South African Wine

South Africa’s first Vineyard was planted in Cape Town in 1655 and in 1659 on the 2nd of February, the first bottle of Wine was made, with these grapes.

The first Vineyard was planted by the first Governor of Cape, Jan van Riebeeck, along with help from his fellow Dutch settlers.

With over 1.13 billion liters of produced each year, there is close to 2700 wineries in South Africa. 81% of the wine they produce is consumed domestically.

The South Africans have divided their wine producing areas into Geographical Units, Regions, Districts and Wards.

The Geographical Units of South Africa:

• Northern Cape
• Eastern Cape
• Western Cape
• KwaZulu-Natal
• Limpopo

You can see it all neatly broken down and explained here: Wine regions of South Africa

Some of the grapes grown in South Africa:

• Barbera
• Bukettraube
• Cabernet Franc
• Cabernet Sauvignon
• Cape Riesling
• Carignan
• Chardonnay
• Chenel
• Chenin Blanc
• Cinsaut
• Clairette Blanche
• Colombar
• Crouchen
• Emerald Riesling
• Fernão Pires
• Gamay Noir
• Gewürztraminer
• Grenache Blanc
• Grenache Noir
• Hárslevelű
• Malbec
• Mataro
• Merlot
• Mourvèdre
• Muscat de Frontgnan – Muscadel
• Muscate D’Alexandrie
• Nebbiolo
• Nouvelle
• Petit Verdot
• Petite Sirah – Durif
• Pinot Gris and Pinot Blanc
• Pinot Noir
• Pinotage
• Roobernet
• Roussanne
• Ruby Cabernet
• Sangiovese
• Sauvignon Blanc
• Sémillion
• Sezão
• Shiraz
• Souzao
• Tinta Barocca
• Touriga Nacional
• Viognier
• Weisser Riesling
• Zinfandel