South African wine poised for a renaissance

South Africa appears poised for wine greatness. This is somewhat surprising since the country’s winemaking industry languished during the 50 plus-years-long international boycott of the apartheid government. The wines made during those decades were uninspiring and meant to be shipped in large bulk containers rather than bottles. After the revocation of apartheid in 1994, South African winemakers had a lot of catching up to do.

They did have some advantages, including a more than 350-year history of winemaking. The East India Trading Company established a way-station for their ships in what is now Cape Town that included vineyards with the first harvest occurring in 1659. The second governor of the region founded the Constantia Wine Estate (named after his wife) on 1,900 acres outside the town.

The estate was purchased in 1778 by Hendrik Cloete, who revitalized the property and created a blended sweet wine that became wildly popular among European aristocracy (including Napoleon, Fredrick the Great and King Louis Phillipe of France) as well as poets such as Baudelaire, who compared Constantia wine to the lips of his lover.

The end of isolation meant that South African winemakers could travel and learn about modern techniques while extolling the virtues of their terroir. During this time, the country’s controlling wine cooperative shifted focus to private enterprise, which made South African wineries more attractive to outside investors. The recent acquisition of Mont Rochelle Winery in the Western Cape by Sir Richard Branson (Virgin Group) and the purchases of the venerable Mulderbosch Winery and Fable Mountain Vineyards by the former owner of California’s Screaming Eagle Winery, Charles Banks, are just a few examples.