity. Additionally, these units must have the necessary infrastructure to support all steps leading up to final certification. Every estate that has previously been registered has now been registered automatically as a Unit for the Production of Estate Wine. For the first time, they are able to brand all of their wine production—estate and non-estate—using their names, but only estate wine that has received official certification may be labeled and sold as such.
Producer cellars (co-operatives), which turn the grapes of their farmer member shareholders into wine on a communal basis, are the only ones that have made significant investments in production machinery and press about 80% of South Africa’s whole wine harvest.
Independent cellars and a number of wholesalers who manufacture wine from grapes grown on their own wine farms as well as wine they purchase from other sources, bottle it under their own brands.
The industry-owned, non-profit organization Wines of South Africa is owned by the wine industry. By strengthening Brand South Africa, it aims to support the South African wine industry’s success on a global scale.
